Global eSports events such as the recently concluded League of Legends World Championship are changing the traditional sports market - according to experts. In their opinion, the megatrend offers attractive opportunities for new sponsorship models. Also because of young superstars like Faker, Perkz and Meiko.
The World Championships in the fantasy game League of Legends (also known as "LoL Worlds" for short) recently took place in Reykjavik, Iceland. The first place went to the team "Edward Gaming" (EDG) from China ahead of the South Korean team "DWG KIA". Third and fourth place also went to teams from South Korea. Due to strict Corona restrictions, the World Championship took place without spectators this year. Only the participating teams and the production specialists from all over the world were allowed in the arena. Among them was Hans D. Gurk, founder and CEO of Fellowkids, an agency specializing in eSports marketing. Together with his team, he supported the global social media coverage of the event: "Despite the physical distance this year: the palpable enthusiasm of the fans around the globe, the love for their stars, the hype around the big plays, the engagement on social media between the individual fanbases - all this fascinates you every year anew, and you feel proud every day to be part of the world's biggest eSports event."
The three participating teams from Europe were eliminated from the world championships at an early stage. eliminated. Prof. Dr. Andreas Bergmann sees the following reasons for this: eSports have already been mainstream in many Asian countries for years. It is recognized and promoted as a sport. In China, eSports is even partly a school subject. "In these countries, the successful players therefore also enjoy a similar reputation as the superstars of football Messi and Ronaldo in Europe," he says. In Germany, on the other hand, eSports is neither recognized as a sport by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) nor classified as a non-profit by the state, according to him. So there are no subsidies or other public support funds flowing in.
All three parties in the new federal government are promoting the introduction of non-profit status for eSports in their election and future programmes. Many interest groups are hoping for this. Three to four million people have already participated in video game competitions in Germany. The gaming sector is booming, and scores with a rapidly increasing annual turnover (currently over 100 million euros).
Year after year, eSports events reach new records in media attention via streaming channels such as Youtube and Twitch, as well as their Chinese counterparts. According to organizer Riot Games, the 2020 World Cup broke several records with a total of more than one billion viewer hours: the tournament had an average of 23.04 million viewers per minute worldwide. The final was the "most-watched League of Legends event in history" to date, reaching 45.95 million viewers at peak times. This is about half the viewers of the Super Bowl in the US. But this year, those numbers were topped once again, with nearly 74 million viewers worldwide watching the 2021 World Cup matches at its peak, an immense increase of more than 60 percent over last year:
These incredible reaches are also of great interest to advertisers and sponsors: "Many companies are discovering the eSports scene as an attractive environment," says Prof. Dr. Bergmann. "While in the pioneering days only endemic companies such as hardware manufacturers appeared as sponsors, partners from a wide range of industries are now invested in eSports." The League of Legends World Cup sponsor list includes Mercedes-Benz, Red Bull, Master-Card, Axe, Bose, Cisco and Spotify, among others, who are present through various activations during the broadcast. Banners with the partner logos are integrated on the digital pitch - analogous to classic perimeter advertising in football.
The fact that many non-endemic companies now have a strong presence in eSports is not surprising, as industry experts have been confirming for some time. "eSports offers companies access to target groups that are otherwise difficult or impossible to reach through traditional channels. Additionally, the playing field in traditional sports sponsorships is now quite clearly defined - while exciting new ways are emerging in gaming ecosystems to redefine sports and entertainment of the future. From organic social media content with added value for the fan, to placements in the digital pitch, to co-branded characters in-game - the creative possibilities for partners are far from exhausted in eSports," Gurk explains. His conclusion: "This ever-expanding playing field, a young and digital target group, high measurability of measures as well as high-reach stars and creative possibilities for sponsor integration are a promising field for sponsors for organic growth in an exciting sponsorship environment."
According to Prof. Dr. Bergmann, officials and representatives of traditional sports should deal with the topic of eSports - regardless of whether they define eSports as a sport or not. In his opinion, they should try to better understand this industry, especially "in order to learn from it". Because whether they like it or not, "they are in direct competition with eSports." The expert predicts that the importance will continue to grow rapidly. And according to Prof. Dr. Bergmann, the advantages are also inspiring more and more non-endemic companies: good measurability of sponsoring activities, increasing viewer numbers and a young, attractive target group. "Therefore, if traditional sports do not react promptly, they will continue to lose market share, sponsorship money and viewers to eSports in the future, because eSports is already well on its way to arriving in the middle of society and the sports industry."
This article was written in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Andreas Bergmann, Professor for Sports Management at the Euro-FH and COO in a sports management agency in Kitzbühel, and Hans D. Gurk, founder and CEO of Fellowkids, a Berlin-based agency specializing in eSports marketing.
The European Games show the way: International championships with different disciplines are inspiring more and more fans. The cycling world will meet for the first time for a joint world championship in Glasgow from August 3 to 13, 2023. We present you the nine professional disciplines within the framework of the mega-event.
Author: Brian Börsig
"Granfluencers" are gathering millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram. Their new trend sports are slow jogging or walking football. As part of the "Find the Balance" series, ISPO.com explains what this means for the sports industry.
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Anyone over 20 should start thinking about influencer retirement at TikTok. If you're over 60, the most you can do is leisurely senior sports like Nordic walking. And anyone over 75 is almost certainly already dead, they just haven't noticed it yet. This is how the youth craze has worked for many years. But in a rapidly aging society, the self-confident "New Greys" can no longer be marginalized.
"I'm so old - follow me before I die," 82-year-old recommends "Grandma Ann" to the TikTok community. The users, who could be her grandchildren or great-grandchildren, diligently click (before it is possibly too late). In the meantime, the US-American has collected two million followers and almost 64 million likes with her amusing clips about underwater Zumba or Air Jordan shoes. Ann is one of numerous "glammas" - a mix of "glamour" and "grandma" - who are currently conquering TikTok & Co.
"Granfluencer," as the four "Old Gays"who are followed by eleven million users on TikTok (including Rihanna), or like the 68-year-old fashion influencer Lyn Slater, still represent a minority on social media, despite the examples. But the minority is becoming more visible, more vocal, more self-aware. This success, says the journal The Gerontologist in a study, "is critical to challenging the ageist stereotypes that are prevalent among young people."
The US marketing strategist Rahel Marsie-Hazen brings companies together with granfluencers. Partners include the sportswear and nutritional supplement brand Women's Best and the stress-relief device Sensate. The collaborations benefit both the brands and the "silver influencers." Marsie-Hazen explains the growing market to Yahoo this way, "People of all ages crave authenticity, real people they can connect with online." And when they see grandparents living their lives, dating, traveling and dancing, Rahel Marsie-Hazen says, it's inspiring. "The time is simply ripe for seniors who have been largely overlooked."
Granfluencers, such as "up-and-coming senior" Lonni Pike, who is only 57 years old, as the "Gray Hair and Tattoos" showing off her cool tattoos on TikTok for a million followers, can earn tens of thousands of dollars from a single post. The business is running so successfully that "accidental icon" Lyn Slater regrets not retiring sooner: "Today, I make as much in eight hours in some cases as I used to make in an entire year as a teacher."
In South Korea, the triumph of granfluencers is an even greater culture shock than in the West. This is because the country defines itself by its economic successes and by the labor force of its population. Those who retire often lose their social status and are considered worthless to society. Nearly half of pensioners live below the poverty line. The suicide rate among people over 66 is one of the highest in the world. But instead of K-pop, Grey-pop is suddenly booming.
"We are the BTS of 2050," joke the eight members of "Ahjussis," or "K-Uncles," who are Korea's most successful senior influencers with their fashion and sports videos on millions of clicks with their Instagram channel "The New Grey," among others. "The New Grey". When the top-styled retirees around 64-year-old Park Sung-man record their videos in Seoul, clusters of young fans form, filming and shrieking: "You guys are so cool. I saw you on YouTube and TikTok." Social media manager Kwon Jeong Hyun has cast the "Ahjussis," a Korean word for middle-aged men, and trained them like a boy band - only as a "golden boy band," so to speak. In the meantime, the "Ü70-BTS" have created their own elaborate online fashion store for the best business. Popular fashion designer Yong Bum Lee enthuses: "Sales of our brand have quadrupled thanks to the large senior market."
According to McKinsey, the number of people over 65 worldwide will double to 1.6 billion by 2050. That will then correspond to 16.5 percent of the world's population. And because most of them want to stay active and have a desire to exercise, the potential of sports for older people is also huge for brands and companies. Apple offers in its living room gym Fitness+ already offers special classes for older people. USA Today is testing fitness equipment for seniors - including an under-the-desk bicycle or "gliding discs" that help elders glide across their carpets while protecting their muscles and joints.
"Fitness in old age is becoming a massive trend. Today, 70 is the new 50," says Austrian expert and studio operator Gottfried Wurpes, who has already equipped numerous retirement homes with his equipment. He predicts: "I am sure that fitness will shift massively upwards in old age. Because no one wants to grow old sick. An acquaintance of mine is 67 and cycles uphill as if he were a moped. No one would look at his true age."
Marc Rohde is a coach and founder of the Hamburg-based fitness consultancy Elbsprint Urban Sports. He sees the best future prospects for the fitness clubs he works with in the Best Ager sector: "This group will continue to grow over the next 20 to 30 years and, with its financial possibilities, is a very interesting and lucrative target group. And this audience is quite prepared to pay a little more for an appropriate service at eye level."
But in order to do golden business with Silver Agers, service providers and also brands still have a lot of work ahead of them, says expert Marc Rohde: "These customers are looking for qualified personnel who can respond adequately, who speak their language, and who respect and offer the manners of this generation."
And there is also a lot of catching up to do in terms of products, see Apple Watch & Co. "Heart health is the focus from the age of 50," says Rohde, "so watches with heart rate measurement are actually the perfect product for older people. The only problem is that most of these watches have such small signs that older people have to put on glasses when exercising. There's still a lot of work to be done there."
But if the conditions are right, if the industry adapts to this promising target group, the "Silver Society" will soon be worth its weight in gold for the sports and fitness industry, and "spry instead of rusty" will become a megatrend.
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