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- 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.
- Esports Sponsorships: The Double-Edged Sword Effect of Having a Very Vocal AudiencePublication . Freitas, Bruno Duarte Abreu; Contreras-Espinosa, Ruth S.; Correia, Pedro Álvaro PereiraEsports fans have been known for being heavy consumers of compet itive gaming content and for being digital natives who love to comment about esports on numerous social platforms. This has attracted various sponsors inter ested in capitalizing in this social buzz. However, there have been signs that this high vocality can in fact heavily damage several sponsors. Hence, this research aimed to determine if esports fans’ high vocality is a benefit and/or a risk to these sponsors. To achieve this, we adopted a qualitative exploratory design to interview, via digital platforms, 10 esports sponsorship experts. In total, we in terviewed two endemic and three non-endemic esports sponsors and five mar keting agencies with experience in esports sponsorships. They were sampled via a nonprobability purposive heterogeneous method and were reached via the companies’ website contact sections. Data were analyzed with the assistance of NVivo 10. The overall results showed that all experts agreed that this high vo cality can both benefit and damage esports sponsors. The uniformity in the an swers showed that this element is not a greater benefit or risk to a particular type of esports sponsor. Ergo we considered that the high vocality of esports fans is a double-edged sword. This study is necessary because, despite esports’ massive growth, this field has received scant scientific attention, with the spe cific areas of esports marketing and esports sponsorships being even more se verely overlooked. Besides, from a business standpoint, the findings are highly significant for every sponsor looking to better comprehend esports and its fan base
- 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.