For ODU Esports, I was a part of the social media audit and the signage and posters group. For the social media audit, we viewed what was working, is not working, and what things to improve on for the ODU Esports’ social media pages. This was my favorite section between the two roles I assumed this semester, largely because we also looked at other organizations’ esports teams and discovered new ideas that can be used on ODU Esport accounts. I enjoyed seeing the creativity of other organizations and I hope to see these changes transpire on their accounts over the next semester. We worked on signage and posters for the planning portion, which was not as fun. I felt as though the group that did signage and posters before us executed their efforts very well and I did not know what else to include in our presentation that would be different from theirs. I am proud of our final product and hope they use the posters created and our ideas like buying more cardboard cutouts of characters as I felt this was the best signage they currently have for the arena. It is big, a character recognizable by most, and stands out in a way that differs from typical posters other campus organizations use. 

A few of my friends have used the ODU Esports arena, so I was not entirely unfamiliar with it. However, I never knew how vast the community is and its history. I felt this sport was relatively new with the heightened usage of streaming, Twitch, and YouTube, particularly over the pandemic. Learning that this sport existed before I was even born is insane to me, and how it has continually grown over the last few decades. In terms of strategic communication for esports, it is vastly different from strategic communication for other sports and organizations because it is an entirely online environment, and with streaming, it can be easier to get in trouble as there is no way to censor or edit the content. Both environments are constantly evolving, making it complicated to keep on trends and understand the best methods for working through a crisis, maintaining branding and exposure, or curating content for the organization. There are a lot of factors that go into doing strategic communication and Esports and I think all organizations need a team of communication professionals in order to maximize their brand and garner attention to this evolving sport. 

Our class did exceptionally well in my eyes for the assignments. I feel like most of us were not expecting to work with something that many may not consider a sport in a class revolving around sports communication, but I think it is vital to understand sports in all capacities to work in this field.  Everyone had creative ideas that I hope could be used by ODU Esports in the near future.  I was impressed with the work provided, especially following spring break. It was lovely seeing some of our ideas transpire in their organization already, it makes me feel like we made an impact beyond trying to get a passing grade. I’m proud of everyone and their dedication to growing ODU Esports.