The Illusion of Overclocking Support

The problem is they are so focused on the competition they fail to invite related hardware media to the event, fail to set expectations on how the event will be promoted and fail to advertise beyond having a “local” news crew record 15minues of footage. 

Competitions need to be advertised to get any semblance of a return on their investment.  There is no need to outright pay media to be present but at least invite them and offer something to offset the cost.  In return they will get a good write-up of the event, some exposure to their brand and advertisement of the hardware used in the competition.

Another scenario, which seems extremely low, is using an overclocking competition as the side attraction.  Like in the previous example overclockers are selected using an online competition and then invited to another exotic location to be a lesser part of a larger promotion.  The prizes a good and there is going to be good exposure so the contestants will be taken care of.  The problem is the hardware maker isn’t supporting the community but rather exploiting it.  As before the hardware maker went to the effort of hosting a live qualifier but when it comes to the finals they aren’t advertising it or inviting specialized media to cover the event. 

Considering that the venue will be part of a larger promotion you must consider how the side attraction (the overclocking competition) will be represented.  In this case you may get some media exposure from the people attending but it will be limited to 15min spots or a couple of photos indicating that something is happening. 

What the coverage will lack is:

• What the overclockers are using from the hardware maker
• Why the overclockers are there
• How hosting this event can better the hardware maker.

Again there is no need to outright pay to have the media present since they will already be there.  However, to get the kind of coverage they need they must consider the advertisement aspect and likely pay to have the event represented properly.  Promotion of their products will follow and sales will skyrocket.