Identifying the pros, cons and tactics of eSports sponsorships: an integrative literature review

• Autor(a) principal: Freitas, Bruno Duarte Abreu
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Contreras-Espinosa, Ruth Sofia, Correia, Pedro Álvaro Pereira
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.13/4763
• topic: eSportseSports; sponsorships; Benefits; Threats; Strategies; .; Faculdade de Ciências Sociais

This research aimed to identify the pros and cons of sponsoring eSports, as well as the tactics to maximize them and mitigate them, respectively. An exploratory method focused on an integrative literature review was used. The most attractive elements are the enhancement of brand awareness, image and sales, the high sponsorship acceptance and a positive cost-benefit ratio. Hence, brands should start sponsoring pro-players and tournaments, perform in-game branding, and create relevant-added value as soon as possible. The most threatening elements are disreputable behaviour, negative media influence, the industry’s infancy, the videogames’ short lifespan, long-term investments, poor performance, and the low visibility outside Twitch and YouTube. As such, brands must be in sync with the audience, punish disreputable behaviour, promote gaming’s acceptance, study the market, and commit to long-term investments.