eSports is a trend that has been taking the world by storm. Prominent personalities from Taiwanese singer, Jay Chou, to billionaire Jack Ma, have all invested in eSports. Even AirAsia has their own team, AirAsia Allstars.

As of 2017, the industry has hit a market value of US$1.5 Billion, and the highest prize pool has gone up to as high as US$24 Million. eSports teams are also worth millions! Team Liquid from The Netherlands has already made over US$18 Million in total earnings.

Jay Chou with the eSports team he acquired, J Gaming

Just a decade ago, eSports was invisible to the public eye, but thanks to streaming platforms like Twitch & Facebook Live,  this sport has quickly gained popularity among gamers and non-gamers alike, especially millennials who are spending a lot of their time in front of their computers participating or simply watching the games!

That said, it is important for brands to take note of this rising trend and learn how to engage with gaming fanatics (even if your brand is not in this space).

Real-Time Marketing
Although real-time marketing has been around for a while, it is still one of the best marketing strategies. Look out for what’s trending on Steam, and other major tournaments. Create a calendar to track the important events happening in eSports.

Once you know what’s on-going, you can start building your content pieces to align with these events. These activities will help draw interest from the millennials who are into gaming and help shift the perception of your brand.

Collaborate With Influencers
Getting an influencer talking about your brand can really boost your reach and expose your brand to a plethora of eSports fanatics.

Gaming influencers like Jaryd Lazar, better known by his alias ‘summit1g’ regularly garners over 30,000 to 90,000 viewers on Twitch. Moreover, his YouTube videos also garner over 100K views per video on average!

Design eSports Merchandise (For Retailers)
For retailers, designing and creating licensed merchandise to support eSports teams is a great way to engage the community. Loyal fans of football and basketball teams will support their team by wearing the team jersey or using a smartphone cover with their favorite team’s logo. We can expect the same level of passion from eSports fanatics as well!

Organise eSports Events
By organising events to attract eSports fans, you can acquire leads and convert them into your customers. Events help to build an emotional connection between the brand and the customer when they get involved in something that they are passionate about.

Organizing an event is not the easiest task. It requires a huge amount of manpower, logistics and financial support, which brings us to our next point.

Work With eSports Brands
Work with a brand that is already deep into the eSports movement, leverage on their audience and capabilities. This is something many household names such as Coca-Cola, Nissan, and Taco-Bell are actively doing.

As a gaming platform, Bountie hosts regular gaming events to gather the community and there are many ways which brands can work with a brand like Bountie. From activities like sponsoring our events, to leveraging on each other’s audiences. Through such collaborations, you can start to build a reputation and tap on one of the fastest growing industries in the world!