Season 3: Chapter 121: After Qualification (4)
After Korea’s advancement to the finals had been confirmed, several media outlets covered the news. Even media that usually didn’t cover esports started publishing articles about it. No matter how unpopular the game was or how esports was seen as a minor category, they could no longer ignore its scale.
The viewership for the Fake National Team series and the Civil Empire national competition kept increasing. The peak live viewership for the LIL World Cup in Korea was about 1.7 million. The highest count for the national competition had exceeded 400,000. The LIL World Cup was undoubtedly the most popular esports tournament reported on by various media outlets. Civil Empire had already caught up to about a quarter of that.
This was quite...
“Encouraging,” Ju-Hyeok firmly declared. “We haven’t even reached the finals yet. We’re just at the point of advancing to the finals, right? It’s only the round of thirty-two in the tournament. There are many more matches to go. Imagine what will happen if we reach the quarterfinals.”
Ju-Hyeok emphasized how many rounds the national competition had. He seemed to be arguing its marketability.
“And you’re not just watching the national competition. You should also watch the Fake National Team series.”
He even mentioned the Fake National Team series. Why?
“Um, will you then place ads on the Fake National Team series too?”
Because he was speaking to an advertiser.
“No... that has to be done separately.”
Ju-Hyeok shook his head.
‘You can’t just get everything for free.’
He had to speak his mind even though they were advertisers.
The advertisers felt displeased and asked back, “Why are you bringing up the Fake National Team?”
“Ah... just because the momentum is there. You can see the impact, right?”
“Good grief...”
The two individuals sighed and crossed their arms. They were employees from the company proposing a sponsorship, i.e., the advertisers. They weren’t placing ads on Almond or the Fake National Team.
“We want to sponsor the national competition team! We want to put our logo on their uniforms!”
They wanted to sponsor the Korean national competition team. Just like professional soccer teams had large sponsor logos on their chests, they wanted to do the same for the national competition. This was the problem and why the discussion kept going around in circles.
The woman sitting next to Ju-Hyeok explained again, “No... you can’t implement that in the national competition. It’s a game related to countries and civilizations. The game company will never allow it.”
She was an employee from Civil Empire Korea, who introduced herself as Elysia. That was her company nickname.
The advertisers pleaded with Elysia.
“Can’t you get some sort of permission? Or at least use special effects to put it on our country’s broadcast?”
“What? No way... that would cost more than the broadcast itself. Do you think adding special effects is easy!?”
Elysia rejected the idea of using special effects and looked visibly dismayed. While not technically impossible, she was right about it being economically unfeasible.
The discussion went back around.
“No... I mean...!”
“That’s... not possible...”
“Sigh...”
Ju-Hyeok interjected, “Just a moment.”
He gestured to Elysia from Civil Empire Korea.
“Can we have a moment to discuss among ourselves? We need to reach an agreement first.”
The advertisers hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Sure. We’ll go have a smoke.”
This gave them a break.
Ju-Hyeok took Elysia to a corner of the office and asked, “Is it really not possible? Can’t it be solved by raising the price?”
“What? No. Think about it. Imagine a national team with Honda or Toyota on their chest.”
“This is a domestic company... we’re the Fake National Team...”
“No, it’s still not possible. Even if it’s not a foreign company, the sponsor logos would cover the unique cultural features. How ridiculous would that look? That’s why Civil Empire won’t allow it and no other teams do it either.”
“Sigh...”
Ju-Hyeok looked disappointed. Having the logo on their chest would fetch a high price. Doing this for a national team posed such difficulties.
“I understand, but they might not sponsor us at all if we say they can’t put it on the chest.”
“That’s true, but what can we do? We can’t do something impossible.”
Elysia clearly felt regretful, but chose to stay firm. She decided it was better to have nothing than compromise.
“Sigh...”
Ju-Hyeok rubbed his forehead. He didn’t want to lose this opportunity.
‘This sponsor would really help.’
With no benefits from participating in the competition, this sponsor could change things. The players could earn money just by competing. Although the amount would be small when divided, any income was better than none.
‘Starting is important. Once one sponsor comes, others will follow.’
More sponsors would come if they could start with this, making professional activities feasible. Even if it was hard now, at least the next or following national teams would benefit.
‘Why am I even thinking about the next generation…?’
He didn’t know why he was thinking about the next generation, but he couldn’t just let this sponsor go as someone living in the present even if he had to pretend to be strong.
“Sigh... then.”
After some thought, Ju-Hyeok decided to change tactics.
“Let’s do this.”
Elysia tilted her head, skeptical about his new plan.
Ju-Hyeok shrugged.
“It’s good if it works. If not, they’ll leave anyway,” Ju-Hyeok said this to comfort Elysia.
‘They can’t leave.’
Ju-Hyeok was determined to keep them.
“It’s your job as the manager.”
Hui-Chul had trusted Ju-Hyeok with this task.
“I’ve never received ads before.”
Hui-Chul had experience in business, but still passed this task to Ju-Hyeok.
“I know they’re coming because of Almond. I’m always grateful for that. That’s why you should handle this.”
He usually didn't show it, but he knew what was happening was thanks to Almond. Especially the events happening outside the game. Civil Empire streams had gained popularity domestically and the think tank team in the background also got attention as the Fake National Team thanks to Almond's involvement. It wasn’t just that.
‘This is a task given to me.’
Above all, Hui-Chul truly trusted Ju-Hyeok.
"I've heard a lot. They say you do your job very well. I’m just assigning the best person to the task. Don’t feel burdened."
It was the first time since Ju-Hyeok quit his job. Other than Sang-Hyeon, someone else trusted him with their work.
‘I can’t just let this go.’
Ju-Hyeok resolved himself and returned to the meeting room.
***
A little while later, the four of them gathered in the meeting room again.
"After discussing it briefly, we can consider putting it on the chest."
"... Really?"
The sponsor employees brightened.
"But, are you sure that’s what you want?"
"Excuse me? What do you mean…?"
Tap.
Ju-Hyeok pointed to the blank space on the proposed contract.
"You must have decided how much you would write here. From what I heard earlier, it’s far too little. This is an unprecedented situation, so it’ll naturally cost more."
"..."
The two employees glanced at each other. Indeed, no other teams had logos and theirs would stand out. How noticeable would that be? The advertising cost would inevitably be higher. Plus, they had to convince the game company.
"Please state a realistic budget."
"Uh... about..."
They subtly raised their fingers.
Ju-Hyeok’s eyebrow twitched.
"Come on. Then it doesn’t even make sense to request it. At least..."
Ju-Hyeok demanded exactly three times the amount.
Elysia had to control her facial expression beside him to maintain a composed look.
"What!? That’s too much."
"Then it’s better to go with a banner."
"... A banner?"
"Yes. It’s always visible and might be even better."
"Ah, like the banners in the stands at soccer games?"
"No. That level of advertising needs to be discussed with Civil Empire headquarters. That’s not possible. I mean on the broadcast channel."
"Hmm..."
They shook their heads simultaneously.
"It doesn’t feel like we’re partnering with the national team. It just feels like sponsoring the broadcast."
‘Oops.’
Ju-Hyeok had to agree with their point.
‘They want that feeling.’
Advertising aimed to create a positive image of the company. They wanted the impression of supporting the players rather than the broadcast itself.
Ju-Hyeok pondered for a moment. He felt like he could persuade them after knowing what they wanted.
"A partnership... hmm."
Ju-Hyeok paused briefly before speaking.
"Then, does placing the logo on the chest give a partnership feeling?"
"Everyone does it that way, right? Of course."
"No. It will feel more like an intrusion here."
"What?!"
"Think about it. In a place with Joseon army uniforms, the Taegukgi generals’ flags... will suddenly have a modern company logo. Will that look like a partnership or intruding with money? Even if that’s set aside, does it look good? Does it fit?"
"Ah..."
"If that unattractive scene carries your company logo, does it help your image?"
"..."
The two went silent for a moment. They thought esports was like the familiar professional sports leagues, but Civil Empire was quite different with national identity more pronounced than in modern sports. Inserting a corporate logo would ruin that imagery.
"It’s very costly and would only tarnish your company image."
"Sigh..."
They couldn’t openly agree, but both employees thought they needed a new plan.
"If you really want to show a partnership with the national competition team, I have a suggestion. Actually, it’s the only way."
"...?"
All three of them, including Elysia, turned to him. Even Elysia didn’t know what Ju-Hyeok would suggest. He only told her to claim that the chest logo was too expensive and to suggest a banner as a compromise.
Everything after that was Ju-Hyeok improvising. They were far from the original plan now.
"You heard me mention the Fake National Team earlier, right?"
***
The next evening, Almond brought up a topic during his stream.
"Everyone, I have an important announcement."
— ??
— What is it?
— An important announcement, wow
— Are you going to the military?
— Finally revealing he’s a nut, not a human...! Nuttilian!
— He’s talking longer than usual... is it an ad? lol
Almond typed on the keyboard and displayed something.
"Ta-da."
What he showed was a company logo.
[Wolsoohyang]
"Our team got a sponsor!"
— Of course, it was an ad, lol
— Wow, congrats!
— A sponsor, wow
— Nice
— Who’s that?
— For the national team??? Wow
Indeed, the national competition team got a sponsor and Almond’s channel would introduce them.
"I’m just introducing them out of gratitude. They’ll appear frequently in the Fake National Team videos from now on."
This brand would appear as indirect advertising in the Fake National Team content.
— Wow
— Awesome, product placement
— The unemployed fleet has an ad...
— Wolsoohyang? Do they sell alcohol?
— Chi-Seung, you succeeded!
Viewers could have reacted negatively to the ad.
‘It seems fine?’
However, congratulations filled the chat.
Almond realized it at that moment.
‘Maybe...’
This was the start of something huge in the future.
"Oh, many of you might not know this brand. You’ll recognize them when you see this."
Almond took something out from his desk.
‘Beast’
It was a sports drink.
Pop!
Almond opened the can and took a refreshing gulp. Then, he performed the promised action.
— ????
— Crazy, lol
— What? lol
— This is the power of advertising?!
— Lol
The chat instantly exploded.