Brands investing in leading esports teams that actively compete in top-tier gaming titles such as League of Legends, VALORANT, Fortnite, Dota 2, and so on are seeing impressive year-on-year returns on investment, according to a new study from Nielsen Sports & Entertainment. “The ROI of Esports” study outlined a number of major factors that powered this dramatic rise in dividends, including a maturing esports ecosystem, strong audience growth, and a major improvement in the quality of esports themselves.
“This study proves what we at Fnatic already knew: that esports is pushing the boundaries of what partnerships entail for major brands, enabling all involved to generate mutual brand growth with leading ROI that continues to increase year-on-year,” said George Mead, Partnerships Director at Fnatic. “Esports is the vehicle of today and tomorrow that is helping brands connect meaningfully to gen-Z and millennials in a dialect they understand to build their affinity with these generations.”
The Nielsen and Fnatic study concluded that:
- Companies investing in teams participating in the League of Legends European Championships had more than doubled ROI for sponsors between 2019 and the present day;
- Sponsors are largely well-received in esports, generating between 51% and 58% positive fan sentiment among followers;
- The esports audience base is growing by 10% to 20% per year, driven by digitally native, connected, and consistently engaged gen-Zs and millennials;
- Three-quarters of those from these eras (73%) are using some form of ad-blocking technology, meaning that brands might only find themselves connecting with them via gaming or esports partnerships.
Over the last 12 months, esports teams have announced a constant stream of brand partnerships. Global headliner G2 Esports has signed with Adidas, New Era, and Kingston. FaZe Clan secured a collaboration with McDonald’s, and David Beckham’s newcomer Guild Esports has penned deals with Subway and HyperX. With esports becoming a 24/7 multi-platform content business, expect more big deals to come in the future.
(All information was provided by Forbes)