Soumil Arora
Florian’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/vcofh |
BS+ COMPETITION’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bscompetition/ |
VCO eSports’ Website: https://vco-esports.com/ |
Who is Florian Haasper?
Apart from being the founder and managing editor of bürosüd plus, a top German digital marketing and PR company, Florian Haasper is a man who wears many different hats at the same time. He is the head of the VCO, an international sim racing organisation rising in prominence by the day and also is the founder of BS+COMPETITION, one of the most exciting new sim racing teams of the last year. Having worked with him, I can assure you without doubt that he is a marketing genius and a very effective leader of people, with his endless passion for Sim Racing evident for all to see!
Why should I keep a keen eye on VCO?
In the last 12 months, VCO and BS+COMPETITION may have been on completely separate paths, but their rise to prominence almost feels like a mirror image.
First, VCO stepped on as a league promoter and organiser in late 2019, extending their reach to offering strong PR and social coverage to the world of Sim Racing. They made big steps almost instantly, partnering up as promoters with two of the biggest and most popular endurance racing leagues on the iRacing Service for 2020 – the Digital Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (DNLS) and the 24h eSports Series. Next on the map was being the official promoter for 4 of the biggest iRacing Special Endurance Events: the Sebring 12h, the Nurburgring 24h, the iRacing Petit Le Mans and the inaugural Suzuka 10h.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that VCO only has eyes for endurance racing though; in 2020, they launched probably the most conceptually exciting sim racing league: the VCO ProSim SERIES where the best in the Sim Racing field, for instance, Joshua Rogers, Sebastian Job and Maximilian Benecke were paired up with some top real world drivers, with the likes of Max Verstappen, Romain Grosjean, Antonio Felix Da Costa and Alex Palou taking part in the F3 series!
The prize pot? $50,000 for the championship races, with more on the line for the preceding Fun Races. Spicy, no?
Following this up was the first of its kind Sim Racing awards event based fully around the community called the VCO Simmys! With projects like the VCO Esports Racing World Cup (ERWC), the IMSA iRacing Pro Series which was supported by VCO and the second edition of the VCO Cup of Nations also coming round the corner, there is a real reason to be excited!
Florian Haasper ’s journey in the world of motorsport
Pursuing his long standing dream of being a sports journalist, in 2001, a young Florian Haasper applied to be a part of Sport1.de, Germany’s only sports website at the time. Although football and tennis were his primary sports of choice, there was only a shortage of people in motorsport and so, he made it in!
Thankfully, his first years as sports editor coincided with Michael Schumacher’s golden era and a strong involvement of Munich-based manufacturer BMW in motorsport. One thing led to the other and within two years of working on campaigns with the Williams-BMW F1 team, Florian had joined the agency that got the deal to work on BMW Motorsport’s Digital PR in 2003, becoming a ‘website yogi’ and following all of BMW’s motorsport projects, including the 24h of Nurburgring and WTCC!
At the 24 Hours Of Nurburgring, Florian was taken under the tutelage by the late great Charly Lamm of the legendary Schnitzer Motorsport; now that’s not a bad mentor to have by your side by any means!
When Florian co-founded bürosüd plus, his own Digital Marketing and PR Agency, in 2012, projects for BMW Motorsport remained on his and his team’s agenda, and the relationship has been super tight ever since. Interestingly, this has a big role in how the widely acclaimed BS+COMPETITION Team came about!
The BS+COMPETITION and VCO Formation
In early 2019 when Sim Racing was rising in prominence, Florian Haasper and team were supporting BMW Motorsport on its entry into this exciting new vertical of the sport. The result was the inaugural BMW Sim 120 Cup, a one-off event that has now evolved into the BMW SIM GT Cup and is one of the most prestigious prizes in Sim Racing, with the likes of VRS Coanda, Team Redline and R8G eSports among the top names vying for it. This initial ‘guerrilla effort’ excited Florian about the prospects of having his own team and so, BS+COMPETITION was born!
From the Major to the virtual Nürburgring! 👑 ➡️ 🌲🔥
Our drivers @MikkelGadeec / @phillippedenes & @KayKaschube / @ryan_barneveld_ will try to get their ticket for BMW SIM LIVE 2021!
📺 https://t.co/vXGtlXC84I
From 15:30 CEST.#BSCOMPETITION | #EsportsRacing pic.twitter.com/q2wnbsmztn— BS+COMPETITION (@BScompetition) May 16, 2021
While what makes them so special calls for another article very soon, Florian and bürosüd plus saw immense potential in Sim Racing for an independent body that can assist with developing the community, sharing the work of all Sim Racers, professional or casual and help sponsors with a one-stop destination to begin their involvements in Sim Racing. The result was the formation of VCO; what was meant to be just a community platform initially has transformed into a giant, organising leagues, sponsoring events, hosting community based events and engaging in making insightful content with the community and for the community!
Enjoyed this one? We’ve got more! Keep an eye on soumilarora.com for 2 more articles about Florian and his work!
We will discuss the biggest marketing conundrum that Sim Racing faces and VCO’s approach to it and what makes BS+COMPETITION’s marketing approach so special, with Florian Haasper ‘s detailed views on each aspect!
