Brands see esports as a risk — they shouldn’t

Why aren’t more brands using esports as a marketing platform? It reaches an attractive attractive millennial demographic. From the classical marketing viewpoint, the customer lifetime value of the esports millennial is significant for brands and worthy of meaningful marketing spending.

The answer to why brands aren’t taking advantage of esports is simple: perceived risk. No one wants to be laughed out of the room for suggesting an investment in a platform that few understand or are familiar with. Esports is still in its infancy. Twitch, the largest digital streaming platform for gamers, still isn’t mainstream outside of gaming and esports communities. Sponsorship investment decisions are also often emotional, no different than anything else we invest our time and money into. Every sponsorship opportunity must navigate the personal prejudices and preferences of the individual decision maker in the organization.