Esports analytics company Shikenso has revealed that Intel, ESL and DHL received the most value as partners of IEM Cologne 2023 in terms of media value.
According to Shikenso, IEM Cologne as a whole generated a media value of €31.28m (~£26.7m) when taking into account the competition’s global and local event partners. Perhaps unexpectedly Intel, the tournament’s title sponsor, garnered the most media value, claiming 30% of the overall figure (€9.3m).
Tournament organiser ESL, logistics company DHL and energy drink brand Monster recorded media values of €4.8m (~£4.1m), €3.9m (~£3.3m) and €3m (~£2.6m), respectively.
In the report’s methodology, Shikenso explained media value as the monetary value of activations and exposure based on ad cost. The company also noted that it takes into account purchasing power variance among countries as well.
Media value does not necessarily equate to a dollar return on investment, rather it highlights how much value the brand garnered in terms of exposure. As a result, most partnerships will typically record higher media values than the actual monetary cost of the partnership.
The Shikenso Esports Radar analysed data from Twitch and Youtube, with the former gaining the most media value (€24.6m). In particular, backwall logos were the most effective premier sponsorship assets, garnering between 50-70% of brand partners’ media value.
Shikenso told Esports Insider that the company uses an in-house AI solution that automatically detects sponsor & brand assets of any kind. This includes jerseys, logos, banners, clips and products. As a result, Shikenso can produce data on the number of placements, impressions, logo size or duration on screen.
For example, the Esports Radar detected that the US Air Force partnership during IEM Cologne garnered 668 hours of total branded exposure with an average exposure duration of five seconds. The US Army also recorded a media value of around €3m (~£2.6m).
Alongside media value statistics, Shikenso’s report also noted that the average age of the event audience was 19.72. Moreover, 92% of the audience was male.
In terms of viewership distribution, Brazil contributed 25% of the viewership with Shikenso highlighting co-streaming by Gaules as a significant factor. Brazilian viewership contributed to 10% of IEM Cologne’s overall media value.
IEM Cologne was the most watched non-Major CS:GO event so far this year attracting over 700,000 peak viewers. Only the BLAST.Tv Paris Major, CS:GO’s final Major ever, garnered more peak viewers.
Shikenso is providing free copies of its IEM Cologne findings on LinkedIn.
