N3rd Street Gamers Chief Marketing Officer Rob Johnson.
PHILADELPHIA – Margate City native and former Atlantic City High School graduate Rob Johnson was named chief marketing officer at N3rd Street Gamers, an esports network that focuses on serving semi-professional and developing competitive gamers.
The former Jackbox Games and Philadelphia Flyers marketing executive joined the amateur e-sports pipeline to lead the organization’s consumer and business marketing.
Johnson will be responsible for NSG’s branding, marketing initiatives, social media, public relations, event planning, and brand activation. In addition, he will be responsible for NSG’s newly created National Championship Series, an amateur esports series created to provide an avenue for players of all skill levels the opportunity to compete at a high level.
Johnson will help NSG’s expansion, which grew exponentially in 2018 as it entered new markets. The addition of the new CMO will further aid the company’s expansion into multiple cities across the country.
Before joining NSG, Johnson was vice-president of Jackbox for Business. Jackbox Games, best known for its game series “YOU DON’T KNOW JACK,” and more recently, “The Jackbox Party Pack.”
At Jackbox Games, Johnson launched a first-of-its-kind mass audience gaming platform for the sports and entertainment industry, bringing Jackbox Games to the National Football League, NCAA, and high-profile esports events. Johnson also oversaw both consumer and business marketing strategy, and in 2018, launched the company’s entire portfolio of games nationally on the Comcast X1 platform.
“Rob Johnson was a natural fit for our team as we searched for executive talent to help us scale our platform nationally,” N3rd Street Gamers CEO John Fazio said. “His background in traditional sports with the Philadelphia Flyers and the world of online gaming with Jackbox Games provides a unique blend of talent perfectly suited to help us expand the esports market.”
Before Jackbox Games, Johnson was vice-president of digital media and partnership marketing for the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers. In 2014, his team was a Webby Award honoree for excellence in sports social media. That same year, Johnson was named to Philadelphia Business Journal’s “40 under 40.”
In 2011, Johnson set the marketing strategy to open Xfinity Live!, the popular dining and entertainment experience adjacent to the South Philadelphia sports complex.
“I’m excited to join the talented team at N3rd Street Gamers,” Johnson said. “We’re going to get right to work making competitive gaming more accessible for casual and amateur gamers across the country.”
Founded in 2009 by entrepreneur John Fazio, N3rd Street Gamers promotes greater access to the esports industry by increasing the amount of in-person competitions run on high-quality equipment at affordable prices. What started as impromptu LAN parties in a software engineering office quickly developed into a support system and home for some of the East Coast’s largest gaming communities.
In 2018, NSG tied together dozens of esports communities in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. under a unified regional framework called the NSG Eastern Conference Championship. NSG has since launched the National Championship Series to provide quality gaming tournaments in more than 10 cities nationwide.
Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Philadelphia Flyers and the Overwatch League’s Philadelphia Fusion, invested in NSG in 2018 to fuel national growth and has enabled N3rd Street Gamers to lay the framework for national esports talent development.
