TNL Esports Brand Tracker 108: Cheez It

Author:

TNL ESPORTS BRAND TRACKER 108: CHEEZ IT

TNL Esports Brand Tracker 108: Cheez It and ELEAGUE (Photo: ELEAGUE)

TNL Esports Brand Tracker 108: Cheez It and ELEAGUE (Photo: ELEAGUE)

TNL Take: Turner's ELEAGUE expands further into Non-Endemic brands with a partnership with Kellogg's Cheez It. 

The integration has the usual in broadcast elements on both digital and TV:

Cheez2.jpg

and Social Media as well:

However the program goes much deeper with a Cheez It Player Lounge used for pre and post game interviews with additional distribution like the tweet above and YouTube video below.

CPG will end 2017 as one of the fastest growing brand categories within esports.

TNL eSports Brand Tracker 005: Dollar Shave Club and ELEAGUE

Author:

TNL ESPORTS BRAND TRACKER 005: DOLLAR SHAVE CLUB AND ELEAGUE

TNL eSports Brand Tracker 005: Dollar Shave Club and ELEAGUE (Photo: ELEAGUE Twitch)

TNL eSports Brand Tracker 005: Dollar Shave Club and ELEAGUE (Photo: ELEAGUE Twitch)

TNL Take: Most young men start shaving around the age of 15.

Assuming a life expectancy of 80, that's 65 years of potential revenue, with a ridiculous LTV (Lifetime Value) and makes sense for CPG Brands to invest in eSports with the core male audience.

Looks like Dollar Shave Club is doing just that.

During last week's ELEAGUE Major, I noticed their Sponsorship during the Finals match between Astralis and Virtus Pro in the screenshot above.

There was no PR from Turner or Dollar Shave Club on this, so not much more info or details on the partnership. Dollar Shave Club isn't a small Brand either having been bought by behemoth Unilever last year for a cool Billion.

This isn't Unilever's first foray into eSports having sponsored eSports teams Cloud9 and Team Solo Mid via their Axe Brand investment.

Axe Sponsors Cloud9 and Team Solo Mid (Photo: Twitch)

2017 will be the year that CPG Brands break out as a leading Ad vertical.

TNL eSports Brand Tracker 004: Audi and Astralis

Author:

TNL ESPORTS BRAND TRACKER 004: AUDI AND ASTRALIS

TNL eSports Brand Tracker 004: Audi and Astralis (Photo: Astralis)

TNL eSports Brand Tracker 004: Audi and Astralis (Photo: Astralis)

Astralis Sneak Preview Tweet (Photo: @mannyanekal Twitter)

Astralis Confirms Audi Partnership (Photo: Astralis)

While few details of the partnership have been revealed, the team and Athlete's Social Media accounts have been doing plenty of promotion with Astralis even being chauffeured to this weekend's ELEAGUE Major in the Audi Q7:

Astralis Rolling In The Audi Q7 To The ELEAGUE Major (Photo: Astralis)

There were also some rumors of a $750,000 price tag.

I'm calling BS on that number.

Currently the partnership is only for the current ELEAGUE Major and DreamHack Las Vegas next month. Considering this deal came through Audi Denmark and looks to be a very short promotion, the $750,000 figure is way too high.

This isn't Audi's first foray into eSports either having sponsored the 24 Hours Of Le Mans event last year.

In The Next Level 012, I analyzed how Auto Brands have been reluctant to sponsor eSports.

The last Auto and eSports team Sponsorship was between Nissan and Team Curse/Team Liquid which started in 2013 - but no longer.

As more Auto Brands like Audi, Ford, Hyundai, Michelin, Mobil1, Uber, and Turtle Wax continue to invest in eSports, hopefully 2017 will bring more into the eSports ecosystem.

2017 Brand Update: 5 Endemic Brand Deals

Author:

2017 Brand Update: 5 Endemic Brand Deals

Screen Shot 2017-01-24 at 8.08.19 AM.png

TNL Take: 2017 is firing on all cylinders across the eSports ecosystem and looks like 2016's 50+ Non-Endemic Brand Deals could easily be broken this year.

I don't normally cover Endemic Brands however 5 deals - and some are big deals at that-  in the first 3 weeks of the year requires some attention.

 

/01 DELL PARTNERS WITH ELEAGUE

Dell Alienware Aurora (Photo: Dell)

Dell is now the Exclusive PC hardware provider for ELEAGUE, which will use the Alienware Aurora with Dell 24-inch 144Hz gaming monitor during competitive play.

 

/02 CELTICS'S JEREBKO'S ESPORTS TEAM BECOMES THE "5-HOUR ENERGY OVERWATCH TEAM"

Renegades Team Becomes 5-Hour Energy Overwatch Team (Photo: Detroit Renegades)

In September Boston Celtics Forward Jonas Jerebko bought eSports team Renegades and moved them all to a group house in Detroit.

Looks like he'll have some help with the electric bills. 

Not only is 5-Hour Energy sponsoring the full Detroit Renegades roster of teams, which includes Counter-Strike and Smash, their Overwatch team will now be called "The Detroit Renegades 5-Hour Energy Overwatch Team"

 

/03 ASUS ROG SPONSORS ECHO FOX

ASUS CMO Vivian Lien and Echo Fox Owner Rick Fox (Photo: ASUS)

Nothing is going to slow Rick Fox down. 

Fox's eSports team Echo Fox landed a PC hardware partner with ASUS ROG's (Republic of Gamers) line of of products.

It's a multi-year deal and becomes Echo Fox's 7th Sponsor - although it looks like the Gemini deal is no longer active.

 

/04 COUNTER LOGIC GAMING SPONSORED BY CORSAIR

Corsair Partners With Counter Logic Gaming (Photo: Counter Logic Gaming)

CORSAIR will be the exclusive provider of PC and Console hardware like keyboards, mice, and headsets for Counter Logic Gaming.

 

/05 GFUEL PARTNERS WITH ELEAGUE

GFUEL Partners With ELEAGUE (Photo: GFUEL)

GFUEL partners with ELEAGUE to become the official Energy Drink and also gets naming rights to the studio which will be renamed GFUEL ELEAGUE Arena.