Sponsors earn money from advertising their products—that is the main way they earn. If you think about it, sponsorship works in the same way as physical sports do. For example, Nike sponsors sports icons like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods. They also pay these sports stars money to wear their clothes. In return, their fans buy Nike products.
Brand Awareness
Exposure is the keyword here. As a brand, you would be hard-pressed to make sure that people know that your product exists.
The most common way to drive brand awareness is to advertise a commercial on TV or other online platforms. However, this is costly and not organic. Many people just skip through the ad, and they do not bother.
When a company sponsors an event in eSports, its streamers are plastered everywhere. For the entire duration of the event, their brand name is visible.
Now, if the company pays a lot of money, the event will keep on showing this brand—the announcers and commentators will mention that brand name every so often, making it a sticky name to the listeners and fans.
Logo exposure is also a key aspect of sponsorship. There is a reason brands want their logos plastered all over the event. In computer games, like NBA 2K12, Hewlett-Packard’s name is displayed prominently after every quarter—players will see the logo many times.
In eSports, the same thing happens. The brand logo is in the event—from streamers to commercials and on the back of computer screens.
Brand Loyalty
Loyalty is one thing that brands want to capitalize on. The thing is that people will only become loyal to brands if an eSports gamer is wearing them.
In physical sports, a simple cap that Tiger Woods wears has the Nike logo on it. Fans of Tiger Woods will certainly buy Nike if that is what he is wearing.
Loyalty is a driving force of repeat sales. In the world of computers, those who use Intel for processors will find it difficult to shift to AMD—provided that Intel is doing a great job in driving brand loyalty.
Among other things, companies must ensure that they are doing what they can to keep up with the demands of their customers.
As a brand, you pay for sponsorship to help drive this loyalty. If the eSports team members wear clothes that wear your logo, they will remember it. And if the event announcers say something as simple as “sponsored by,” then the name sticks.
In addition to this, people who watch eSports are likely to remain loyal to brands that share the same interests as they do. As a fan, seeing a name you know, like Intel, solidifies the fact that Intel is equal to gaming.
While casinos like https://gg146.bet/pl/casino do not often appear on eSports, it is only a matter of time before they find their way in. Casinos today are also embracing eSports—you can go to their site and bet on your favorite teams.
Brand loyalty is an important aspect of sales. In the world of eSports, fans, gamers, and viewers are inundated by so many brand names. It is a competitive market, and it can be overwhelming.
Many names are barely distinguishable. As such, sponsorship of eSports and teams is a way to make these names stand out. As a good example, there are so many brands of sports drinks, and yet Monster is the prominent one.
Why? Because they sponsor events for extreme sports. If one goes to a 7-11 store, the preferred drink of choice is Monster because it is a familiar name.
Brand Endorsement
Celebrities are trusted by their fans. If Lebron James wears Nike, you are likely to buy Nike products over Adidas. Of course, it works only if you like LeBron. If you like Stephen Curry, then you are likely to buy Under Armour.
In eSports, McDonald’s is sponsoring a team called Faze Clan. It is one of the biggest investments of a fast-food company in eSports. The sponsorship was revealed in a video where the members of the eSports team were having fun at a McDonald’s store.
Sponsors earn money by endorsement. If Faze Clan eats McDonald’s burgers, you will also eat burgers. To begin with, eSports stars, or any star for that matter, are not likely to endorse brands that they do not trust. It is bad for publicity.
For now, no one endorses casinos because there are strict regulations about casinos. Only time can tell before eSports stars begin endorsing these companies so people can start wagering online.
Endorsement is not free advertising. Sponsors pay millions to superstars for endorsement. In return, the brand gets recognition—an extension of the recognition of the superstar. The band earns money because if the superstar tells his fans to buy this product, they would.