No strangers to success

For sport fans the summer is an oasis of refreshment. Whichever way you turn, there are World Cups in Football, Cricket and Netball mixed with F1 Grand Prix, Grand Slam Tennis and Cycling. The Intel Grand Slam is not one of the titles you would recognize unless you follow eSports…..

After visiting the inaugural ESL One Cologne tournament at the Lanxess Arena four years ago, I made a second visit on 7th July 2019. Now dubbed the ‘Cathedral of Counter-Strike’ it was impressive to see how much the experience has evolved in four years. With daily admission from €29,- through to three-day Weekend Premium for €239,- it was sold out each day with 15,000 fans in the arena. And there was good reason, as ESL One Cologne offers everything a fan can expect at a professional sports event from side-events, meet and greets, sponsor activation from 12 commercial partners, merchandise, product testing for gaming equipment, media center, pregame live music and a star-studded cast of talented squads.

The Women’s World Cup also presented a host of stars including Rapinoe, Morgan, Miedema, White, Renard and Cristiane. Wimbledon introduced Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff at 15  ears old who announced her arrival beating Venus Williams on her way to a fourth-round defeat by eventual Ladies’ Singles Champion, Simona Halep. The next ‘Serena  illiams’ on route to stardom with potential to earn $100 million in no time at all. Cricket fans will be debating the best player of the World Cup thinking of Roy, Sharma or Archer. By comparison Russel ‘Twistzz’
Van Dulken or Jonathan ‘EliGE’ Jablonowski would not raise many eyebrows. These were two of the five-man squad from Team Liquid to beat French team Vitaly in a best of five ‘maps’ final. By winning ESL One Cologne, Team Liquid completed four out of four Grand Slam events in just 63 days and thereby winning a bonus of $1,000,000 on top of first prize of $125,000. Previous winners Astralis needed more than 200 days to achieve the same feat. How about a Grand Slam of tennis in 63 days?

After each event the good, bad and ugly are analysed by the media and fans alike. In most cases, there is some criticism aimed at governing bodies or those responsible for the provision of facilities to attract the next generation of players, inequality of prize money or lack of sponsors investing in the sport. Premium events like Wimbledon are almost exempt and appear to blend the traditions of tennis with the commercial expectations of all stakeholders. The Women’s World Cup has broken media records in many countries such as the Netherlands with 88% of those watching TV tuned in to the World Cup Final, peaking at 6.316 million. The challenge now is to translate these viewers into regular players, fans and consumers.

There is no doubt sport has the ability to create an emotional connection with fans and consumers. With all the attention ‘on the pitch’, the announcement of the IOC, Coca-Cola and China Mengniu Dairy to enter a 12-year marketing term through 2032 estimated at $3 billion almost went unnoticed. Even by IOC standards this is major
achievement and extends Coca-Cola’s partnership to 104 years with the Olympic Games. Mengniu becomes the first Chinese fast-moving consumer goods company to become a TOP Partner. As a producer of dairy products, time will tell if Mengniu is appreciated as a TOP Partner, just like fizzy drinks are often associated with obesity.

When it comes to fan entertainment and engagement off the pitch, there is strong competition. Over 40 million households tuned in to watch season three of the 80’s-set fantasy drama, Stranger Things, in the first four days of its release on Netflix. 18 million households completed the third series in the same time frame. And, 824,000 people watched the entire eight-part series on 4th July. Putting this in perspective, this would place the series as the second-most watched program during that time period right behind the Women’s World Cup Final! And, contributing to the commercial success there were 75 brand tie-ins for the third season including H&M, Burger King and you guessed it, Coca-Cola.

Whatever sport or entertainment you deliver, new formats, more viewing choices, addictive storytelling, fan engagement and promoting new talent all add to the sports narrative and appeal. As ESL One and Netflix have ably demonstrated, they are no strangers to success. There is no time to waste.