Chapter 45: Team Brand!

A personal brand is truly incomparable to a future mature esports club brand.

Jiang Ming understood better than anyone else the reason for his success: "JM" was merely lucky, leveraging his foresight to get ahead of others and become the pig riding the wind.

But this trend would eventually fade.

Whether it was the number-one player in the national server, a League of Legends tutorial creator, or even a live streamer now enjoying immense popularity with at least a hundred thousand viewers per broadcast, all would be crushed by the great wheel of time.

Haven't you seen those video creators and streamers who rode the early wave of the era and reaped all the benefits? As League of Legends developed, competition grew fiercer and rules became more refined—how many vanished into the torrent of history?

Yes, one could also attribute part of the reason to those who benefited from the era's dividends having low educational and cultural levels, narrow horizons, and thus becoming complacent after achieving some success.

But who could guarantee you'd never grow tiresome to your audience, and that you'd truly be able to compete with later capital once the era's dividends vanished completely?

Moreover, a personal brand carries too much uncertainty.

Look at those celebrities with far more traffic and attention—trying to launch their own streetwear brands, they still struggled mightily, with failures outnumbering fish crossing a river.

In contrast, some corporate brands managed to survive at minimal cost, thanks to their own underlying operational rules.

So this step, Jiang Ming had long decided to take—and he must take it early.

After all, the earlier the transition, while his window of opportunity still existed, the more continuously he could bring in new players.

For current players, the difference was merely between "JM" and "NXG."

It's precious to have self-awareness—he clearly couldn't replicate Faker's success in the professional player arena, so he might as well plan ahead.

From a game participant, become a rule-maker of the game.

Jiang Ming's earlier actions, seemingly foolishly pouring resources into NXG, were known only to him: this situation wouldn't last long; on the contrary, NXG would repay him a hundredfold or a thousandfold.

Here's the simplest data: in 2013, an LPL slot was valued at around three to four hundred thousand, but just four years later, its valuation reached 90 million!

Clearly, Jiang Ming's explanation convinced Yu Qun.

"I'll go back and fight for more resource support—we'll do it right if we're going to do it."

"If we're stingy, others will surely laugh at us."

In the remaining time, a group of senior figures from the School of Management and Economics further inquired into NXG's operational model, professional management of esports athletes, and future development, and finally extracted from Jiang Ming his concepts regarding the youth training system, obtaining first-hand data and materials on esports club operations before departing satisfied.

After seeing off the senior figures from his own school, Jiang Ming finally let out a heavy breath.

He wasn't worried the professors would leak information or harbor other intentions—in the eyes of the professors at Jin Ling University, whose ages were at least twice his own, esports had some future economic potential, but it paled in comparison to the political achievements such a cutting-edge industry research topic could bring them.

In short, for professors at this level, securing a departmental position was the most important thing.

Moreover, you don't really think these senior figures from the School of Management and Economics have only one job as university teachers, do you?

Ultimately, without any cheat tools or background, if he didn't want to be completely devoured by later capital after achieving success in S3, clinging tightly to the university and its professors was the only right path.

……

Ding! Ding!

On WeChat, Lin Jingyi sent a message: "Our team's first uniform design draft is ready—want to take a look?"

So fast?

After bidding farewell to his professors, seeing Lin Xue's message, Jiang Ming simply turned on the computer in the newly installed training room.

"Send it to my email—make sure the original image is clear."

Soon, Jiang Ming downloaded the attachment named "NXG Team Uniform Design Draft" from his QQ email onto his computer.

He clicked the mouse to open it.

Jiang Ming raised an eyebrow at the image before him.

Quality… surprisingly good.

On the other end of the phone, Lin Jingyi assumed Jiang Ming had seen the image and typed rapidly.

"How's it? The design student I hired is incredibly talented, right? She's even a freshman."

"Freshman??"

Jiang Ming was even more surprised—this stylish uniform design, he'd assumed was the work of a college student, was already astonishing; now his senior said she was a first-year newcomer.

"Hehe, surprised? I'll tell you, when I first saw this version, my eyes nearly popped out—I didn't even need to consider revisions, second or third drafts."

"Boss, what do you think?!"

Jiang Ming: "..."

As a wicked client, he really wanted to say, "Maybe do one or two more revisions? Compare them to pick the final version."

But like Lin Jingyi, Jiang Ming's soul was instantly captured by the team uniform design at first glance.

The designer had perfectly realized his vision for the esports jersey.

The shirt-with-inner-layer design, combining long-sleeve and short-sleeve outerwear, maximized visual impact.

Simultaneously, the black-and-white color scheme, with subtle red accents, avoided the awkward clash between traditional ink-wash style and esports elements.

Clean, crisp, efficient—and with a touch of sophistication.

Compared to other LPL team uniforms from the S3 era, it was a dimensional strike.

(I found an old OMG uniform—honestly, that one was still among the better-looking ones.)

"Confirmed. Transfer the payment, get the base file, and have our online store's clothing manufacturer produce a few samples first." Jiang Ming typed his instructions. "If it's good, we'll use it for our upcoming matches."

Lin Jingyi had no objections: "Alright!"

The urgency stemmed from Jiang Ming's hope that NXG would deliver a fresh, stunning visual impact to esports fans the moment they entered the LPL.

To refresh the entrenched negative perceptions domestic players and casual observers held toward esports athletes.

If the first step was well taken, and NXG maintained solid performance, he could then launch matching seasonal apparel through his online store—this was the most basic form of esports monetization.

At present, professional teams were still in their infancy, completely unaware they could invest in athlete image like celebrity branding, transforming it into merchandise traffic.

Remember, even the hideously ugly team uniforms of LPL teams in his past life had fans buying them for support—how much more so his own deliberately designed trendy uniforms?

"Oh, by the way, ask this design student if she's interested in long-term collaboration—designing exclusive streetwear exclusively for NXG Club. Compensation can be negotiated."

"I'll reach out—this girl's a prized asset in the design department; I heard an old professor already snatched her up… if all else fails, I can always ask the professor (with a playful grin)."

China's foundation simply lacks no geniuses; most people lack only opportunities to train and showcase themselves.

Even the small Pei County produced countless renowned strategists and generals under Liu Bang's leadership—how much more so the Jin Ling Academy, which recruits nationwide?

"Once the team uniforms are settled, everything is now in place."

Jiang Ming looked up at the team base under renovation from below, his smile radiant, "All that's left now is the super tailwind of the LPL professional league."