Fluxo, Loud, Furia, INTZ and Team Liquid recall their stories, achievements and comment on the relationship with partner brands
The eSports universe has consolidated itself as a giant, creating a loyal, engaged and passionate community. Naturally, it also became significant in a marketing scenario in Brazil and the world – which is now considered a rich industry, attracting both players and sponsoring brands.
In a market full of opportunities, some eSports teams stand out for offering a platform for players to reach their maximum potential, while becoming relevant brands in the world of entertainment and marketing.
Flow
In a competitive universe of eSports, in 2021 an organization emerged that sought to transcend the boundaries of the game and conquer fans. This is how Fluxo was born, founded by two big names in the Brazilian scene: Bruno Nobru Goes and Lucio Cerol dos Santos.
Rooted in the expertise and individual reputation of its founders and a desire to expand its influences, Fluxo quickly became a rising power and established itself as a force on the scene, winning titles and building an engaged community.
Determined to write a chapter beyond Free Fire, in 2022, Fluxo announced its entry into the competitive scenario of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, one of the most popular and prestigious modalities of eSports. This strategic move solidified Fluxo’s position as a versatile organization.
At the end of the same year, they entered the world of League of Legends. This initiative brought the team to a new level of visibility and put them face to face with some of the greatest talents in the country.
In addition, the organization has adopted a holistic approach, where concern for the audience’s experience is a central priority. Every content created and every action taken is meticulously planned to positively impact fans and admirers. Naturally, the strategy also brought the interest of many sponsors over the years, such as LG – Fluxo’s official sponsor.
When we think about the marketing strategies we adopt, we always focus on bringing brands that talk to our audience and that they identify with each one of them, says Jeferson Jefo Moreira, director of operations at Fluxo
With an eye toward the future, Fluxo eSports is ready to leave its mark on the eSports scene. Fluxo seeks to be not just a team, but an experience that transcends screens and unites players.
Loud
Believing in a differential to attract attention in the market to innovate in the way of producing content within eSpots, Jean Ortega and Matthew Ho bet on the creation of Loud.
With participation in several modalities and new content fronts, the organization managed to achieve great competitive results, such as the Valorante world title in 2022, two consecutive CBLOL achievements and the Brazilian Free Fire title, which boosted the growth of Loud.
Expertise in creating content and a good relationship with the community were essential pillars to win fans and build strategies for brands that wanted to enter the segment, especially those with an interest in generation Z.
Our strategy is to create the best possible ecosystem for our audience, and with that, sponsors arrive to boost our initiatives and generate conversations within our universe, being very well accepted, says Bruno Bittencourt, CEO of Loud. This strategy resulted in partnerships with major brands such as Ita, Mentos, Samsung and more.
Today we have a strong commercial department, with professionals within Loud who cultivate partnerships with agencies and different brands. We are always working so that new partnerships are good for our audience and that they understand how we like to co-create all activations. Everything we advertise or associate with Loud is seen across the board by a very engaged community, so there’s no room for error, adds Bittencourt.
Recently, Loud announced an inclusive lineup, which broke internal engagement records and was very well received by the scene. Loud believes that it is essential to work towards an increasingly diverse environment in the company as a whole. We know how important this is for exchanging ideas and different views of the world, which help us to see from another perspective and make the best decisions, concludes the CEO.
Fury
Furia is an eSports organization that burst onto the competitive scene in August 2017, when three visionary partners decided to join forces to create an outstanding team. Jaime Pdua, Cris Guedes and Andr Akkari (renowned as one of the best poker players in Brazil), embarked on a mission.
Initially, Furia focused its investments on the popular first-person shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). With a mindset focused on constant evolution and the search for the right decisions, the team established its mark on the national scene and soon began to draw attention internationally.
To earn its place among the greats of the eSports scene, Furia invested in an eSports complex in the United States. This strategic shift allowed the team access to more training opportunities, top-notch competition, and an ever-growing fan base.
With an approach marked by tireless effort in pursuit of excellence and constant evolution, the eSports organization has consolidated itself as a global phenomenon, arousing admiration and winning over fans around the world.
Furia continues to write its history in the competitive world of eSports, with a DNA strongly rooted in the search for great decisions and in the desire to constantly evolve, the team remains a symbol of perseverance and determination in the electronic sports scenario.
With such strength, the marriage with some brands was born, such as Red Bull, Betnacional, Cruzeiro do Sul Virtual and Lenovo.
Furia also highlights the importance of the female presence on the team. Andr Akkari, co-CEO of the organization, says that Furia is made up of many strategic, intelligent and professional women, who work hard for the public to follow Furia. In addition, Akkari says that placing women in active leadership positions is the best strategy for fostering female power.
INTZ
INTZ was founded in 2014 and over the years, it has become a reference in the gaming and eSports market. With an eSports club considered one of the most courageous, the organization has teams in various sports, with emphasis on League of Legends, CS:GO and Free Fire.
Its training structure is considered one of the best in the world, offering teams a complete environment for development, in addition to spaces dedicated to creating content and holding events for partners and fans. INTZ represents a new era in the competitive eSports landscape, pushing technology and professional gaming to even greater heights.
With the essence of competing to win, Lucas Almeida, CEO and founder of INTZ, explains that media investment brands make activations with the team or for the conversion capacity, today INTZ is sponsored by Claro, Mercado Bitcoin and Trigg.
Recently, we made Farofa by Gkay in Metaverso, which earned us a gold in the last Effie Awards, an important advertising award based on conversion campaigns and business generation. This year, we are focused on getting closer to the fans through technology and all our projects are on digital platforms for interaction with influencers, fans and the community in general, in addition to in-person events for our community, completes Lucas.
Liquid
Team Liquid was founded by Victor Gossens – a former professional StarCraft player who was one of the first Europeans to shine in South Korea – in 2000, in Holland, and has become a symbolic name in the eSports universe.
The emergence of the TeamLiquid.net forum and the creation of Liquipedia, the world’s largest eSports wiki, have driven the growth of the community. In 2015, the merger with Team Curse expanded Liquid’s global footprint and the partnership with Axiomatic in 2016 led the organization to scale globally.
Over the years, it has established itself as a safe brand and has partnered only with brands that are close to the organization’s values. For Liquid it is very important that these businesses are sustained and walk for a long time. We have sponsorship like Alienware, for example, which goes beyond a decade of partnership. This is extremely important for us, explains Rafael Queiroz, general manager of Team Liquid
Giving structure and opportunity to all people within eSport is one of the pillars of Team Liquid. For us, more important than maintaining an inclusive team, is showing that this barrier does not exist and that we can provide the same structure. Thus, the results will come and that is why we will be able to inspire many people who find themselves in the same situation to do the same, completes Queiroz.
(Image credits: Florian Olivo/Unsplash)
