YouGov hires Nicole Pike as esports and gaming lead

Market research and data analytics firm YouGov has hired Nicole Pike as its Global Sector Head of Esports and Gaming.

Pike joins YouGov following a 13-year tenure at Nielsen, another data and measurement firm.

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Pike will be based in the United States and lead YouGov’s analytics in both esports and gaming as the firm looks to increase its activity in the industries.

She commented on the new role in a release: “I’m not sure there’s anyone who brings the same innovation and depth of insight to traditional sport analytics as YouGov does. My job is now to make sure the esports and gaming worlds get to tap into that expertise as well.

“We see the public engaging in video gaming more than ever – and as sponsors follow them, there’s a great opportunity to implement YouGov’s cutting-edge research methodologies to help craft deals that maximize the benefit for everyone. It’s exciting because I’ve seen first-hand how great data can and will help this sector grow – and we can be a big part of this.”

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Throughout her time at Nielsen, Pike has occupied several roles – all of which centred around games. Having joined as an Associate Manager for Custom Games Research in 2007, she rose through the ranks to become the Managing Director of Nielsen Esports in January 2018. More recently, she held the role of Managing Director of Nielsen Esports, Games, and SuperData for five months prior to her departure.

Frank Saez, Managing Director of YouGov Sport, spoke on the hire: “We’ve always had the tools for our esports and gaming clients, but Nicole knows better than anyone else how the sector can use them – and how we can uniquely develop them for the industry.”

Esports Insider says: This is one of those moves in esports that’ll likely fly under the radar but it really shouldn’t. Pike had been at Nielsen for quite some time and was significant in its esports involvement, so her departure to join YouGov raises quite a few questions. Just how involved will YouGov get in esports? Will Nielsen replace Pike, and if so, with who?