What Happened
Amazon Appstore launching a new eSports tournament named Champions of Fire International for casual mobile gamers, as the ecommerce giant aims to bring eSports into mainstream consumer consciousness. The one-day tournament is scheduled for December 2 in Las and will feature sixteen gaming celebrities to battle over five popular casual mobile games such as Disney Crossy Road, Pac-Man 256, and Fruit Ninja. The event will be streamed live via Twitch, a popular eSports streaming site Amazon acquired in 2015. In addition, a two-hour special of the tournament will be broadcast nationwide by the CBS Sports Network on December 12.
What Brands Should Do
By extending eSports from desktop PC games to casual mobile games, Amazon is introducing the the world of competitive gaming to a wider audience, which should help Amazon drive more viewers to Twitch. The eSports industry has enjoyed rapid growth in the past few years, transforming from a nerdy niche into a legitimate new media segment that commands millions of eyeballs and drawing considerable attention from media companies and marketers.
Previously, Turner Media added eSports programming to primetime on TBS in an attempt to broaden its reach. Some early-adopting brands, such as Coca-Cola and Geico, have sponsored eSports events to reach its young, male-skewing audience. As media companies race to capture the vast eSports audience, brands, especially those seeking global recognition, should consider leveraging the massive reach of eSports events via sponsorships and ads.
Source: VentureBeat