Misfits this week unveiled a rebrand for the esports organization, a move that new Chief Media Officer Sam Toles tells SBJ is among the final elements of a business pivot started last year toward the creator economy.
Misfits’ 2022 sale of its League of Legends European Championship franchise slot freed up capital for the company to pivot into a more “playful” brand -- one that isn’t explicitly focused on competition and leans into the community aspects of gaming. Creative agency Paper Crowns assisted with the brand refresh.
Sportfive also will continue to assist Misfits on sponsor development and integration across all divisions of the organization (on a non-exclusive basis).
“This has ultimately been the seed that we’ve been watering,” Toles says. He added that there have been conversations with the internal revenue team to define the way they’re selling inventory -- meaning through "community" efforts, not competition. Toles is tapping into his experience as the former chief content officer at Bleacher Report for this sort of pivot. Toles calls Misfits' new logo a “living emoji,” built to reflect the new direction of the company.
While Toles says there are "no plans" to exit franchise slots in the Overwatch League, Call of Duty League and Valorant (women’s roster), the competition element of Misfits' business isn’t at the forefront any longer. Instead, it’s Misfits' $20 million "Creator Fund," part of which was funded by the sale of their League of Legends Europe slot, according to Toles. “The selling of the LEC slot ultimately gave us the capital to go invest in a part of the business that we felt was white space.”
The company is now split up into three divisions:
- Media and entertainment (run by Toles)
- Roblox and Minecraft (focused on bespoke “TubNet” Minecraft server and Roblox-focused content production studio “Pixel Playground")
- Competitive teams (OWL, CDL, Valorant)
Misfits' goal is to continue growing its already substantial audience. Creators on the Misfits roster include Karl Jacobs (over 33 million combined followers), AustinShow (over 3 million) and QTCinderella (over 2 million). -- Hunter Cooke
