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- Identifying the pros, cons and tactics of eSports sponsorships: an integrative literature reviewPublication . Freitas, Bruno Duarte Abreu; Contreras-Espinosa, Ruth Sofia; Correia, Pedro Álvaro PereiraThis 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.
- How sponsors should bring relevant-added value to esportsPublication . Freitas, Bruno Duarte Abreu; Contreras-Espinosa, Ruth Sofia; Correia, Pedro Álvaro PereiraThis paper aimed to determine what types of relevant-added value esports fans most want sponsors to bring to them and to the competitive gaming industry. A review of the literature permitted the development of a conceptual model which was subsequently improved by analysing empirical data. A quantitative exploratory research was conducted on 1,359 esports fans who were sampled through a non-probability purposive heterogeneous method. Data was collected through a closed-ended online structured survey. The data showed that two of the three most wanted means for bringing relevant added value are by directly helping the esports industry rather than focusing on the fans. Specifically, supporting the tournaments and pro-players and promoting good practice and integrity were highly valued. Most brands are still unaware of how to conduct effective esports sponsorships. By being one of the first studies in this area, this research provides brands with useful guidelines for developing sustainable esports sponsorships.
- Sponsoring esports to improve brand imagePublication . Freitas, Bruno Duarte Abreu; Contreras-Espinosa, Ruth Sofia; Correia, Pedro Álvaro PereiraThis research aimed to identify how esports sponsorships affect the sponsors’ brand image. An exploratory focus was adopted along with a convergent-parallel mixed method with equal status. Twenty-two experts in esports sponsorships were interviewed and 5,638 esports fans were surveyed. Quantitative data was processed on SPSS 25 and qualitative data on NVivo 10. The two data sets were analysed separately from one another, but the results were interpreted together and given the same level of importance. The results showed that all experts believe that sponsoring esports can positively affect the sponsors’ brand image and roughly one-third of fans perceive more positively a small number of brands as a result of them sponsoring esports. This image improvement is, however, dependent on multiple variables, including activation strategy, brand type, and target audience. The findings are relevant for academics and companies looking to better understand the brand image effects of sponsoring esports.
- A Model of the Threats that Disreputable Behavior Present to Esports SponsorsPublication . Freitas, Bruno Duarte Abreu; Contreras-Espinosa, Ruth Sofia; Correia, Pedro Álvaro PereiraBoth esports sponsors and academia are not aware of how disreputable behavior in the esports scene can negatively affect their brands. Hence, this research aimed at identifying which types of disreputable behavior in competitive gaming present the biggest threats to esports sponsors. In this quantitative and exploratory research, a non probability, purposive, and heterogeneous sampling method was employed to gather a sample of 1,592 esports fans who filled a closed-ended online survey. Results showed that illegal and unregulated gambling was a high-risk threat to esports sponsors; toxic behavior, match-fixing, and cheating were labeled as medium-risk threats; and sexism, cyberattacks, and doping were found to be low-risk threats. Besides being one of the first studies on esports sponsorships, which serves as a basis for future research in this market, the findings contribute to the sustainability of the esports industry and its sponsors. Managerial implications are also discussed.
- How society’s negative view of videogames can discourage brands from sponsoring eSportsPublication . Freitas, Bruno Duarte Abreu; Contreras-Espinosa, Ruth Sofia; Correia, Pedro Álvaro PereiraThe purpose of this research was to identify the main motives that contribute to society’s negative view of videogames and that present a risk to the eSports sponsors’ image. To achieve this, an exploratory, qualitative, and integrative literature review was conducted. According to the theoretical data, there are four main reasons why society has a negative perception of videogames. It is commonly believed that: (1) gaming is an unproductive activity, (2) violent videogames incite aggressive behaviors, (3) videogames lead to gaming-addiction, and (4) eSports lead to eSports-related gambling addiction. However, while the literature presents convincing evidence that gaming can create addiction and that eSports can promote gambling addiction, there is no conclusive evidence to assume that violent videogames lead to aggressiveness and there is evidence showing that playing videogames can be a productive activity. Nevertheless, these four beliefs are a threat to the eSports sponsors’ image and may lead them to cancel their existing sponsorships or lead other brands to not want to sponsor eSports to prevent being associated with these negative notions. This research will help expand the minor literature on eSports sponsorships and advance the knowledge of why some eSports sponsorships are terminated and why some brands may be reluctant to sponsor eSports.