Snickers became the official chocolate bar of ELeague beginning with season 2 this fall. The brand partnered with Turner and WME/IMG’s eSports league, which focuses on Valve’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) and specializes in eSports fumble highlights to promote the “You’re not you when you’re hungry” message of the candy bar.
Allison Miazga-Bedrick, senior brand director at Snickers, told [a]listdaily that her brand has been following the growth of the sport for the past few years.
“We’re excited to now officially be part of eSports as it continues its tremendous growth and popularity,” Miazga-Bedrick said. “The brand craves getting closer to ELeague’s dedicated millennial fan base, who looks for the kind of fun that aligns to the solution that only Snickers offers when ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry.’”
Miazga-Bedrick said eSports provides Snickers with a great opportunity to engage millennials on a platform that they continue to show increased passion—as more than 80 percent of ELeague viewers are also active on social media during tournaments.
“As an official marketing partner, Snickers will be tapping into Eleague’s younger viewing audiences through a number of branding elements across television and digital,” Miazga-Bedrick said. “These include sponsorship of the ELeague pre-game show airing on TBS and ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’ moments airing post-game every week, which captures the biggest gaffes and bloopers from that week of gameplay.”
Additional ad spots will only air between breaks in the action alongside ELeague’s “ad tracker,” a scrolling ticker highlighting stats and additional information about participating teams and players.
Miazga-Bedrick said reaching millennials continues to be a brand priority, and eSports is a platform popular among that audience that continues to grow. “The ELeague partnership aligns perfectly with the Snickers brand and the ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry campaign,” Miazga-Bedrick said.
The nature of ELeague, which dedicates the bulk of its coverage to online content, opens up direct engagement with fans across mobile devices. “Any time we can connect with our audience where they are highly engaged is a win for the brand,” Miazga-Bedrick said.
When asked if Snickers is looking at its ELeague sponsorship as a first step into the bigger eSports ecosystem, Miazga-Bedrick said, “We’re excited about our partnership with TBS and are always looking to explore how to make our presence bigger, but nothing is confirmed yet.”
Along with Snickers, ELeague’s official marketing partners include Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Credit Karma, and Domino’s.
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