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Who’s taking the eSports plunge?
GILLETTE – TOURNAMENT
Gillette recently declared its involvement in
eSports by partnering with the League of
Legends Intel tournament. The shaving brand
sponsored arguably the most played game in the
whole of the eSports industry.
They also created an ad using pro e-sports
player xPecake. With eSports offering an
audience of 18-24-year-old males it is no
surprise that Gillette are using it as a vehicle to
hit their latest target consumer.
WOLFSBURG – SPONSORSHIP MODEL
AUDI – TEAM SPONSORSHIP
Audi have thrown themselves heavily into
eSports, securing sponsorship of Danish
Counter Strike team Astralias. This is an
example of a brand who have acquired an
existing team sponsorship. The partnership
will see all Astralias team apparel adorned
with the famous Audi logo, as well as
adopting the recent Audi colour palette and
the #untaggable seen in their recent
advertising campaigns.
BUD LIGHT – ALL STARS
Bundesliga club Wolfsburg have joined a raft
of professional sports teams utilising eSports
as a marketing vehicle. Miami Heat,
Manchester City, West Ham United and
Philadelphia 76ers all have secured eSports
properties in some guise.
Wolfsburg have recruited two eSports players
but have also secured sponsorship from effect
energy drink and Turtle Beach inc. (audio
headsets), both established eSports sponsors. Bud light have taken the approach of
market domination in the eSports world by
creating their own Dream Team. With the
help of eSports experts, Bud Light chose a
shortlist of gamers and allowed consumers
to vote for their Top 5, who were
subsequently recruited by the beer brand.
This dream team will now be sent to three
of the major tournaments in the eSports
calendar.
RED BULL – PROPERTY CREATION COCA-COLA – eCOPA COCA-COLA
In traditional Red Bull style the energy drink
have created their own eSports team who
compete across four different eSports
disciplines. Fully immersing themselves in the
eSports world, Red Bull have created a cool
microsite within their main website to house
eSports content. As well as their own team, Red
Bull are extremely committed to raising the
profile of eSports around the globe regularly
blogging and sharing eSports -related content. Coca-Cola have dived into their eSports
adventure by launching the first -ever eCOPA
Coca-Cola extending their grassroots
football programme to the gaming world.
Partnering with EA Sports to create the
Ultimate FIFA tournament, Coca -Cola
hosted the finale at Microsoft’s eSports
arena in New York. The eventual winner
took home a $5000 scholarship and secured
a place in the FIFA 17 Ultimate Team finals.