Brands pursue millennials by engaging with esports and gaming

Esports has become a billion-dollar industry, but if it is going to get much bigger, then brands have to buy into it in a much bigger way when it comes to sponsorships.

Those brands have to chase after millennials, who aren’t watching as much TV or sports as previous generations. It can be easier to reach them with games, esports, and digital media. But to be effective, the brands have to find an authentic voice that speaks to the new generation. We talked about these issues in a panel at CES 2020, the big tech trade show in Las Vegas.

Our panel included Josh Cella, head of global partnerships for Activision Blizzard Esports; Grace Dolan, vice president of home entertainment integrated marketing at Samsung Electronics America; Sarah Iooss, head of sales for Americas at Twitch; and Bryan de Zayas, global director of marketing at Dell.

Here’s an edited transcript of our panel. If you prefer, you can watch it on video here.

Above: Brands, gaming, and esports panel at CES 2020.

Josh Cella: I oversee the partnership business for Activision Blizzard in esports. I’ve been with the company for four years, since before the Overwatch League launch, up to where we are today going into season three of the Overwatch League and launching the Call of Duty league in two weeks.

Grace Dolan: I’m the vice president of integrated marketing for the home division of Samsung. I’ve been at Samsung for about three years, and during that time is when we started to look and learn more and invest in this gaming community and audience.

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Categorized in: Esports News