SUMMARY SHEET: READING ARTICLES (write in your own words)

TITLE OF THE ARTICLE/CHAPTER

SPONSORSHIPS IN ESPORTS
TOPIC AND RELEVANCE

The main objectives of this study were to research how sponsorships in eSports are conducted. The
research expands on the current knowledge that exists about how eSponsorships are acquired and
how a successful sponsorship partnership is maintained. Additionally, the ways of how to measure
effectiveness of an eSports sponsorship are to be explored.

PROBLEM AND/OR QUESTION

1. What is the sponsorship acquiring process in eSports?

2. How is value created through sponsorships?
3. How is the effectiveness of eSponsorships measured?

PREVIOUS LITERATURE

Sports sponsorships research was chosen over eSports sponsorships because the field of eSports has
not been researched enough by academics. The first part of the literature review aims to set out what
sponsorships are in general, what their part is in the modern marketing mix of companies and what
the recent developments in sports sponsorships have been. Then the review discusses how
companies and academics measure the effectiveness of sponsorships.

METHOD (HOW & WHO)

The objectives of sponsorships are to create brand awareness and to make people aware of your
products or services. Because these are intangible things it is very difficult to measure the
effectiveness of sports sponsorships. Farrelly et al. (2006) believe that sponsors and sports
organizations are at the moment not getting the most value out of their sponsorships. “[...]sports
organizations (rights-holders) often fail to exploit the full potential of their sponsorship partnerships”.
(Farrelly et al., 2006)
DATA & ANALYSIS (RESULTS)
The results are divided into four themes. The first part discusses how eSponsorships are acquired and
what the objectives of both the sponsors and sponsees are. The second theme is how the
effectiveness of eSponsorships can be measured. In the third part of the findings the factors for
successful eSponsorships are discussed, based on the answers from both sponsors and sponsees in
the interviews. The last section reviews the differences between eSponsorships and sports
sponsorship, which were discussed during the qualitative interview.

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION

In the last section of this thesis, the main questions of this thesis are answered. Furthermore, the
gaps, which are left about the area of eSports sponsorships, will be addressed, to gauge what further
research needs to be done about the subject. A lot of academic research can be done to better
understand eSports sponsorships and their business model, because the eSports as a whole is a very
new phenomenon and no large-scale quantitative or qualitative researches have been conducted.

CRITICAL NOTE/FOLLOW UP