Happy Wednesday everybody – wanted to dive right into a discussion with a concept I decided to go with as part of my business (Cards of Ivalice), and that is the idea of sponsoring players in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game. In this article, I will discuss various benefits to both the sponsored and the sponsor, and how this might be something you want to discuss with players in your store, or the manager/owner of your local shop.

Finding Your Warrior(s) of Light

As a store owner that is even slightly considering sponsoring a local player to represent your store, you want someone that will both socially and financially benefit your store. Do they have a strong sense of character that will be visiting other stores for tournament play in your name? Do they put time aside to study not only the current meta habits of the game, but look into defining the meta? Do they support the game and have an invested interest in keeping the life of the game healthy? Do they have a healthy mentality towards the competition, or do they flip tables when games go awry? These are questions you would like to ask yourself when seeking out player(s) to brandish your store’s logo when competing. While this isn’t NASCAR or the NBA, you want your logo to stand for the ethics that your store would stand for, and that player is the traveling front line for your store’s image. That being said, you don’t need the most top tier strongest player available. Go for someone with great character and an eagerness to play and win. A win is a win, but you want a strong personality and a player the community can rally around to really reap the benefits.

Even the Strongest Warriors Need Support

So, you love this game. You think about it nonstop. You theory-craft decks when you are going to sleep, waiting at the Dentist, in the shower, or eating lunch. You occasionally top locals, and log in some hours on OCTGN every evening. While this concept rarely enters most players minds, you should inquire about becoming sponsored. Ask your LGS owner or manager when they would have about 10 minutes of free time, and have a sit down with them. Discuss your eagerness to compete and expand on Final Fantasy TCG, and see what they can do for you. Say you will promote their store given the chance, and you can wear a shirt, brandish card sleeves with their stores name on it, use a playmat with their logo on it on camera, etc. There are many options to take advantage of! However, funds are low and you need an edge. For your efforts, ask if you can get cards to support your adventures. Card accessories are an option too, but really anything that you feel will be of fair worth between you and your LGS owner. There is absolutely no harm in just asking, so go for it!

Ready Negotiations, and Go Forth

When I approached Sam Prime and Zach Burrell with my sponsorship program, they thought it was completely fair, and thus a deal was made. We discussed at length the expectations that were to be had (Positive attitude in competitions, they needed to wear a Jersey I designed (thank you Jim@ARG!), and they had to travel from time to time outside the local areas to compete. In return, they get booster boxes every time a new Opus set is released, along with accompanying starter deck kits if they are available (Right now, they are only available every other Opus – I, III, V, etc). That averages out to about $35 a month for Cards of Ivalice to get word of mouth advertising, to be shown on live stream in major FFTCG tournaments, and the personable interactions they have with other players while they perform and show off the store jersey. Not bad!

And as a Sponsor, if your players claim the cup or dominate a tournament? Reward them! Chances are, lots of pictures and shared posts were made with your logo being displayed with the victor, so show your players that you have their back and are watching! This makes the relationship even better, and reinforces the incentive for traveling and competing even further. So see what you can work out! You never know what opportunities await unless you go after them.

See you next time!

(Did you know? Final Fantasy XI is the most profitable Final Fantasy title in the franchise. This is with all of the expansion sales, retail sales, subscriptions and FFXI related merchandise combined)