ESPORTSESPORTSOPPORTUNITYOPPORTUNITY Side of Esports, Which Makes Sponsorship More Directly Measurable
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THETHEESPORTSESPORTSOPPORTUNITYOPPORTUNITY side of esports, which makes sponsorship more directly measurable. But those aren’t the only differences between COMMON esports and more traditional sports sponsorships. While brands don’t have to toss out their sports sponsorship playbook, they do need to be aware of the unique attributes of esports and build out ESPORTS their plans accordingly. So, what does esports sponsorship look like? The esports ecosystem is complicated (see page 6-7). There are game publishers, leagues, SPONSOR competitions, platforms, teams/organizations and players/influencers. All may be looking for your sponsorship dollars. But for the sake of clarity, ACTIVATIONS this guide will examine the opportunity offered by esports organizations. Sometimes improperly referred to as teams, JERSEY PATCH esports organizations are essentially holding SPONSORSHIP companies that field teams across a variety Just like in European soccer or in the NBA, of different game titles and leagues. Among brands appear on player esports fans, these are the household names— jerseys when they play organizations like Team SoloMid (TSM), NRG, or practice on-camera. Optic Gaming, Team Liquid and Cloud9. Each of these organizations has teams across the different TWITCH leagues (like North American League of Legends, OVERLAY Inclusion of the sponsor NBA2K or the Overwatch League), but they all brand in regular Twitch represent the parent organization. It would be like influencer streaming. the Yankees and Red Sox having teams in MLB Teams often have as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. This creates accounts that stream READY enormous fan equity. as much as 12 hours When working with these organizations, brands each day. can sponsor all the teams across all game titles. INTEGRATED Or, they can sponsor specific titles that may have SIGNAGE the most appropriate audiences—each league and Sponsored locations SPONSOR each game can have its own fan demographics. like the scrimmage/ The goal: get in on the live tournament excitement. streaming room But there’s also another option that is distinct to where players hang the gamer world. Many esports organizations also when they’re not competing. Think of it have rosters of influencers that regularly stream as sponsoring a team’s ONE? on channels like Twitch and/or post their videos practice facility. to YouTube. Each influencer can have their own f you’re like many marketers, you’ve been hearing about the esports audience of fans that regularly tunes in to watch BRANDED CONTENT opportunity for a couple of years now. And while the idea of competitive them stream. Consider this: TSM member Myth, a I popular Fortnite streamer, had 250,000 followers Players are used to video gaming may seem mystifying to some, the dollars flowing in—and help tell the brand’s the number of eyeballs watching—are bound to give even the most cynical on Twitch in January 2018. That’s impressive… message in a way that’s marketer pause. Esports is no longer emerging. It’s here. until you realize that just nine months later, that authentic to the team’s How fast is esports growing? In 2018, revenues shot up 38 percent figure grew to 4 million. fans. to hit $905 million, per forecasts from analyst Newzoo. By 2021, global IN-STREAM esports revenues will rocket to $1.65 billion, $1.4 billion of which will INTEGRATIONS come directly from brand investment. These can include There are two key factors at play here. One is the age of the audience— things like product esports fans typically fall into the coveted 18-35 demographic, callouts and product significantly younger than traditional sports viewers. Second is the digital placements. DON’T BE A SPONSORSHIP NOOB BY THE NUMBERS The real esports rankings, based on GumGum Sports' exclusive For many brands, esports is such a new opportunity that there is Q3 2018 analysis of social reach for team, player and influencer little institutional knowledge. To get started, here are some best accounts across Twitch, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. practices to follow: TOP 10 TOP 10 Combine comp and influencer. Watch influencer zone-out. OVERALL ESPORTS PLAYERS/ Esports competition schedules have Brands should examine streamer roster down time throughout the year, while depth to ensure that the departure of ORGANIZATIONS INFLUENCERS Twitch influencer streaming tends to one streamer roster won’t hinder your 1. Team SoloMid 1. Myth (Team SoloMid) be more consistent year round. Using ability to drive exposure. 2. NRG 2. Lachlan (NRG) both gives brands persistent exposure 3. Optic Gaming 3. Daequan (Team SoloMid) throughout the year with opportunities Overlap can gank your value. 4. Team Liquid 4. MrMuselk (NRG) for lifts when there is competitive If your brand has multiple sponsorships 5. Cloud9 5. Dakotaz (Team SoloMid) success. across the esports ecosystem, be sure 6. Fnatic 6. LazarBeam (NRG) to analyze where there is audience 7. 100 Thieves 7. Dr Lupo (Rogue) Know where the fans are. overlap to ensure your portfolio 8. Immortals (LA Valiant/MIBR) 8. Noahj456 (100 Thieves) To gauge exposure and assess the maximizes its reach. 9. Rogue 9. Scump (Optic Gaming) value of your sponsorship, consider: 10. Counter Logic Gaming 10. Gotaga (Vitality) competition broadcasts/live streams; Brand safety can’t be nerfed. regular Twitch influencer streaming; Brands should make sure that the owned social media accounts; and long- esports organization provides media tail social media highlight clips that training to its players and that it TOP 5 ON TOP 5 ON appear on Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, enforces standards of conduct. INSTAGRAM YOUTUBE Twitter and Reddit. KPIs beyond KDAs. 1. Team SoloMid 1. NRG Be aggro across platforms. Twitch streams and some live broadcasts 2. Optic Gaming 2. Team SoloMid Seek out an esports organization that now are using concurrent views to gauge 3. NRG 3. Optic Gaming activates across multiple platforms audience, counting the number of viewers 4. Rogue 4. 100 Thieves to reach a broad, diverse and engaged that are watching a stream at each 5. Immortals 5. Team Liquid audience. second. This is more accurate than total viewers, a figure that GumGum Sports Don’t shut out game titles. estimates may inflate the audience by Reduce your risk of missing out on the more than 60 percent in some cases. TOP 5 ON TOP 5 ON next hot game (e.g. Fortnite) by aligning TWITCH TWITTER with esports organizations that are Push your learnings. diversified across popular titles. Remember, esports is new. Seek out 1. Team SoloMid 1. Optic Gaming experts. Listen to the community. Be 2. Cloud9 2. Team SoloMid authentic. Take chances. And create 3. Team Liquid 3. Team Liquid the playbook that shows results for 4. NRG 4. NRG your brand. 5. Rogue 5. Cloud9 There are many groups involved in esports that THE can help brands align with the surging fan base. Here’s a quick reference of who's who. BRANDS Esports sponsors. BY THE PLATFORMS BY THE Where video games are being LEAGUES/COMPETITIONS played and watched. The groups sponsoring tournaments and seasons; PUBLISHERS may be publisher-based or independent. Distributors of top video games. GAMES What competitive gamers are playing. ORGANIZATIONS The holding companies for top teams across leagues and platforms. FANS The people watching. And playing. And spending. Both of you have backgrounds streams? Are they that much different in traditional sports and esports from people watching regular sports? sponsorships. What do you see as the differences between the two? Chris: It is a much younger, digitally native and global audience. With Brad: Esports organizations offer sponsorship being quite new to esports sponsors opportunities to drive value compared to traditional sports, all year round, due to the always-on research studies are showing greater nature of esports. Players who play brand loyalty and consideration of competitively often livestream during sponsors who are supporting the teams, the “offseason” as they scrimmage to events and industry. get better and prepare for upcoming tournaments. It’s not like traditional sports where you are on a broadcast of an NFL Think of it this way: Imagine if fans game. You are showcasing the lives were able to watch Steph Curry, who of esports athletes to the fans and happens to be a Team SoloMid investor, letting them connect in a way that they practice all day, every day and ask don’t necessarily get to do otherwise. him questions and see him get better? There is a lot of shoulder content and This is a tremendous opportunity lifestyle integration that you don’t see for fans to engage directly with their in traditional sports. favorite streamers, giving sponsors more chances to attach themselves Brad: The esports audience can be to fan passion points. It’s a level of highly difficult to reach via traditional engagement that must be valued means. They have high instances of ad differently than passive traditional blocker use, and many are cord-cutters sports TV broadcasts. and cord-nevers. This also means that they are potentially more responsive THE Chris: Signage-style inventory to advertisers since they are not being on jerseys is similar to that of the bombarded with ads relative to the European soccer leagues where general population. there are limited inventory spaces that provide a generous amount of But you have to talk to them the right impressions and exposure. Fans are way, correct? Brands can’t be tone excited for a new sponsor to be put on deaf to the gamer world. the jerseys, and they gravitate towards those announcements. Brad: You also need to be contextually relevant within esports. If you are When our players are streaming on dealing with a Fortnite audience, you Twitch, we provide branded overlays have to speak to them in a totally What does it take to succeed in esports? for our partners, which allow them to different way than you would a League be showcased to the hyperengaged fans of Legends audience.