Coca-Cola launches first eSports partnership
Coca-Cola Football Manager 2021 Copa Challenge kicks off on 1 October with leading gamers
Print28 September 2021
With an increased focus on expanding its ecommerce and digital footprint, Coca-Cola is pleased to announce its first competitive gaming tournament The Coca-Cola Copa Challenge, which will see gaming influencers compete against one another at the prominent Football Manager 2021 title.
Fuelled by the lockdown environment, gaming in Ireland is experiencing exponential growth, both in revenue and viewership, and is set for further acceleration in the coming years. Today, 2.7 million people make up the gaming community in Ireland.
Managed by a world-leading gaming company Gfinity, this esports partnership is the first of its kind for a leading drinks brand in Ireland and will see Coca-Cola engage gamers in new and exciting ways, with a focus on sponsorships, collaboration, and experiential moments.
From 1 October, leading gaming influencers will broadcast their Football Manager 2021 fantasy draft tournament series to entertain this captive audience. Hosted by Richie Sheridan and Chris Tunn, participants will include FIFA esports commentator and host Brandon Smith, TikTok stars Ryan Mar and Kyle Kehoe, and eSports influencers Conran Tobin and Paddy Murphy, to name but a few!
The tournament will span four weeks, with each of the influencers broadcasting their player selections on Fridays and games each Saturday, on Twitch. Each player will have an 18-man squad with each game lasting 90 mins with penalties deciding any draws. Players will accumulate points throughout the four weeks, with the Coca-Cola Copa Challenge Champion crowned in the finale.
The event will offer opportunities for engagement and entertainment for the viewership. A Coca-Cola microsite will host weekly challenges for the audience to vote on, along with the leaderboard and other tournament updates.
A partnership with Just Eat will also be key feature across the tournament, offering exclusive weekly discounts and giveaways for viewers at home who tune in to the action.
In addition to promotions across the microsite and Just Eat’s landing page, Coca-Cola’s marketing activation will focus primarily on Twitch; with Moobots, clickable broadcast adverts, and ad hoardings throughout the game.
To drive continual engagement, there will be competitions and giveaways by the hosts, participating influencers and across Coca-Cola social media channels.
Influencers will also stream the action on their own preferred social media channel, extending the organic reach through Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
“At The Coca-Cola Company, we are always looking at new ways to connect with our with our audiences and to bring them together through new and exciting experiences,” said Tom Greenlees, head of digital media and influencer strategy at The Coca-Cola Company.
“We have a great selection of talent taking part in what we hope will be an exciting experience for both competitors and the audience,” he added. “Initiatives like this provide a great opportunity to innovate and I’m really excited to see what we, and our partners, can learn from this to deliver more immersive and rewarding experiences like this for our consumers in the future.”
For information on how to follow the action, visit http://www.coca-colacopa.com/ie.
Related Articles
Centra releases heartwarming ‘Dinner Made Easy’ campaign →
Nobó Protein Bites are the latest innovation from Irish healthy living brand →
Deep RiverRock marks one year as Ireland’s leading impulse water brand →
Fans 0
Followers