Last year’s Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) M6 World Championship generated over €115m (~£97.12m) in brand value for its partners, according to a report by esports data company Shikenso Analytics.
In the report, the total value included €63.4M (~£53.5m) from streaming platforms and €51.8M (~£44.37M) through social media exposure.
Shikenso and MOONTON Games, MLBB’s developer, joined forces ahead of the M6 World Championship to track partner performance through real-time insights. The tournament made headlines when it became the most-watched MLBB world championship, peaking at 4.13m viewers, according to Esports Charts.
Due to additional data provided by Shikenso, MOONTON stated that it could guarantee a high value of visibility for partner brands, which was over 3.4m times where partner brands were visible during the competition. This included 85bn in total gross impressions and 170m hours spent by viewers on branded assets.
The M6 World Championship saw a large list of brand partners, including Qiddiya, Republic of Gamers, Fairrie, Meiji Hello Panda, Secretlab, Hotlink and JD Sports, among others.
What Created the Best Brand Value?
One of MOONTON’s main goals was to ensure the brands had a strong ROI on the sponsorship and optimise deliverables on distinct assets.
According to the report, exclusive sponsorship assets drove higher value, up to a 70% increase. The best-performing brand asset was the caster desk, which made up nearly one-third of the total media value. Paired with the other top three (stage asset, exclusive brand placement, and in-game overlay), MOONTON was able to hit 82% of the total media value generated at the event.
Non-broadcast channels also provided strong brand visibility, marking a shift towards branded content opportunities aside from the traditional coverage. On the social media side, the tournament saw high ROI through logo placements.
“The M Series World Championship has been at the heart of the MLBB Esports’ growth, accounting for nearly a fifth of our 476m watch hours in 2024,” commented Adrian Cher, Head of Global Sales at MOONTON Games:
“Working with Shikenso has given us valuable insights into audience engagement and brand visibility. Their data-driven approach provides transparent, in-depth metrics, allowing us to optimise partnership opportunities and enhance audience engagement across platforms.”
Founded in Germany in 2017, Shikenso Analytics continues to be one of the main players when it comes to tracking media value in the gaming and esports space. Earlier last month, the company signed a multi-year partnership with ESL FACEIT Group to provide insights across global events.
