A manufacturer of computer chips and a sport that would be unthinkable without computers. Fits? Fits - Intel thought so too. The US company was already a partner of the ESL in 2000. The joint tournament series Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) is in its 14th season in 2019, making it the oldest global eSports tournament series. Just in December 2018, the deal was extended for another three years until 2021. Intel is letting the extension cost it 100 million US dollars. This means that the company will continue to support the ESL with technology such as computers and the super-fast 5G network that is essential for eSports events of this magnitude. Intel also supports three eSports teams as a sponsor.
Sports equipment manufacturer Adidas is also an old hand in the eSports sector: the Herzogenaurach-based company has been active as a sponsor since 2006. Today, the company is among other things a supplier and sponsor of the French team Vitality. "We will send players to Adidas events. They will also invite us to special events and present our team in the social media. The goal of the deal with Adidas is more than just clothing and branding," said Nicholas Maurer, founder and owner of Team Vitality. That shows Adidas pursues a similar strategy with its eSports partners as it does with brand faces in traditional sports such as soccer.
According to a 2018 study by Wavemaker, there is one company that is particularly known as an eSports sponsor among gaming enthusiasts from 16 to 39 year-olds: Red Bull. Around half of those surveyed knew that the Austrian beverage company is an eSports partner. No other company could achieve such a high value. Red Bull sponsors several tournaments and teams. As in soccer or Formula 1, even with its own factory teams under the company name. And, just like in soccer, this is a source of controversy: game developer and tournament organizer Riot Games put a stop to a Red Bull team in a tournament series because the company was also a sponsor of other tournament participants.
BMW began its eSports commitment as a sponsor of a tournament. In March 2019 a sponsorship contract with a single team followed for the first time. Since then, BMW has been the official "automobile sponsor" of the Cloud9 team. As part of the cooperation, the team is also involved in advertising clips for BMW. By the way, BMW is not the only well-known sponsor of Cloud9: the US telecommunications company AT&T is also a partner of the team.
For many years, McDonald's was primarily present as a sponsor of the Olympic Games and the DFB (German soccer federation). But in 2018, the fast-food giant surprised with a change of course: first McDonald's ended its cooperation with the IOC in June, then the end of the cooperation with the DFB was announced. Instead, McDonald's is intensifying its eSports commitment. McDonald's Germany has been sponsor of the ESL Championship since 2018. "The step into eSports was absolutely right for us," said company spokesman Philipp Wachholz. McDonald's found a "clear increase in brand perception among the target group."
Vodafone is a sponsor of major ESL tournaments around the world. But last year, the telecommunications company also landed a renowned team: Mousesports, perhaps Germany's most popular eSports team. Since June 2018, Vodafone has been their main sponsor and can be seen prominently on Mousesports jerseys. Through the joint media channels, Vodafone intends to reach even more fans of the net-affine target group and, in addition to reports on results and highlight videos, focus primarily on streams.
As a producer of software and hardware, Microsoft has been close to the gaming industry for decades. No wonder that the US group is involved in the eSports segment. Microsoft hosts several eSports tournaments itself. Microsoft has also opened an eSports Academy at its store in Sydney in cooperation with ESL. And last but not least: With its game series Halo and Forza Motorsport, Microsoft is also directly involved in eSports as a publisher of games.
In June 2018, Deutsche Telekom also acquired a stake in eSports, announcing a technology partnership with the organization SK Gaming. "The focus of our partnership is on supporting the new League of Legends team, which we wish all the best and good luck in the upcoming competitions," said Hiro Kishi, Head of Sports Sponsoring at Telekom Deutschland. "In addition to communicative activities around the team, we will use the eSports platform to demonstrate the added value of our network quality, particularly in the area of gaming, and our technological expertise. SK Gaming is also returning to the League of Legends series with a team thanks to Telekom's entry. The strategy game is one of the most successful and most played eSports titles in the world."
Coca-Cola is focusing its eSports efforts primarily on two eSports games: League of Legends and the FIFA series. Already in 2013 the entrepreneur cooperated with LoL developer Riot Games. The beverage giant has also entered into cooperation agreements with FIFA developer EA Sports. For example, Coca-Cola is integrated into FIFA18 as part of the story mode, in which players - curiously - sign a sponsorship agreement with Coca-Cola.
Since May, the logistics company DHL has sponsored the eSports organizer ESL, which organizes leagues and tournaments for the most popular eSports disciplines. DHL is participating with logistics services and as a sponsor around the tournaments and their broadcasts. The Deutsche Post subsidiary is responsible for the event logistics of the ESL One series and transports stage equipment, technology and gamer chairs for the player teams to the various venues.
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