Red Bull Returns To Esports In Asia After A Quiet 2019

Red Bull and South Korean esports team T1 have secured a multi-year partnership, which includes content creation and event collaboration.

Under the deal, the likes of League of Legends (LoL) ace Faker and his T1 team members  would be able to leverage on the best facilities, physical coaching and support network across the globe that Red Bull offers.   

Red Bull added T1 can use player performance centers in Austria and Santa Monica, which have excellent equipment and personnel for athletes such as F1 racer Max Verstappen and Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.

“I was surprised to hear about T1’s partnership with Red Bull that I used to drink often, and I’m very happy with it,” the 24-year-old Faker, renowned for his cool skills, said in a Korean-language post on Red Bull’s website. “Pro gamers enjoy drinking energy drinks during practice and before games, so this partnership will be welcomed by all players in (my) club.”

Historically, Red Bull is the 2nd largest player (US$31m, 10.2%) for the energy drinks category in the Asian sponsorship market over the past three years. However, their spends in 2020 are forecast to reach just US$4.5m, a figure way below its average yearly spend just over US$10m.

During this period, the brand has invested about US$600k in the Asian esports sponsorship scene, in Japan and Singapore, the 3rd largest share of the energy drink category, with 12.2% share). It has backed properties such as Red Bull MEO, Daigothebeasttv as well the pan-Asian event, Vainglory World Championship.

After a subdued 2019 for esports sponsorship investment, Red Bull has spent US$138k in Q320, an upsurge of almost 2.8x from its quarterly average of US$50k, and its latest deal points in the direction of more deals in the pipeline as esports continues to be a sponsorship darling during the pandemic.