Advertising

Promoting products and brands in between live streams, during video-on-demands and TV
ads can help marketers achieve more significant targets.

Brands like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Redbull have connected with their respective
markets through advertisements targeted at gamers online.

Creating engaging and compelling content as ads play a significant role in attracting players.
Even though it is a less popular method than partnering and sponsorship, advertising
creates impact.

2. Sponsorships

Taking Redbull’s example, it is one of the firsts of the brands that realized the potential of
the eSports industry.The brand hosted significant tournaments, partnered with teams and
sponsored top players. Advertising on Live game sessions and getting involved in matches
bought in more sales for them.

Many sponsorship agreements have been signed over these years that are aimed at
benefiting both parties. Majority of gaming, technology, automobile companies have rolled
in their brands for sponsoring events and teams.
Biggies like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and HTC have gained their part of success through such
sponsorships.

Franchising
Brands have utilized this concept to expand their presence and sell merchandise in
collaboration with a particular game.
Investors look for long term benefits through franchising that stabilizes their business and
generates good revenue. for example, eSports TV channel Ginx

2. which are the different brand investors? How much they are investing?
In 2014, Amazon purchased eSports streaming platform Twitch for $970 million U.S.,
pushing Twitch further into the mainstream
Nokia continues to sponsor the Telia eSports series, creating huge exposure for the
company
Intel signed a $100 million deal to support eSports competitions, representing an expansion
of its previous investments
Acer continues to sponsor the much-loved LOL eSports series
Red Bull has sponsored eSports players since as early as 2006, and has helped drive the
ongoing popularity and expansion of LAN eSports tournaments
McDonald's is betting big on esports as a marketing opportunity.
PepsiCo has a range of esports sponsorship projects across its drink and snack portfolio.
Sneaker and sports apparel giant Nike also had a line of esports sponsorships.
Comcast is building a $50 million esports stadium in Philadelphia. And that's just a small
slice of what non-gaming companies are up to in the space.
3. What are the different most popular e-sports? How are they attracting the investors?

 Rising market demand

Gamers averagely spend over 100 minutes watching streams on platforms like Twitch and
YouTube Gaming. Together it went above 260 million hours of eSports getting watched in
the first quarter of 2018. The number has been exponentially growing till date.
Games like League of Legends, Counter-Strike, DOTA, and PUBG, have garnered millions of
fans globally. This is a treat to the marketers investing in eSports for branding.
As platforms like Twitch and YouTube Gaming made provisions for monetizing eSports, fans
and players flocked towards it in huge number.

This expanded the diversity and vastness of the industry, thereby

improving marketing opportunities.

Gamers, fans and viewers have appreciated how brands have

actively taken part in their interests. Moreover, they add value to so
many users by involving in games of their interests.

Brands can easily understand and analyze how consumers

communicate and what favors the market by integrating into it.

Companies being a part of the tournament, projects a trustworthy

image to its audience. Users would tend to make a purchase or be a
converted lead for such brands.

That is a probable way to how colossal market demands are easily

approached, served and satisfied by certain brands.

 High-earning customers
Gamers on Twitch spend around $4.99 to $24.99 per month
depending on their desired tier on subscriptions. They can afford
merchandise, tickets, virtual currency worth millions together in a
year and donate to fellow players too.

Therefore, audiences are prepared to spend more on eSports than

they would in traditional sports. Such information indicates the
ocean of opportunities ahead of brands investing in eSports and
online gaming.

Brands leverage eSports because of the rising popularity of the

industry, which involves enthusiastic fans which purchasing
power. This enables brands to capture bigger market size with
more loyal customers.

4.