Code Red Esports Report: May 2019
In May's Esports Report we take a look at a number of brands that have made increasing steps in the esports space, from fast food brands like Chipotle and Burger King, through to popular alcoholic beverage Bud Light and personal care brand AXE. Alongside these brands that are furthering their commitment, another made its first foray into the industry: H&M dipped their toes in the water with their "Forfeit FIFA" campaign, which this month's report discusses in depth. The potential for celebrity involvement in esports was also highlighted in April, with both The Weeknd and Will Smith announced as investors in esports organizations Splyce and Gen.G respectively.
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Totinos, Chipotle and Burger King Up Their Esports Involvement
A number of well-known fast food chains announced significant moves in the esports space ranging from team and event sponsorships to introducing their own tournaments. Chipotle, already familiar with the esports world after sponsoring OpTic Gaming in August 2017 and TSM’s Fortnite team house in May 2018, announced it would be sponsoring three major events this year: DreamHack Open Atlanta, DreamHack Masters Dallas, and Intel Extreme Masters Chicago, as well as sponsoring the players’ lounges at each event. Additionally, the brand will be launching its own branded amateur competition - the “Chipotle Challenger Series” - that will be held on-site at both DreamHack events. The winners will receive free Chipotle for a year, unique Chipotle merchandise and a trophy.
Burger King also partnered with a major esports event, Blast Pro Series Miami, where they will have a major role in content production and hold an online competition offering tickets to Blast Pro Series Los Angeles. The brand also made their debut in Spain through a local partnership with the country’s most renowned esports team, x6tence. In a similar vein, Totino’s decided to expand on their partnership with 100 Thieves, announcing they would also be sponsoring the organization’s Fortnite team in addition to their sponsorship of their Call of Duty team that had already been put in place in February. Both brands have already tried and tested activities in the esports space, such as partnering with the Brazilian League of Legends tournament “Superliga ABCDE” (Burger King) and sponsoring the Pittsburgh Knights (Totino’s).
Code Red's View: Three significant brands showing increased commitments to the sector indicates that their partnerships to date have been working well, as an esports presence is starting to seem critical for fast food brands, with McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza, Arby’s, KFC and Subway all making moves in the space. As such, it is even more crucial such brands find ways to activate their sponsorships in an effective manner to gain cut-through.
Esports Organizations Attract Attention from The Weeknd and Will Smith
Popular music artist The Weeknd has joined both North American organisation Splyce and their Overwatch League franchise Toronto Defiant as an investor, collaborator and global ambassador following his partnership with their parent company, OverActive Media, noting that he will collaborate with them in “unique and innovative ways.” Whilst details of the partnership are yet to be revealed, The Weeknd follows in a line of celebrities and artists that are increasingly showing an interest in esports. April also saw another esports organization bring a star into their investment books, with Korean multi-gaming company Gen.G raising $46 Million from a number of Silicon Valley investors, including prominent actor Will Smith.
Code Red's View: Celebrity involvement in esports is not a recent development, with Steve Aoki, Drake, Rick Fox, Snoop Dogg and Steph Curry amongst others all appearing in the esports business press over the past few years. There are many opportunities for celebrities, including investing in existing structures, owning their own teams and tournaments, or tie-ins with influencers to stay relevant and cool. The involvement from celebrities is a great mechanism for increasing the marketability of esports as these huge names bring more of a mainstream spotlight onto the industry, whilst benefiting those stars as esports is perceived as an increasingly attractive investment opportunity.
H&M Gets a Taste for Esports through "Forfeit FIFA" Challenge
In a collaboration between popular fashion brand H&M and Minute Media (through their football news outlet 90min and esports media site DBLTAP), two well-known FIFA players went head to head in a filmed challenge to celebrate the launch of H&M’s new spring collection. Harry, a pro FIFA player for Hashtag United, battled against popular FIFA YouTuber Manny in “Forfeit FIFA” which incorporated a new set of rules in the 1vs1 FIFA fixture: whoever scores gets control of the other person’s phone to send one text. H&M branding appeared key at the start and end of the video, not to mention the names of the two players starting with H&M’s own brand letters. However, it is notable that there was not much of a campaign around this one-off video asides from some social media promotion around the content piece.
Code Red's View: This campaign saw H&M dipping their toes into esports, using influencer marketing as a good means of engaging fans in a natural and authentic manner. However, this campaign was tepid as the execution fell short. Despite stating that the challenge was in celebration of the brand’s new spring collection, there was no real product integration or engagement, and the coverage of the campaign was poor, with very little coverage generated outside of 90min’s own Facebook page. The content itself was reasonable, but a wider campaign would likely have been more effective.
Bud Light Becomes Official Beer Sponsor of the Overwatch League
The Overwatch League (OWL) has announced that the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, will be joining as a sponsor for the remaining 2019 season, with Bud Light becoming the official beer across the league (excluding China). The sponsorship deal will see a number of activations, most notably in the form of four live events starting with the “Bud Light Homestand Weekend” in Dallas: a two-day event hosted by local franchise Dallas Fuel with eight participating teams. A Bud Light watch bar and multiple on-site activations entertained the fans that attended, whilst the brand also had a strong presence on the official OWL broadcast. In addition, the beer brand sponsored the ESPN2 broadcast of the event, and will do further sponsored broadcasts for following events, including a similar event scheduled for July in Atlanta, and another at LA Rivalry Weekend in August. The final event will be at the 2019 Grand Finals, although the details are yet to be released.
Code Red's View: Blizzard have previously shied away from alcohol deals, suggesting that this is likely a significant partnership. The Bud Light Homestand Weekend will be the first OWL fixtures outside LA’s Blizzard Arena, ahead of the recently announced shift to a full home and away schedule that will be implemented in 2020. This is not the first esports deal for Bud Light, who have undertaken a number of activations varying in success. Their “All Stars Program” in 2016 to 2017 saw athletes and influencers from across different games fill out the Bud Light All Stars roster, with each player nominated by esports fans. The campaign aimed to produce a documentary on the featured players, as well as having them stream on the brand’s Twitch channel every Thursday, however this fizzled out and was criticised by the community for players “not being all-stars”. The brand also presented at DreamHack Austin and DreamHack Atlanta in 2016 and 2017, with an on-site happy hour every day; DreamHack attendees could also show their DreamHack pass at Bud Light partnered local bars to unlock special offers and drinks.
AXE Signed as Official Personal Care Partner for ELEAGUE
AXE has partnered with ELEAGUE to become their official personal care partner in a deal that will extend throughout 2019 and cover multiple platforms. AXE had previously tested the waters as the presenting sponsor of the ELEAGUE x Rocket League Game Zone at the Final Four Fan Fest - an event centering around the NCAA basketball championship and aimed at general sports fans. The Game Zone provided setups for attendees to relax and play Rocket League, and also featured exhibition matches between the top four Collegiate Rocket League teams from the tournament’s Spring Season.
The extended partnership will include a variety of activations including promotional initiatives on television, digital channels and on-site at competitions, as well as partnered content features including a new series titled: “You’re Hotter When You’re Chill presented by AXE”. The series has so far focused its minute-long episodes on players in the FIFA FUT Champions Cup, looking back on recent highlights and seeking insights into their winning mentalities.
Code Red's View: This is not the first time the brand has invested in esports, having also sponsored PSG.LGD in August 2018 (under Lynx rather than AXE) as well as deals with top organizations Cloud9 and TSM in 2016. There is a huge opportunity for male-oriented products to be offered to esports fans, not only due to the desirable demographic but also as a result of the growing spotlight on personal care. This is particularly the case in professional play, where dieticians and physiotherapists are becoming more crucial to performance. Gillette, Head & Shoulders and Old Spice have caught on to this potential market, though there are not as many personal care products in the space yet. AXE’s content series is released in short episodes, typically under a minute, which perhaps is too short a time to get real insight into the players each episode looks at, although given that it is created for TV, this is understandable.
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