Elgato and Quadrant - How it all started

The Elgato x Quadrant project was a huge announcement, and was in the works for quite some time. Partnerships between industry-leading brands with huge followings (Elgato and Quadrant combine for almost 9 million followers across all platforms) are not easily orchestrated. Relationships need to be strengthened, Specifics require discussing, and mutual interests need to align whilst maintaining the brand identity that both sides worked incredibly hard for over their lifetimes. The Senior Partnerships Managers Tom Hildreth from Elgato and Callum Upchurch from Quadrant answered a few questions to provide us with a conductor’s perspective and behind-the-scenes insight of this #partnership formation.?

How was the process of setting up and completing this partnership? Any specific moments where you knew this was going to be a good decision??

Callum: "From receiving the initial matrix to signing agreements; the process between Veloce/Quadrant and Corsair/Elgato went as smoothly as it possibly could have. Although discussions for this partnership were ongoing for some time, throughout the whole process I was confident we had a great partner in Elgato. This was majorly due to Tom’s quick and concise communication and transparency when discussing relevant topics."

Tom: "It was almost a crossing of messages at the beginning. We were reaching out to them because we saw huge potential in the project from the beginning. At the same time, Veloce/Quadrant were looking for partners that were a genuine and authentic fit. During the initial calls when we were discussing expectations, plans and ideas, I had a great feeling. Not only were they incredibly passionate and creative, the overlap between what each party was looking for couldn’t have been closer if we tried. All the while, the channel and content was getting better and better."

Any unique difficulties, challenges or interferences that caused concern you can mention or talk about?

Callum: "Given this was our first major partner for Quadrant, the only challenges we faced, other than the usual timezone differences, were down to contractual clauses mainly driven by Lando Norris ’s profile as a Formula 1 driver and global star. Fortunately we managed to come to an agreement after many contract revisions and patience from both sides."

Tom: "The plan of the partnership in terms of deliverables, activations and compensation was actually established and agreed upon early. I think both sides learnt a lot when it came to the nitty gritty legal side of things. With so many stakeholders and timezones involved, it took a lot of patience and persistence from all of us. In the end, we got through it together and now we can look forward to the fun parts."

Any aspects of this process that went surprisingly well, smoother than expected?

Callum: "The deliverables were agreed upon very quickly without many needs for changes. This is credit to the realistic expectations from both sides and understanding of delivering this sort of partnership whilst ensuring both brands saw?significant value."

Tom: "When initiating partnership talks, there is always concern that expectations and demands from either party are impossible to reach for the other. Especially in this case when a central figure is involved in a sport that is notoriously expensive. From the very beginning both sides were honest and open about what they were looking for. I remember clearly after we submitted the first proposal, Veloce/Quadrant came back with three scaling alternatives covering a range of options. This kind of flexibility and thoughtfulness really helped propel discussions forward."

For Motorsports, simulators are used for training by professionals as well as entertainment by content creators. Do you think that this is unique to the sport? Or do you have any other sports in mind where content creators and professionals are essentially going to use the same ‘game’ for their full-time occupation?

Callum: "At this moment there are only a few sports games that can be used to simulate their real-life counter parts. With the barrier to entry in motorsport being so high, sim-racing opens opportunities to people who may not have been able to try their skills in a real life scenario. We have seen this in Veloce when James Baldwin won the Worlds Fastest Gamer event with the prize being a seat for Jensen Button’s GT3 team and ended up taking a win in their debut race."

Tom: "I think motorsports are close to unique in this regard, the increase in computing power and software complexity has really opened a lot of doors for testing, practise and entertainment. It’s impossible to apply this same logic and opportunity to many sports like football, cricket or swimming. Outside of sports, there are a lot of other scenarios where simulators can have a real-world impact. Flight sims are incredibly intricate and can provide the testing and knowledge people can use while piloting physical aircraft also."

We are all ecstatic to be able to share this with all our communities. It is an honour to be the first official partner of Quadrant. The charismatic, aspiring and motivated crew of #contentcreators, and the world leading provider of audio-visual technology for creators on all video sharing platforms are a natural fit. Thank you Tom and Callum for enlightening us about the efforts required from everyone involved, and to our communities: You can all can be very excited for what will come to fruition from this.?

Photo Credits: Khalil Musa