Non-Gaming Brands Intrigued by Esports

A new Nielsen report has found that non-gaming brand involvement in esports grew by 13 percent over the past year.

Nielsen’s E-Sports Playbook for Brands study found that non-gaming brands jumping on the esports bandwagon are rewarded for their efforts with 90 percent of Twitch esport's stream viewers being able to name at least one non-gaming sponsor featured in a stream.

Another recent example of the potential cross-over impact of esports on traditional brands can also be found with the work of Puma. The apparel company inked a deal with Cloud9 in Jan. to become the team’s official apparel partner. Cloud9 says that partnership can showcase the impact esports has on young people, the gaming industries biggest driver.

“Puma allows us to affect broader culture. And 'culture' is made up of a lot of things: music, entertainment, activism, sports, the internet, and, of course, gaming and esports,” says Jordan Udko, head of partnerships, Cloud9, on the partnership. “The fact is that if you want to be able to relate to younger people globally, you’d better be thinking about esports as much as you’re thinking about cultural lenses like music and sports.”

Additional examples of non-gaming brands joining the esports fray include Tillys, Deadmau5, and ’47.