These are the success factors for sporting events of the future

Soccer can pack it in! Esports is the new big global mass phenomenon that not only has fans traveling the world, but also spending millions on sports merchandise and souvenirs. The most recent major event, the League of Legends World Championship, drew thousands of fans to Mexico City, Atlanta, New York and San Francisco. Completely sold out stadiums, a huge sporting event for the cities and a real money spinner for sponsors & celebrities! What can traditional sporting events learn from the super newcomer Esport? We'll show you how to reach the young audience at sporting events and stay attractive to stakeholders. Here are our 5 learnings from the biggest esport event.

For five weeks, 24 teams from 11 regions competed in 127 games for the coveted "Summoner's Cup," the League of Legends World Championship trophy. In the end, the winner was Team DRX from South Korea. But the main winners were above all the organizers. Tickets for all match days were sold out immediately, and established brands such as Amazon, Mastercard and Tiffany & Co were willing sponsors and partners of the event. But also long-standing sponsors of classic sports such as Mercedes-Benz and Red Bull have long recognized the potential of Esports and expanded their involvement in this new sport. In 2021, the World Cup final already reached 73.9 million viewers, and the organizers expect a significant increase in 2022.

While Esport is now considered a popular sport in China and large parts of Asia, the new sport is also gaining ground in Europe and the USA. Andreas Bergmann, Professor of Sports Management, states: "The movement, which used to be referred to pejoratively as "kids gambling in the basement", has now developed from a niche phenomenon into a worldwide mass phenomenon. Globally, there are now said to be more than 500 million Esport enthusiasts and the community around the game League of Legends is also estimated to have several million followers worldwide." Furthermore, he is sure that especially the young, advertising-relevant target group of 14- to 29-year-olds, who are hardly reachable by advertisers in other ways, is fascinated by the Esports phenomenon.

Hans D. Gurk, founder and CEO of social media agency Fellowkids, which specializes in Esports, was live on site for the entire five weeks at the Worlds and had behind-the-scenes insights into the events as he and his team followed the tournament on the official League of Legends social media channels. "Although we have been professionally covering the League Worlds for years, Riot Games manages to set new milestones every time - especially the spectacular arenas, the experience for spectators on site and at home as well as unique music acts make this event an unforgettable experience for all players, fans and sponsors involved."

What traditional sports can learn from esports

While esports particularly excite young target groups and draw tens of thousands to arenas around the world, organizers in traditional sports often find it very difficult to generate similar enthusiasm - or even to generate their own best practices through innovation.

So how must a (sports) event of the future be conceived, planned and implemented in order to remain attractive to the young target group and numerous other stakeholders such as sponsors and the media? Here are 5 lessons learned from the world's biggest esport event:

Traditional sports are also already picking up on the first "co-streaming" ideas. During the World Cup, for example, streamer Pascal Gurk commented on MagentaTV to get GenZ excited about soccer as well.

Why not do more of the same for the Bundesliga soccer league, the Biathlon World Cup, or the World Athletics Championships? This year, the traditional Hahnenkamm race in Kitzbühel was also attended by TikTok star Khaby, who unites over 160 million followers and has over 80 million fans on Instagram, and high-reach track and field athlete Alica Schmidt, among others, in order to get previously less skiing-savvy people excited about the event and the sport via social media posts.

Even if esports take place digitally: Nothing beats the live events that continue to draw tens of thousands of fans to the world's great arenas. Ticket sales have proven that the stars of the scene have enormous appeal: Within minutes, the World Cup was sold out. Esports fills some of the world's most legendary venues, such as the Beijing Olympic Stadium (2017) or Madison Square Garden (2016, 2022).

Major cities worldwide have recognized the esports trend and are actively bidding to host events in their arenas: Figures from Riot Games show that the European League of Legends final alone contributed 2.4 million euros to Rotterdam's tourism in just two days, and longer events are all the more worthwhile for host cities.

The esport follows the principle: "Go to where your fans are", and brings the League of Legends World Cup in rotation to the four major regions of its playbase: Europe, North America, China and South Korea. While the NBA arenas in North America were the venue this year, South Korea, the motherland of esports, will be the host again in 2023. The goal here is to give as many fans as possible experiences and touchpoints with the game, as these live experiences increase the bond with the fans even more.

The great success of this concept can also be seen in traditional sports: The first NFL Game on German soil in Munich's Olympiastadion was a huge success, and they have also been filling arenas in the UK with this guest game for years. The principle of "Go to where your fans are" or even "Go to where you can build new fanbases" would also be an interesting approach for the international relevance of local sports leagues.

These five learnings show why esport events always achieve new records and reach, as well as economic success, year after year. Prof. Bergmann suggests: "However, these approaches and ideas should not be adopted blindly or 1:1 from esports to traditional sports, but should always be individually adapted and modified to suit the target group.

Those responsible must always question what suits their own sport or the respective event and also appears attractive to the corresponding target group - otherwise negative experiences such as those caused by Helene Fischer's appearance at the DFB Cup final can happen."

Identifying suitable partners who go along with these innovative concepts and paths and authentically share one's own vision is also a critical factor for success.

By taking into account the five success factors and lessons learned from esports, new types of (fan, sponsor and marketing) potential can also be tapped in traditional sports and the respective sports and events can be successfully positioned for the future. It pays to be brave!

This article was written in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Andreas Bergmann, Professor of Sports Management at the Euro-FH and COO at a sports management agency in Kitzbühel, and Hans D. Gurk, founder and CEO of Fellowkids, a Berlin-based agency specializing in Esports marketing.