The world of eSports continues to grow and is not showing signs of slowing down. The tremendous growth within the industry pertains to both viewership and revenue generated as a result. As such, several different eSports platforms continue to develop and the various means by which these platforms market themselves also evolves. There have been a number of effective marketing campaigns and ads done by eSports platforms and brands hoping to tap into the market. These will be discussed in more detail below.

Effective Adverts

Gucci and Fnatic

An incredibly effective advert was a collaboration between the luxury brand Gucci and the professional eSports organisation Fnatic. This was inspired by Fnatic’s League of Legends team and resulted in a chilling and effective ad that featured some of the best League of Legends players on the planet. Amongst the players were:

1. Martin Larsson
2. Tim Lipovsek
3. Zdravets Galabov
4. Oskar Boderek
5. Gabriel Rau

The ad captures the competitive nature of eSports and the subsequent team spirit that derives from it as the team plays in front of a live audience. The two brands have worked together previously and will likely do so again thanks to the success of their advert.

Ralph Lauren and G2 Sports

Another successful advert from an unlikely collaboration was that between Ralph Lauren and G2 Sports. The partnership was between Ralph Lauren and Rekkles, a well-known name in the League of Legends world. It was a simple ad but incredibly effective as it showed the professional gamer switching from the clothes he wears to compete to a more stylish Ralph Lauren blazer and jeans. This was an effective way to show the excitement of online gaming and eSports and the stylishness of Ralph Lauren’s clothes. As such, this was an incredibly effective advert for both parties involved.

Gen G and Bumble

Bumble is an incredibly popular dating app, and Gen G is a professional eSports organisation. The collaboration was a smart one by Gen G as, for a long time, the online gaming community was relatively male-dominated and not somewhere that many women ventured. As such, the team-up with Bumble allowed Gen G to develop a better community for its female gamers, fans and influencers. When it comes to effective marketing and PR campaigns, many consumers expect businesses to have a stance on social issues, so Gen G addressing the perceived inequality of the community and creating a hub for its female fans was a very smart move.

Effective eSports Marketing Strategies

So, given the large market for eSports, how do different platforms and organisations stand out amongst the competition? There are several different marketing strategies available for eSports platforms to take advantage of, and some of the best seen in recent years include the following:

Find the Right Audience

The first thing any eSports organisation needs to do is better understand who they are trying to sell to make it easier to put together an effective marketing plan. If you assume that all eSports fans fall into the same category, then you will be limiting how you reach out to your different audiences. eSports are like traditional sports; you wouldn’t run the same marketing campaign for football fans as rugby fans, so don’t do the same for eSports. Think about who you are selling to and then effectively categorise your target audience. Some of the different options include:

1. Player vs Player (PvP)
2. First-Person Shooters (FPS)
3. Real-Time Strategy (RTS)
4. Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA)
5. Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG)

When you know exactly who you will be trying to target, you will be in a much better position to create content and run ads that will drive people over to your site. You could even reach out to specific teams and players liked by your audience (like the brands listed above) to market using influencers.

Think About the Different Channels

As well as finding the right audience, you also need to consider the different channels you should use to market effectively to people. You will commonly find that gamers enjoy spending time on different video streaming platforms and social media sites, some of the most popular of which include:

1. Twitch
2. Azubu
3. Bigo Live
4. YouTube Gaming
5. Gosu Gamers
6. Hitbox

You should research the kind of subscription plans these sites offer and what type of users go on them. Again, knowing your audience will help with this; if you want to try and promote something to fans of PvP’s, you will need to utilise a site with a large audience of PvP fans.

Launch Your Own Team

An eSports team is a group of different gamers who are passionate about the same game and, as such, enjoy streaming their content together and gaming with one another. You can have any number of members be a part of your team, and putting one together can be incredibly effective for your brand. This is because if your team starts streaming content, you are already increasing your exposure, but on top of that, you will get premium advertising spots that you can use to promote your platform. This means reaching different fans becomes incredibly easy.

Do You Need Help with eSports Marketing?

Several different elements come with eSports marketing, and as such, if you need help, you should reach out to professionals such as YouYaa. Our team of experts will help your business effectively market itself so that you increase your exposure and conversion as much as possible. If you have any questions, then do not hesitate to get in touch.