Sports and marketing have an immense influence over each other - when a star player rises, companies backing sports organizations spend so much money in order to get their hands on those star players. The reason? Simple; their brand can be recognized through these star players. When their star players gain fame, the organizations and sponsor companies get recognition as well, which leads to an increase in their brand value. Even people who are negative towards advertisement in general see sports marketing as natural, which has allowed many companies to partake in the sports marketing without much drawback.

However, there is a whole lot of money that has to be spent on sports marketing; the cost of establishing and maintaining a sports organization is certainly nothing to scoff at. Sports marketing profits eventually outweigh the costs, but most of the time, big companies are the only ones that can afford it. However, that is not so for Esports. It is possible to make a team with relatively smaller costs while still having the same marketing effects that any other sport has.

Esports viewership is growing larger and larger; so much so that more people watch Esports than watch the Super Bowl, the world’s most expensive advertisement as some people say. Esports can more easily attract younger audiences compared to other sports, and has grown every year. Esports’ recent boom has caused many companies to take interest, which may lead to even further growth in the industry.

Among a large number of companies entering the scene, there are quite a few bigger companies. One such company is AirAsia, which is famous for maintaining the Queens Park Rangers (QPR). AirAsia creating an AirAsia Allstars Esports Club is a significant step within the industry because it shows that major companies have begun to look at Esports in the same light as traditional sports.

There is one figure who stands at the frontline of AirAsia’s Esports management -- Allan Phang, the Esports Evangelist. He is the one responsible for the Esports marketing plan that AirAsia will introduce, and is also helping raise awareness about Esports within AirAsia. He was recently awarded the Take Ownership Award from AirAsia People and Culture for his efforts, which means that Esports has become a great interest within AirAsia.

Players are usually in the spotlight when it comes to sports. Those around the players also receive some attention, but there usually aren’t any opportunities to hear stories about the organization. Some people may think that the organizations involved in Esports and traditional sports are only interested in marketing and selling their brand, but are those the only reasons that companies have been engaged with Esports?

We have invited Allan Phang, the Esports Evangelist from the AirAsia Allstar Esports Club, to provide the answer to this question at the Inven Global Esports Conference (IGEC). He knows more about what companies do in Esports than anyone else does.

Will Esports take its place alongside traditional sports? With that goal in mind, Allan Phang will be telling us at the IGEC what roles companies can play and the vision they should have for the future of Esports.