Capital One has quietly entered esports sponsorship via a new ad deal on Twitch, bringing another Fortune 100 brand into the competitive gaming space. There’s been no formal announcement, but the brand started advertising yesterday during a Dota 2 Showdown tournament on the streaming platform, and a host referred to Capital One as the official bank and credit card of Twitch Rivals, which is a series of grassroots tournaments across a variety of games. The Twitch Esports account on Twitter also said the event was “powered by our partner Capital One.”
Capital One told The Esports Observer that its assets include a custom content series that will unlock exclusive content for viewers, and that it has designed a special gaming-themed animated ad as part of the deal. Horizon Media handles sports media spending for Capital One, but the brand stays in-house for strategy and activation. Twitch declined comment. Yesterday’s tournament asset is believed to be the first of an expansive new spend in esports by Capital One. The bank joins MTN DEW AMP GAME FUEL, the U.S. Army and Doritos as sponsors of Twitch Rivals. The host yesterday touted Eno, Capital One’s virtual assistance product.
Banking/financial services and credit cards have been fairly hot categories in esports in recent years. SoFi aligned with Misfits Gaming in March in what was described as esports’ first financial technology pact. Mastercard is also a major global sponsor of League of Legends, and Chase works with Warriors Gaming Squad, which competes in the NBA 2K League. There have also been several Chinese banks that have done esports sponsorships in that country, according to Newzoo.
This article originally appeared in the Sports Business Journal Esports Newsletter
