The importance of incorporating relevant-added value into esports sponsorships

Purpose This research aims to identify how important it is that brands incorporate relevant-added value into their esports sponsorships. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory research applied a convergent-parallel mixed method with equal status. Data were collected by interviewing 22 experts in esports sponsorships and having 5,638 esports fans fill out an online survey. SPSS 25 was used to analyze quantitative data and NVIVO 10 to process qualitative data. Each dataset was analyzed separately and then compared with both having the same level of importance. Findings The results revealed that all experts considered the creation of relevant-added value as an essential strategy for successful esports sponsorships and the large majority of fans want sponsors to apply this tactic. Interestingly, while the experts mostly emphasized ways to directly benefit the fan-base, the fans prefer that sponsors focus on directly supporting the esports industry. Practical implications Brands should incorporate relevant-added value into their esports sponsorships as it greatly decreases fan resistance to the promotional message, catches the fans' attention and engagement much more easily, has a much higher probability of leading to high positive return on investments (ROIs) and makes for a much more cost-effective investment. Originality/value The field of esports sponsorships has received little academic attention and the results are highly significant and relevant for all current and potential esports sponsors looking to increase the effectiveness of their esports sponsorships.