The 2022 Call of Duty League Championships took place in Los Angeles from August 4th-7th, and SponsorUnited was there covering the action.
Mountain Dew and MTN DEW GAME FUEL featured over 10 unique assets during the four-day run–including an on-stage commercial live at the event, product handouts, and concourse signage including a 360 ribbon billboard inside the venue. The soda brand also posted on social media throughout the tournament. Its efforts generated the highest average engagement rate (.07) among brands sponsoring the CDL.
Speaking of engagement, Zenni’s Kickoff Classic Bracket was the top post across all 3 social media platforms, with a combined score of over 19,000 followers. In the last 12 months, the social media partnership between the optical brand and the CDL featured 23 branded posts, for a total engagement of over 40,000. Zenni Optical ranks third in total posts and engagement among CDL partnerships behind Mountain Dew and MTN DEW GAME FUEL, respectively. Nearly a quarter (24%) of Zenni’s deals are within Esports.
Technology, beverage non-alcoholic, and leisure/recreation comprise the top 3 brand categories that sponsor CDL with an even split, each owning 16% of the league’s total portfolio. Moving against the current trend in the sports and entertainment industry, digital deals are declining in the CDL–down 9% versus last year–while sponsorships have climbed 7% over the same period.
As the Esports industry’s explosive growth–jump-started by the pandemic in early 2020–continues, CDL’s fan base is also steadily expanding, with a 37% increase in followers on Twitter, FB, and Instagram in 2022 compared to last year.
