ESL

Success Story

Taking esports global

The esports league created a comprehensive video marketing strategy to build excitement for its stadium events and engage with the global esports audience.
  • 2X return on ad spend on ticket sales for major events
  • 45% of the audience at major events was filled via Facebook campaigns
  • 8X increase in reach and video views in one year

Their Story

Raising the bar

Founded in 1996, ESL is the world’s largest and oldest international esports organization. The company is investing in a new content strategy that connects fans with the esports they love, and shares the experience among a global audience.

Their Goal

Building excitement for esports events

ESL’s primary goal was to increase ticket sales and attendance at stadium events. By producing engaging videos, ESL also wanted to transform stadium events from a local experience to a global one.
Facebook is increasingly impacting ESL’s successful global growth strategy. Over the past several months, ESL has developed a comprehensive Facebook content and marketing strategy to increase reach, brand awareness and ticket sales.
Ralf Reichert, CEO, ESL

Their Solution

Using the power of video

To create buzz and excitement in the lead-up to major events, ESL ran video ads featuring footage from past events, and found its audience with Facebook’s demographic and location targeting.
ESL also used Facebook Live to broadcast competitions in real time, giving potential esports enthusiasts a taste of the live stadium experience from the audience’s perspective.
During and immediately after each event, ESL produced short and snappy highlight reels and promoted them on Facebook to create excitement for the next event. By using Facebook’s video retargeting and website Custom Audiences, ESL was able to stay engaged with its audience throughout.
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Verwendete Produkte

Ziele

Their Success

Uniting gamers

Facebook is now ESL’s number one marketing channel for marquee events around the world. The company recently reached 18.5 million video views in one month, which was 8X higher than the previous year and an all-time record for the league.
  • 2X return on ad spend on ticket sales for major events
  • 45% of the audience at major events filled via Facebook campaigns
  • 8X increase in reach and video views (between 2015–2016
Facebook is ESL’s number one paid marketing channel for stadium event promotion. This was evident at ESL One events throughout 2016, where up to 50% the stadium audience heard about the events thanks to Facebook advertising. As a result, attendance increased and ESL was able to achieve a 2X return on investment on its ticket sales.
Kai Kienzle, Marketing Director, ESL