Esports Insider is proud to announce Kinguin LOUNGE, the most ambitious esports-centred membership program to-date, as Presenting Partner of ESI Digital Summer (#ESIDIGITAL).
LOUNGE is a new membership program created to connect and empower gaming businesses around the globe spurred forth by Kinguin. Well known in the space for their Kinguin.net digital products marketplace with over 60 million annual users, and since 2019, their Esports Performance Center in Warsaw – which in its first year became the number one training destination for professional esports teams in Europe.
Esports Insider spoke with members of the Kinguin LOUNGE team, to learn how the brand approached devising the membership program, and to hear how LOUNGE is looking to benefit both businesses and individual fans & customers.
ROAD TO THE KINGUIN LOUNGE
The team began by explaining some of Kinguin’s newest business ventures; ventures that have ultimately led to the ideation of their new product; LOUNGE.
Since the opening of its Esports Performance Center, Kinguin has learned much from operating a physical and international location outside of its Kinguin.net digital products marketplace business.
Esports Performance Center is intentionally located close to Warsaw Chopin International Airport and has hosted many foreign esports teams (Cloud9, 100 Thieves, OG Esports, Team Vitality, MIBR, and FaZe Clan, among others) stopping over to train and stay prior to European tournaments, so while the company’s origin and location is in Poland, the Kinguin brand is dedicated to serving international esports business.
Part of the plan was to gain first-hand experience in the operation of both digital and physical businesses, the team emphasized, to ensure LOUNGE’s membership program would match the esports audience’s on-and-offline lifestyle – and to achieve the ever-important industry requirement of authenticity.
In June, the company opened its own gaming venue and retail concept in Gdansk, Poland, offering its audience new physical experiences and for the organisation to better understand venue business operation strategies.
Counting over 10 years of experience of managing its digital side of the business, mainly Kinguin.net, and now with over two years experience in performance venue management, and its introduction into leisure venue management – the organisation is proud to introduce the industry’s first membership program featuring cross-brand support: LOUNGE.
THE CONCEPT
Kinguin LOUNGE is a membership program designed to benefit esports audiences, gaming venues, and esports brands by providing Kinguin’s experience in operating on-and-offline businesses. Building from Kinguin’s expansive network of clients and digital marketplace experience, LOUNGE is designed to connect esports fans with the product and services they want and offer rewards for qualified purchases.
Creators of the program point out that LOUNGE partners and especially gaming venues will get access to new revenue streams and business services, apart from more obvious benefits like user acquisition and increased retention.
Expanding on membership concepts proven within multiple industries, esports fans from around the globe will be able to accrue rewards across a variety of participating LOUNGE partnered brands and choose how and what they redeem – the more participating brands, the more the whole ecosystem will benefit.
Understanding the importance of physical and digital product offerings to esports fans and the current uncertainty of global markets, the LOUNGE program seeks to establish its rewards program with partners to enhance the experience of esports fans on-and-offline, at home or on the road, grinding or relaxing.
LOUNGE’s support of ESI Digital Summer comes just as the membership program has announced it has begun accepting gaming venue and esports business partnership applications – allowing those interested in the esports and gaming audience to position themselves in time for LOUNGE Alpha, launching in November 2020.
Kinguin LOUNGE Alpha aims to promote venue and business partners to their network of esports fans and Kinguin.net’s 60,000,000 annual user base, by introducing the first phase of redeemable rewards via its established digital games marketplace. Business partners of LOUNGE will also get immediate access to new revenue streams and services available only within the LOUNGE network.
The cross-brand dedication of the platform echoes the sentiment touted by many within the greater esports industry: “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
Businesses won’t be competing for attention within the Kinguin LOUNGE program, Kinguin’s team ensures, rather they are joining a network of businesses that LOUNGE customers can support in order to gain rewards – more details to be announced during their ESI Digital Summer unveiling.
Catch Kinguin Founder and CEO, Viktor Wanli, unveil LOUNGE during ESI Digital Summer’s Europe programming on August 19th, and his panel during the North American segment on August 21st.
ESI Digital Summer will take place August 17th-21st, featuring five consecutive days and 35+ hours of content and 100+ speakers, each day will cover a different important regional markets: Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and North America.
See Full Agenda and secure your ticket for ESI Digital Summer
