This past year, the Esports industry has seen massive growth. Some of the biggest crossovers have taken place for example, popular streamer Ninja appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show. Ellen even made a cameo on his twitch stream to return the favour. What is incredible about this is that one of America’s biggest brands has turned to him to expand her audience base.
Viewership set to reach 646 million by 2023
As viewership increases, the Esport business grows. Global investors, businessmen, top brands and consumers are all keeping an eye on this ever growing industry. Daily more and more investment is coming from Brands in Esport. Investing in Esports has become the new way of making profit. It is estimated that by 2023 the total Esports viewership will be an incredible 646 million. In the past five years Esports has pulled in deal through sponsorship and partnerships.
Infact Ellen is not the only one extending into esports, Pro-sport owners like Bob Kraft and Stan Kroenke, gaming publishers like Activision Blizzard and Riot Games, organizations like Mastercard have all agreed to support and create their own esports products, leagues and teams.
Nike, Coca Cola and BMW are few top brands investing in Esports
Nike is one of the most popular footwear and apparel multinationals. They have made a four year deal with the League of Legions Pro League (LPL), China. As a part of this deal all LPL teams will be sporting famous Nike shoes, customised jerseys and casual clothing.
Soft Drink giants Coca Cola Company have been actively involved in League of Legends and the FIFA E-world cup. They are one of the huge brands in Esport. They were made the nonalcoholic sponsor of the Overwatch league (OWL) in 2019. Similarly prestigious German automakers, Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) partnered with a professional esports organisation called cloud9. Its other partners include Red Bull, OMEN by HP, US Air Force, Secretlab, Twitch and HyperX.
A lot of brands have ensured that their audiences overlapped and so there was something offered by a brand that was appreciated by the fans. For example , Nissin Cup Noodles partnered with a video games to offer its fans limited-edition prizes. One of the prizes even included an all expense paid trip to Japan.
These are just some of the big multinational giants taking part in the Esports world. I think it is fair to say that this industry is headed in the right direction and for success.
