With a futuristic weapon cradled at the ready and a jetpack behind his shoulders, the man darts through warehouses and tunnels. He crouches patiently at corners and perches high atop sea cliffs to ambush his opponents the moment they appear.
Am I describing a day in the life of a Navy SEAL? Or maybe a member of Delta Force? Not even close. I’m describing the experience of watching the famous gamer Tsquared, on Twitch, as he makes his way in real time through the virtual ruins of the smash-hit game, Apex Legends.
In the online realm of competitive esports, Tsquared (or Tom Taylor, as he’s known in real life) is kind of a big deal. He’s a legendary gamer who’s racked up a record number of All-Star MVP awards. He’s been the poster boy of Major League Gaming, the New York-based professional esports organization, and one of their most sponsored players.
Esports, in case you missed the rise of a global entertainment industry worth over $1 billion in marketing revenue, is a big deal, too — especially among younger audiences. Adoring fans in South Korea, China, Europe and the U.S. flock to Olympic-sized sports stadiums to watch professional gamers compete against each other for millions of dollars in cash prizes. As of this year, esports has a global fanbase estimated at around 454 million people. We’re talking about a sports audience that will have roughly the same viewership levels by 2022 as the NFL, according to Goldman Sachs.
In a world where revenue from digital advertising continues to eclipse television ad revenue, and where influencer marketing on social media has grown into a $6.5 billion industry in just a few years, esports is a fast-growing opportunity for marketers to engage Gen Z and younger millennial audiences that are notoriously hard to reach via more traditional advertising channels. They’re a 21st century ad exec’s dream come true: a sweet spot where digital meets sports meets influencer marketing.
Gamers: The Pro-League Sports Fanatics Of Tomorrow
It may be hard for some to fathom, but video gaming doesn’t carry the same social stigma it did when Gen X and older millennials were in high school and college. Gamers aren’t the “nerds” of 15 years ago. They are, in a sense, a new breed of jock.
Take the case of a game like Fortnite and its (largely) Gen Z audience. According to research, 71% of Fortnite players say that “all or most of their real-life friends” are fellow Fortniters as well. The same study finds that 60% of its respondents believe “they are better friends in real life because of lessons learned in the game.” Sounds to me like the same kind of bonds forged between fellow New England Patriots fans or San Francisco 49ers fans, right?
You see where I’m going with this.
How Brands Can Reach Fans Through Esports
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that fans who follow professional gamers like Tsquared, SypherPK and ItsFearItself look up to them in ways that go well beyond the game console screen. In 2008-2009, Tsquared’s face appeared on 175 million Dr. Pepper bottles across the United States — and that’s just the tip of the iceberg in terms of opportunity. That’s a lot of brand exposure to an audience that’s tightly knit in their shared passion for esports and utterly massive in scale.
That’s just one example. There are plenty of others, and it can be done in the same way that brands get their message across to football, baseball, basketball and soccer audiences by associating themselves with particular teams and tournaments. For example, in March, Gillette and Twitch announced a partnership called the “Gillette Gaming Alliance.” The team, made up of esports stars from 11 different countries, will create content for the Gillette brand.
And even now, we’re just scratching the surface of possibilities. In April, it was announced that Comcast Spectator and The Cordish Companies would be dropping a clean $50 million to build the largest purpose-built esports arena in the Western Hemisphere, in Philadelphia. Not only does an initiative like this provide a useful service for esports fans that’s been sorely lacking in the U.S., but it also creates a huge amount of online goodwill, social cachet and brand loyalty among Gen Zers and younger millennials — priceless mileage when it comes to word-of-mouth advertising.
Esports At The Olympics?
For a growing number of people worldwide, competitive gaming is a way to form friendships and rivalries, and a way to take part in a community that exists both online and offline.
It’s gaining so much attention that the International Olympic Committee has considered adding esports as a viable category for competition in the Olympic Games. Imagine an esports equivalent to Michael Phelps, and you’re beginning to imagine the future possibilities for esports brand partnerships.
In the same way that Coca-Cola first made itself a global name by sponsoring the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, the world’s largest brands will increasingly look to esports as a way to grow their presence among the cyber-savvy members of all tomorrow’s sports fans.
How do I know? Call me FEMPIRE12: marketing maven by day, esports enthusiast, gamer and streamer by night.
