{"id":606526,"date":"2023-02-10T07:49:24","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T13:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/10\/campbells-chunky-super-bowl-collab-with-nickmercs-shows-why-more-brands-are-partnering-with-influencers-over-esports-orgs\/"},"modified":"2023-02-10T07:49:24","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T13:49:24","slug":"campbells-chunky-super-bowl-collab-with-nickmercs-shows-why-more-brands-are-partnering-with-influencers-over-esports-orgs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/10\/campbells-chunky-super-bowl-collab-with-nickmercs-shows-why-more-brands-are-partnering-with-influencers-over-esports-orgs\/","title":{"rendered":"Campbell\u2019s Chunky Super Bowl collab with Nickmercs shows why more brands are partnering with influencers over esports orgs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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February 10, 2023\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0\u00a03 min read<\/span> | By Alexander Lee<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tIvy Liu\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Campbell\u2019s Chunky has partnered with popular streamer Nick \u201cNickmercs\u201d Kolcheff to reach gamers in the lead-up to the Super Bowl. In doing so, the brand has implicitly acknowledged the ascendance of individual gaming influencers<\/a> in the brand partnership arena \u2014\u00a0and the decline of organization-level esports sponsorships.<\/p>\n

Kolcheff\u2019s partnership with Campbell\u2019s was tied to the Chunky FuelUp Tournament, a gaming competition held in the brand\u2019s custom \u201cFortnite\u201d space, the Chunky Bowl stadium<\/a>. Kolcheff livestreamed the tournament\u2019s February 8 finals on his Twitch channel, with the winners securing prizes including NFL tickets and merchandise, in addition to streamed shoutouts from Kolcheff. (Kolcheff and Campbell\u2019s representatives declined to elaborate on the structure or value of the deal.)<\/p>\n

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\u201cGaming isn\u2019t just a hobby for a group of nerds anymore. It\u2019s a big part of popular culture, and for hundreds of millions of gamers, a meaningful part of their identity,\u201d Kolcheff said. \u201cSmart brands like Chunky get that, and they\u2019re engaging gamers in new ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Campbell\u2019s did not intend the activation to replace the Super Bowl, the brand consciously placed the tournament within the playoff season to better reach both gamers and sports fans.\u00a0Kolcheff\u2019s stream on February 8 maintained an average concurrent viewership of over 20,000 and a peak of nearly 30,000, according to Streams Charts<\/a>. (For comparison, Stream Charts says that Tyler \u201cNinja\u201d Blevins, the current most-followed Twitch streamer, reached an average concurrent viewership on the platform of just under 10,000 during his most recent livestream.)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe finale timing right before the Super Bowl allowed us to capitalize upon the excitement leading into the Super Bowl when football buzz is high, but also gave football fans an exciting event to watch when no NFL games are being played,\u201d said a representative of Campbell\u2019s Chunky\u2019s marketing team, who declined to be identified by name.<\/p>\n

Chunky\u2019s partnership with Kolcheff, one of Twitch\u2019s most popular streamers<\/a>, is smart indeed. Although Kolcheff is a member of the prominent esports organization FaZe Clan<\/a>, the brand chose to activate directly with him, rather than partnering with the broader org. As brands like BMW divest from esports orgs<\/a>, marketers are beginning to realize that they can get better returns \u2014 and better value \u2014\u00a0from individual streamer partnerships instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe like to keep our lens wide and keep evaluating, so we\u2019re constantly looking at consumer behavior, and constantly talking to different outlets so that we have a good view of what\u2019s going on in the marketplace,\u201d said Marci Raible, vp of integrated marketing for Campbell\u2019s Meals & Beverages. \u201cThere\u2019s no one reason [Campbell\u2019s doesn\u2019t partner with esports orgs] \u2014 I think it\u2019s more about prioritization.\u201d<\/p>\n

One stated reason for Chunky\u2019s decision to partner with Kolcheff over his esports org was due to the tournament\u2019s status as an individual competition, rather than a team event, according to the Campbell\u2019s Chunky marketing rep. But as brands grow more skeptical of the ROI of esports org partnerships, the decision might just be the result of good business sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to having less red tape than org-wide sponsorships, partnering with individual influencers allows brands to reach their fans more directly, in ways that line up with their specific fan bases, rather than by attempting to satisfy the disparate audiences of an org\u2019s influencer roster. <\/p>\n

And there are potential brand safety upsides, too: while FaZe Clan has been mired in its fair share of controversies<\/a> over the past few years, Kolcheff himself has largely remained above the fray during his time with the org.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think about the marketing they\u2019ve done in the past, Chunky, as a brand, seems really comfortable with putting a specific face behind their brand. They\u2019ve always had specific sportspeople showcasing Chunky soup,\u201d said Amy Gilbert, head of social for the social media moderation agency The Social Element. \u201cSo it feels really comfortable to be having a specific person, versus a bigger organization, because that fits within their kind of marketing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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