446: Breaking Barriers in Esports with Brian Cooley, CMO of PlayVS

Marketing Today with Alan Hart

Brian Cooley is the Chief Marketing Officer at PlayVS, a leading scholastic esports platform in North America, where he brings over 25 years of experience in marketing. His marketing career began in the automotive industry with Land Rover North America, where he spent three years focusing on customer relationship marketing and retail operations. Brian then transitioned to the tech industry, spending six years with IBM. He continued his tech-focused trajectory at Blackboard, where he served as Senior Director of Global Marketing Services before advancing to Vice President of Global Demand Generation. Brian spent the next nine years as CMO at EverFi, deepening his role in edtech by leading the company’s marketing strategy. Now, in his first year as CMO of PlayVS, he leverages his rich background in edtech and marketing to drive growth and expand the platform’s reach in the competitive scholastic esports market.

PlayVS was founded in 2018 and is now a leading esports platform in North America, partnering with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to provide and host organized competitive gaming in high schools across all 50 U.S. states and Canada. As of November 2023, PlayVS expanded access by removing enrollment fees for its state and regional leagues, making participation free for high schools. This initiative has likely increased the number of participating schools, which was around 4,000 as of late 2023.

In today’s show, Alan and Brian dive into the booming market for collegiate and scholastic esports, exploring how partnerships with professional sports leagues are creating new opportunities for access and growth. They also discuss PlayVS’s collaboration with the Special Olympics to increase accessibility for students and why esports and gaming are essential areas for marketers to watch closely.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How marketing to the new generations changes the game
• Why marketers should pay attention to esports and gaming
• What to consider when partnering with an influencer

Key Highlights:

• [01:37] How growing up in many different countries has influenced you
• [03:03] The most interesting meal from your travels
• [04:52] Career path to PlayVS
• [08:33] What is PlayVS
• [10:35] How PlayVS got started
• [15:17] The esports that PlayVS focuses on
• [17:42] Partnerships with pro sports
• [20:35] Partnership with the Special Olympics
• [22:17] Why marketers should care about esports and gaming
• [26:02] Experience from your past that defines you
• [28:10] Advice to your younger self
• [30:12] A topic that you and other marketers need to learn more about
• [32:29] Trends or subcultures others should follow
• [34:45] Largest opportunity or threat to marketers today

Looking for more?

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