Esports Sponsorships: A Path to Loyal Audiences

Sponsorship plays a big role in eSports because, without it, the top eSports players wouldn't even earn a cent. In the last 10 years, eSports has evolved from a niche topic to a mainstream one that can also gain quite a bit of money.

But what’s the profit for sponsors from all of this? Cybersport has become one of the most effective platforms for winning over loyal audiences. Gaming marketing is basically built on a young (18-35y), engaged, and open-to-interact generation that is not easy to access through standard marketing channels. Proficient fans know that the gaming industry is all about passion and community spirit. Young audience demonstrates a high level of loyalty to brands who support their favorite teams, games, or eSport events.

In this article, we will uncover why brands should aim to fund cybersport events, teams, and influencers. 

Why eSports Sponsorships Work

Brands that constantly sponsor cybersports build stronger connections with their gaming audiences. Among eSports sponsorship benefits are increased long-term ROI and, of course, a worldwide exposure that straightens their positions on the global market. By 2025, gaming industry professionals expect 318 million eSports viewers worldwide. This figure is growing as well as eSports marketing opportunities.

Through sponsorships brands become an inseparable part of gaming culture, let’s see some great examples of the biggest sponsors in cybersports: 

— Electronics giant Samsung has been one of the sponsorship pioneers in eSports, having recognized the potential in this industry in its early years. It was one of the first companies to create its eSports teams, such as in League of Legends. With Samsung, you almost have to ask what else they haven't sponsored, because everything from the Olympics, eSports teams like David Beckham's Guild, and tournaments like the World Cyber Games have been held there. Lately, Samsung has sponsored the Intel Extreme Masters, Major League Gaming, and even DreamHack.

— MasterCard sponsored League of Legends. MasterCard supports the North American LCS, as well as the Worlds tournament. This partnership has been around for years after MasterCard became more involved in sponsoring competitive gaming events, starting in 2017.

— Coca-Cola is one of the biggest names in beverages, but also in sponsorship. The company has been sponsoring sporting events and other industries for quite some time, and eSports is no exception. Their eSports sponsorships include the Overwatch League, Riot Games, Pain Gaming, and more. Coca-Cola has also expanded its sponsorship this year. The name recognition alone is enough for Coke to invest heavily in eSports, with a wide range of sponsorships across the industry. While some big companies like BMW have reduced their spending on eSports, Coca-Cola has spent even more. In 2022, they've also teamed up with David Beckham's eSports team guild.

— If there's one sponsor in eSports that has really been a pioneer in putting money into the industry from the start, it's energy drink manufacturer Red Bull. It has always been a company that has invested heavily in sports and eSports. Their portfolio includes sponsoring several Starcraft 2 and Dota 2 events, but they are also backers of prominent teams like G2 and OG. They advertise with all sorts of features, such as the so-called Red Bull power play in League of Legends when a team has grabbed the Baron. In addition, Red Bull regularly organizes its own eSport events, such as the Red Bull solo queue and the Red Bull wololo.

— Intel is a true giant in gaming and its sponsorship in eSports cannot be compared to any other company. Over the past decade, Intel has sponsored some of the biggest CSGO tournaments, with the Intel Extreme Master Series being its crown jewel. In addition, the Overwatch League has had Intel as a CPU sponsor for quite some time. Riot Games also has Intel as one of its main partners for all global and regional tournaments. As one of the top eSports sponsorships, Intel has its fingers in almost everything and whether it's League of Legends, Overwatch, or CS2, you can't wait long without hearing from Intel. In 2020, ESL and Intel even celebrated their 20-year partnership and surely they will add another 20 years to it. 

Strategies for Successful eSports Sponsorships

Slowly we reached the juicy part of the article - eSports sponsorship strategies that accelerate brands’ integration into cybersports. We can outline 3 strategies that give brands important sponsorship benefits:

1. By sponsoring tournament teams or single streamers brands hit on the subconsciousness of the gaming audience. The fact of flashing logos in front of the audience’s eyes (on the equipment, clothes, virtual currencies, and other items of the gaming audience's favorite team) builds a deep association, trust, and connection to the sponsoring brand in fans' minds. It increases brand recognition, and gamer engagement and has a long-term impact on the audience’s loyalty.
2. Organizing unique brand partnerships. A high audience engagement during streams and tournaments gifts brands wonderful opportunities to fulfill their wildest eSports marketing dreams. Brands can develop exclusive in-game skins, mini-games, and special events: cross-promotions such as contests, sweepstakes, or other offerings that will surely increase the emotional connection with the target audience and lead to high engagement.
3. Effective collaborations with powerful legacy leaders create an innovative image of the brand. Sponsoring gaming influencers and professional cybersport players helps brands boost their sales by attracting tech-savvy audiences. Would be silly not to air this, but through sponsoring individuals or entire teams at world-class events brands emphasize their modernity, convenience and accentuate values that resonate with their target audiences.

Measuring the Impact of eSports Sponsorships

AI-driven marketing platforms like Entyx collect data on viewers’ behavior during any eSport event, stream, or collaboration on Twitch, YouTube, or other streaming platforms. The goal is to help brands understand better their potential and actual customers through sharing AI-driven audience insights so that advertisers could adapt their marketing strategies accordingly.

Entyx is special because it enables advertisers to measure the ROI of eSports sponsorships and automatically displays the media value of ad integrations by using impeccable AI technology:  

• Video & Audio AI Analysis: This feature automatically analyses video and audio content, recognizing logos, tracking keywords, and assessing audience sentiment. These insights allow you to fine-tune your advertising campaigns, ensuring maximum audience engagement.
• Community Sentiment Tracking: Analyses the tone and the most used keywords and phrases in chat, helping to understand audience interests and reactions. This tool identifies whether the sentiment is positive, negative, or neutral, helping you understand how influencers represent your brand and its impact on audience perception. Entyx monitors chat activity during streams, including the volume of messages, active chat participants, and overall engagement. This significantly facilitates the identification of trending topics, popular phrases, and keywords used by the community, allowing streamers to tailor content and engagement strategies accordingly.
• Real-Time Engagement Tracking: Detailed analytics on individual streams, such as peak viewers, average view duration, clicks, mentions, engagement level, and total watch time. Advertisers get insights into the games played by streamers, including popular games, time spent on each game, and viewer engagement per game.

We believe that advertisers should not overpay for their collaborations. This explains why our tools are focused on showing advertisers real value for their potential investments (collaborations).

Why eSports Sponsorships Are Key to Building Loyal Audiences

Cybersport is an excellent way for advertisers to build long-term relationships with their audiences. Sponsorship success hides in customized advertisements for gamers and the mindblowing collaborations that pay off with the most expensive currency - gamers’ trust. Most tournaments wouldn't have the money needed for proper production, therefore tournament organizers literally depend on sponsors.

eSports sponsorship here is never about advertisement purely but maintaining a deep connection with a tech-savvy youth who at the end of the day rewards sponsors with eSports brand loyalty. Be confident, it is secured when brands gracefully blend well into the gaming world rather than just soullessly showcasing ads. Entyx is always there to provide advertisers with AI-driven analysis of their collaborations and we follow our mission to integrate as many brands as possible smoothly into eSports Sponsorships. Join us!