Building Mindshare: Akshat Rathee shares NODWIN Gaming’s Focus on Brand Building and the Relevance of Global South

While Nodwin Gaming first started as an esports and gaming company, with the passage of 10 years, a global pandemic that saw a paradigm shift in media consumption habits, and a series of dynamic partnerships and acquisitions, it now wants “a timeshare of your mind share,” shared Akshat Rathee.

With a spate of acquisitions, including OML’s Live IPs such as NH7 Weekender, Comic Con, eSports firm Ninja Global, and marketing firm PublishME, among others, as well as investments in media arms like Rusk Media, Wings, Branded Singapore, and other properties, Nodwin Gaming has transferred into a house of brands.

Speaking to Exchange4Media, Akshat Rathee said, “We are not a platform, like Netflix, Loco, YouTube, Instagram, or Discord, we are not a destination. I, as Nodwin, am not a B2C company. To me, if my influencer is being watched on Instagram, my content on Amazon MiniTV, my BGMI tournament on Star Sports, while my merchandise is being bought on Amazon, and my event is being ticketed on BookMyShow, what is the difference to me?”

“I only value myself (the company), saying, there are more people watching, interacting with me, working with us; and that’s why we are a house of brands, not a branded house,”  he continued.

Rathee’s company has a clearly defined target market: young people across the globe.

Specifically, the company wants to expand into Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Kenya, Turkey, Central Asia, Mexico and Argentina. These regions, according to Rathee, are teeming with young people.

He emphasizes the importance of the Global South, a term often used by Prime Minister Modi because it is where the young population is concentrated. While the Global North is wealthy, Rathee views it as an aging market, making the youthful Global South a more strategic focus.

“How can I be reaching out to the young people of the world if I’m targeting the Global North? I’m sure there’s money there, but it’s important to use the assets in the Global North to funnel growth for the Global South because that’s what we care about, and that’s where we are investing. And all our competing companies in the world sit in the Global North. We are probably the only one which is focused on the Global South,” he says.

Despite being majority-owned by Nazara Technologies Ltd., Nodwin functions as an independent subsidiary. This independence is reflected in Nodwin’s strategic initiatives, which have resulted in the acquisition of various intellectual properties.

NODWIN’s marketing strategy involves strategy and budgeting across two different categories: at a brand level, with a focus on brand building and positioning, and event/IP specific, in which strategy and budget allocation are fluid across properties and per edition.

“With reference to event-based curation, we holistically try to seamlessly integrate multiple youth entertainment touchpoints across events: gaming, esports, music, comedy, pop culture, networking events and conferences,” adds Rathee.

“The company spends north of Rs 40 crore per year on marketing across different properties and IPs. This fragmented approach is also due to the nature of NODWIN’s positioning of a house of brands, each with its audiences. However, Rathee says that given the youth-centric nature of these properties, there is significant overlap in target groups and markets. “We use a lot of Venn diagrams,” he admits, adding that this also leads to synergy.

For instance, NH7 Weekender, now in its 15th edition, has programmed artists serving as a marketing medium with a 360-degree marketing plan activated for renowned artists, setting the tone for the festival look, along with the integration of youth-focused entertainment options like a gaming stage, cosplay, AV displays, and interactive games including a NH7 Weekender video game that festival goers could play through, even while at the event.

On the other hand, NODWIN takes a more digital-heavy approach for eSports events as targeted advertising under 18 is restrictive. Apart from digital advertising, there is a heightened usage of social media marketing, player channel utilization, content creators, and other community-building avenues like Discord, watch parties, and other media.

“This intersection created a unique platform for engaging with the younger generation and aligns with NODWIN’s efforts to maximize the timeshare of mindshare of our youth community,” Rathee noted.