Sport, fandom and entertainment · Episode 7 · Season 1 · ·
Authentic Brand Partnerships in Esports and Gaming
Giulia Zecchini, Partnership Development Lead at Arsenal F.C., on why gaming demands long-term brand commitment rather than tactical dips, how the most successful partnerships give back to the community, and why the gaming audience is unlike any audience in traditional sports. Recorded as Commercial Partnerships Strategy Director at ESL FACEIT Group.
Giulia Zecchini, Commercial Partnerships Strategy Director, ESL FACEIT Group. In conversation with Justin Cooke.
Authentic Brand Partnerships in Esports and Gaming
0:0027:00Why gaming demands authentic long-term brand commitment and why the audience stays engaged for life
Giulia Zecchini joined ESL FACEIT Group in 2021 after four years at Formula One where she ran commercial business intelligence. In June 2025 she moved to Arsenal F.C. as Partnership Development Lead. That journey from traditional sports to esports to Premier League football has given her an unusual comparative lens on what makes brand partnerships work across different entertainment properties.
In this conversation Zecchini explains why brands that treat gaming as a media buy rather than a community commitment will fail, why the most successful brand partnerships are the ones that give tangible value back, and why the audience at a Counter-Strike major is unlike any audience in sport. DHL has fans chanting its name in arenas. Gucci built a luxury storytelling series. Intel gives product away. The thread connecting all three is genuine investment in what the community wants.
What is ESL FACEIT Group and what makes gaming different from other entertainment properties?
“ESL FACEIT Group is the largest esports company in the world. We are the leader for esports events through our ESL vertical, but we also have a gaming platform called Faceit with over 30 million gamers, and we do gaming festivals. We are really at the centre of gaming culture.”
Zecchini comes from Formula One where the average audience age is in the forties. ESL FACEIT Group's average audience age is 26 and a half. More importantly, gamers do not age out of the ecosystem. They move from active playing to viewing to content creation to event attendance, remaining connected throughout their lives.
Why do brands fail when they approach gaming as a tactical media buy?
“I think if they come in and just want to do a very traditional sponsorship model, which is just a brand awareness piece, in most cases it would fall a bit flat. The gaming community is very vocal. If you disrupt their ecosystem too much, they will call you out.”
Zecchini is direct about what happens when brands treat gaming like a display placement. The community identifies it immediately, the sentiment is negative, and the activation fails. The contrast she draws is with DHL, whose audience participation in Dota 2 events has reached the point where fans chant the brand name in arenas. That took years of genuine commitment and community value.
What does a successful gaming brand partnership actually look like?
“Whether it is DHL doing a recruitment campaign to help young people enter the job market, or Gucci doing an incredible storytelling piece looking at icons within the gaming world, or Intel giving back with giveaways and Twitch drops. When you are able to do that, especially with a long-term commitment, you really see audiences build a rapport with the brand that is very different to what we see in other entertainment realms.”
The three examples share a common thread: they are all doing something for the community rather than at the community. None of them are just putting a logo on a surface. The result in each case is that the community associates the brand with positive experiences, which produces the kind of sentiment and loyalty that a passive awareness campaign cannot generate.
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“It goes from brand awareness, how many people are discussing what the brand is doing. You talk about sentiment. We talk about engagement, how many people are actively participating. And then digitally we can track that journey a lot more precisely.”
Measurement in esports has both traditional and novel dimensions. Traditional sports metrics like eyeballs and dwell time transfer directly. But gaming adds branded digital missions on the Faceit platform, where brands set in-game objectives for players and measure how many people actively participate. This creates a direct line between brand investment and measurable audience behaviour.
What advice would you give to a brand marketeer taking their first step into gaming?
“Go in with a long-term plan. I disagree with dip your feet. I think if you dip your feet in gaming, you are bound to fail because you cannot compare it to any other entertainment pillar in terms of results. Work with experts to develop something authentic to the community. Do not act like an awkward corporate partner.”
Zecchini's final advice condenses everything she has said: authenticity, commitment, and community investment are not optional extras in gaming. They are the price of entry. A brand that approaches the space with a short-term budget and a legacy media mindset will measure failure and conclude the channel does not work.
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Read the full transcript
Lightly edited for readability
Justin Cooke Tell us about ESL FACEIT Group.
Giulia Zecchini ESL FACEIT Group is the largest esports company in the world. We are the leader for esports events through ESL, we have a gaming platform called Faceit with over 30 million gamers, and we do gaming festivals. We are at the centre of gaming culture. I joined in 2021 after four years at Formula One where I was heading up commercial business intelligence.
Justin Cooke How should brands approach gaming partnerships?
Giulia Zecchini The most important thing is for brands to come knowing what they are trying to achieve. Some brands fall into the trap of just following trends and get into gaming without knowing what they want. Gaming and esports is a very wide spectrum. Talk to experts, find which subcategory fits your brand, then work on activations that are authentic and give back to the community.
Justin Cooke What does a great gaming brand partnership look like?
Giulia Zecchini DHL does a recruitment campaign to help young people get jobs. Gucci built a storytelling series called Gucci Legends. Intel gives back with giveaways and Twitch drops. All three are doing something for the community. We have people in our arenas that literally chant DHL when they come to Dota 2 events. I do not think I have ever seen that in my career in sports.
Justin Cooke What advice for a brand taking their first step into gaming?
Giulia Zecchini Go in with a long-term plan. If you dip your feet in gaming, you are bound to fail. You cannot compare it to any other entertainment pillar in terms of what you are trying to achieve. Work with experts to develop something authentic. Do not act like an awkward corporate partner. Just get fully involved. If you nourish the community, the community will love you back.
