Dorothee Acker – Womenize! – Inspiring Stories
Womenize! – Inspiring Stories is our weekly series featuring inspirational individuals from games and tech. For this edition, we collaborated with ESBD – eSport-Bund Deutschland e.V. and talked to Dorothee Acker, Unit Lead Consulting at OMG FUSE. She speaks about how her passion for creating meaningful, community-driven brand partnerships led her to pioneer non-endemic brand involvement in esports, emphasizing long-term strategy, continuous learning, and authentic collaboration as keys to success in a rapidly evolving industry. Read more about Doro here:
Hi Doro! You brought big non-endemic brands into the esports space before it became widely popular. What inspired you to explore this landscape in the first place, and how did you build trust with clients when there weren’t many examples to follow?
Originally, my background lies in sports marketing and brand consulting. When I first came into contact with esports and gaming back in 2016, I wasn’t a gamer myself — but I was immediately fascinated by the rapid growth of the industry and the potential to make a meaningful impact through branded partnerships, in case they were done in the right way. Since the space was still relatively untapped at that time, brands and we as an agency had a lot more freedom to be creative. It wasn’t just about launching an ad campaign – it was about truly contributing to the community.
One of the projects I still love a lot is the creation of Germany’s first CS:GO academy team with OMEN and Team BIG, aimed at supporting young talents in becoming professionals at a time when no structured talent development existed yet.
Back then, it often took us up to a year from initial conversations to actual implementation. Much of that time was spent educating stakeholders internally. But for those brands that took the space seriously, we earned a great deal of trust and long-term commitment. For instance, at FUSE, Wüstenrot (a German ,,home saving bank”) became one of our first esports clients and was also the first non-endemic brand to enter the German esports ecosystem – a move that was unexpected by many. With the campaign “Deine Bude, deine Freiheit”, launched in collaboration with ESL, we highlighted the value of young people becoming independent and how Wüstenrot could support them on that journey.
In recent years, as gaming and esports gained more mainstream attention, I’ve seen many brands jump in – often driven by FOMO and without a clear strategy – which is why some disappeared just as quickly. That’s why I’m especially proud that, despite increased competition from other agencies, we’ve been able to continuously grow our gaming and esports business. We’ve built long-term partnerships with brands that have committed to this space for several years.
E.g. for Philips OneBlade we started with a local esports campaign in Germany in 2021 and today we’re managing their European gaming campaign, including the recently launched Fortnite world “Body Royale” .The same goes for REWE: we began with a one-off gaming campaign in 2020 and are now responsible for their entire trainee recruitment campaign.
In addition to these successful non-endemic campaigns, I’m particularly honored that since the beginning of this year, we’ve also had the privilege of working with one of the biggest endemic brands in gaming and have taken over the social media account for gamescom.
Your career spans live communication, sports marketing and gaming & esports. What skills have you found most valuable as you’ve transitioned across different industries, and what moments helped you realize you were exactly where you needed to be?
I think, one of the most valuable skills throughout my career has been staying open to learning new things. Without that mindset, I would have never ended up in esports and gaming. Alongside that, a strong desire to shape and create, a sense of responsibility, and also solid communication skills have been essential — especially when it comes to explaining ,,complex things“ like esports and gaming to senior stakeholders or C-level decision-makers who have little understanding of the environment and, on top of that, may even hold prejudices against it. And maybe most importantly: not taking myself too seriously. For me, it has never been about chasing the next title, but about continuous personal growth and feeling that I’m in the right place to evolve.
I’ve been with FUSE for over seven years now, and I’ve had the chance to help shape and grow our gaming and esports unit from the very beginning. Early on, I realized that this was the right environment for me — at the one hand, I can keep learning (even after all these years) and on the other hand, I can bring my ideas to life. Combined with what I consider as a very modern and supportive working culture, this has allowed me to balance both my professional development and family life really well — especially since becoming a mother.
How do you stay true to your values and purpose, while also adapting to what’s next, and what advice would you give to someone who wants to build a career at the intersection of esports, marketing, and brand strategy?
Honestly, the people in my team have far more in-depth knowledge of gaming and esports than I do. For most of them, gaming isn’t just a job — it’s a genuine passion and hobby. That’s incredibly valuable, especially when we’re advising brands and developing campaigns in this space. I try to stay up to date and lean on my team’s expertise, while also offering them new perspectives based on my 10+ years of experience in brand consulting – including in industries beyond gaming and esports.
My advice to anyone looking to build a career at the intersection of esports, marketing, and brand strategy would be: follow your passion. If you ever feel like you’re not in the right place, don’t be afraid to speak up transparently or make a change. When you feel comfortable and aligned with your role, you’ll naturally do great work — and others will notice that too.