Coffee brand Nescafé has sponsored Spanish esports organisation MAD Lions E.C., focusing on its League of Legends team. The partnership is specifically with its Nescafé 3-in-1 brand.
As a result of the deal, the two parties will produce digital content and host activations that enable fans to meet the team’s players. The first activation will be at Madrid Games Week on October 18th-21st.
Marcos Eguillor, Co-founder and CCO of MAD Lions E.C. commented: “The entry of the Nestlé group (one of the largest advertisers in the world), through the signing of a sponsorship agreement with Nescafé and its product Nescafé 3in1, is a very important step for MAD Lions E.C. in its relationship strategy with leading brands in its segments. In addition, it is excellent news for a sector that every day attracts more consumer brands that are committed to innovation, digitalization and the transformation of their model of relationship with the customer through eSports.”
The Swiss company had already been involved with the esports industry, including hosting Hearthstone tournaments with PGL Esports. This is Nescafé’s first venture into esports in Spain.
Carlos Calvo, Digital Manager of the Coffee department at Nestlé added: “Coffee is a perfect complement to enjoy any videogame or esports as a spectator. [Nescafé 3-in-1] for us is represented with the #VoyConTodo concept. What better than MAD Lions E.C., as leader of esports in Spain, to communicate this way of thinking.”
Earlier this month, it was announced that Álvar “Araneae” Martín was appointed as the Managing Director of MAD Lions E.C. Previously, he had a storied career playing League of Legends in a professional capacity for teams such as SK Gaming, Natus Vincere, Fnatic, Origen, and MAD Lions E.C. itself. He moved on to become the head coach of the organisation’s League of Legends team before taking over the reins of the company entirely.
MAD Lions E.C. also fields teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Clash Royale, and FIFA.
Esports Insider says: It’s great to see a non-endemic brand the size of Nescafé getting further involved with esports. Better yet, Spain has an avid player and fan base but it doesn’t receive the amount of credit and attention that North America and Asia does within the industry. While MAD Lion’s League of Legends team has performed well in recent times, it’s hard to ignore that the EU LCS is currently deciding on EU LCS franchise partners and this sponsorship is major.