How Brands Are Winning In Gaming

Are you willing to put your brand out there to be judged by the overlords of the internet? Over the years many brands have come and gone from the world of gaming and esports, but some have found a home in this industry. I’m here today to celebrate some of the brands that I think are doing it right. For the purpose of this analysis I will go over both endemic and non-endemic brands but with a heavier emphasis on non-endemic because I think that’s where all the greatness is happening. Let’s dig in.

NZXT vs. Final Mouse (Endemic)

Influencer marketing could be the ticket to success in this industry. When dealing with influencer marketing you have to be careful, but you have to be extra careful when it comes to the world of gaming. Both of these brands have found a way to not only tap into influencer’s fan bases but also steer clear from hate induced by the overlords of the internet – after all they can make or break a brand. In short, NZXT is one of the largest and most popular custom PC builders and PC component producers in North America (arguably the world) while Final Mouse is the most sought-after gaming mice manufacturer in the world (don’t believe me? Go ahead and try to buy one). 

They both took a similar approach when trying to tackle the industry and promote their products. Unlike most brands they both decided to ensure that they had truly awesome products before even thinking about promoting it to the masses. Both companies used Ninja, the most prominent gaming influencer of our time. Instead of simply paying Ninja to say nice things about their products and end it there, both brands took a unique approach and infiltrated his gaming setup quietly – for the longest time most of the world didn’t even recognize that Ninja was using NZXT and Final Mouse products. This allowed Ninja to test and use these products and ultimately build a stronger connection to them allowing him to have an extremely authentic voice. This is exactly what the consumer wants, they don’t mind if brands pay their way to the top, but the worst thing a brand can do is force the influencer to say something they don’t whole heartedly mean, the internet can smell the fakes from a mile away. This can be detrimental to both the brand and the influencer. Ninja is now a proud user of these brands and their products and they have supported him ever since, some might say that the endorsement and testimonial from the largest influencer in gaming is the reason these companies are who they are today.

“I mean if Ninja uses it, and I buy it… I will be as good him… right?”         – Said every pre-teen ever

Red Bull vs. MTN DEW Amp Gamefuel (Non-endemic)

It is the wild west out here in the Energy Drink category and brands are doing everything they can to differentiate themselves. Beverage brands have tried for years to break into the world of gaming, but only the strong survive. However, both of these brands have done an absolutely excellent job at positioning themselves in the world of gaming and esports in recent years. The clear distinction between the two is that Red Bull’s main target is not the gaming consumer (although we are seeing a distinct shift towards it) while MTN DEW Amp Game Fuel (A PepsiCo brand) is an energy drink specifically made with the gamer as their target consumer. Vastly different core brands, arguably different product, same goal - to win over the hearts of gamers around the world.

Both brands have engaged in the industry with many tactics, but we will address 3 major ways that they have won the hearts and minds of the gamer in recent years - events, leagues, and influencer marketing. In regard to events, the two brands have taken different approaches. Red Bull has had the ability to do what they do best (create unique and exciting experiences for their consumers) and it has worked extremely well in the gaming and esports space. This comes in two major formats for Red Bull, they either pick a game and create an event around that title that is different than how the game was intended to be played such as their League of Legends inspired event - Red Bull Solo Queue - which is a 1v1 LoL event that is run globally on an annual basis or my personal favourite, an event that brings all levels of the gaming consumer from casual to competitor under the same roof - Red Bull AdrenaLAN - an annual gaming convention held in Canada that includes gaming tournaments, speed running, casual play, indie games, and much much more. For Game Fuel, events are a bit different. They haven't had the luxury of creating their own gaming event and instead have taken the approach of sponsoring events where they know their consumer will be and building out experiences within those events. What this has ultimately led to is a unique opportunity for them to take a page out of the books of major beer companies and obtain exclusive rights to specific gaming leagues. Game Fuel has exclusive rights to the extremely sought-after Call of Duty League and ESL (global tournaments under many titles). Red Bull has also recently followed suit and signed one of their biggest deals yet, they are now the exclusive energy drink of the League of Legends Championship Series. Beyond events and leagues, both brands have done their fair share of influencer marketing as well using a combination of both individuals and entire organizations. For Red Bull their most notable influencer marketing efforts have been with the likes of Ninja, Cloud9 Gaming, OG Esports, and of course 100 Thieves. Game Fuel on the other had begun its journey with what was once the most respected organization in gaming - Optic - and has since then expanded their portfolio into CLG, NRG, and CourageJd. Seems like they've been pretty busy right? Well that's because they have to be, the gaming and esports market has become an extremely competitive landscape and the only way to stay relevant is to be consistently engaging with the community on as many levels as possible. The key takeaway here is that simply slapping your name on something doesn't always work, it is truly the experiences you create for your consumer that will carry you to victory.

Bell vs. Universal Music Canada (Non-endemic)

What if your brand truly has nothing to do with gaming in the eyes of the consumer? How are you expected to create a connection between your products and services and the world of gaming? In my experience I've seen two organizations in particular that have done an outstanding job at making these connections and giving the gamer a reason to care about them. They both found a way to take their existing product offerings and simply cater the marketing to the gaming consumer in a unique way.

In Bell's case they started this journey by showcasing the benefits of their fibre optic internet, and as we all knowing gamers are constantly chasing a better internet connection. Bell positioned themselves as THE internet provider for gamers by sponsoring a house based in Toronto, Canada where different gaming organizations would be allowed to sleep, practice, and compete out of. By giving the pros the opportunity to test out the internet in real world experience, this added credibility to Bell's brand in the gaming industry in Canada. They pushed these limits even further by continuing to lead with their internet as their main offering by actually providing the internet at major gaming events across the country all the while offering experiences at the events themselves as well. Most recently they have partnered with OverActive Media, the people behind the competitive Call of Duty and Overwatch teams here in Canada. If the pros use it, it must be good.

On the other hand, with Universal Music Canada, they realized the importance of music in content creation, especially gaming content, and decided to take advantage of the amazing Canadian musical assets they have and bridge them to the world of gaming. They did this through a strategic partnership similar to Bell, with OverActive Media. This partnership will allow OAM's teams to take advantage of the musical resources that UMC has to offer in their repertoire for events and content. This partnership is also expected to produce plenty of content using key personalities from both the world of gaming and the world of music (as seen in the announcement video above). Content creators and event organizers typically have to be wary about adding copy-written music in their content as it cannot be monetized and in a lot of cases can even be taken down from sharing platforms like YouTube. Signing this deal puts UMC in a position to be a trailblazer in an industry where music labels have not ventured into yet, driving effective brand exposure and ultimately pushing the culture forward. It's also a huge win for OAM, having UMC in your corner is a huge help on so many levels.

If you've made it this far, I applaud you. I realize it's a lot of content to digest all at once, but if there is one thing you can take away from all of this it's this: if you're a brand looking to break into any industry (especially gaming & esports) I encourage you to put as much emphasis on creating experiences and moments for your target consumer as possible all the while being as authentic as you can be. If you can win them over in those moments, you will have a customer for life, I can promise you that. If you're looking more specifically to begin activating in the gaming & esports space in Canada, I might be able to help, or at the very least connect you to the right people. Feel free to send me an email: davidbellocchi@gmail.com.