Esports sponsorships give Red Bull wings

Red Bull has cultivated a strong presence in the esports space, courtesy of sponsorship deals with leading esports teams and events. The energy drink giant has tie-ups with prominent tournaments including the League of Legends esports circuit as well as globally recognised teams such as OG, G2 and T1. That aside, Red Bull also hosts esports events, including the Red Bull Campus Clutch – a VALORANT tournament.

The most pertinent question perhaps is whether this brand promotion is translating into an appetite for the core product. According to data from YouGov Global Fan Profiles, which also contains key brand metrics drawn from YouGov BrandIndex, the answer is a solid yes. Red Bull scores significantly higher in Consideration among esports fans compared to the average population in a variety of markets. Esports fans in this piece refer to those who are “somewhat interested” in esports or rate it as one of their “top interests”.

In Australia, more than a third of esports fans (36%) say they would consider purchasing Red Bull when they are next in the market compared to one in seven people overall (15%). In the US, esports fans are almost four times as likely as the overall population to consider opting for Red Bull when they’re looking for a beverage (24% vs 7%). The same is the case in Britain where a fifth of esports fans say they would consider Red Bull (20% vs 5% overall).

A quarter of German esports fans (24%) say they would consider Red Bull compared to under a tenth of the overall population (8%).

Of the markets we examine in this piece, only China (25% vs 20%) and UAE (24% vs 19%) show a relatively modest, but still significant, uptick for Red Bull Consideration among esports fans vs the overall populations there. But in both these markets, Red Bull enjoys a relatively high base among general consumers compared to other markets.

In most of these markets, Red Bull also draws a stronger response from esports fans than from followers of motorsport. This comparison is particularly relevant on account of the brand’s heavy investments in F1, in which it operates an eponymous team. The UAE is the exception to the trend, where those who follow motorsports are 10-percentage points likelier than esports fans to consider purchasing Red Bull.

Methodology: YouGov Global Fan Profiles, which includes data from 38 markets, is based on continuously collected data from several sources, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Online interviews were conducted between December 2021 and December 2022.