Debonairs Pizza has taken a massive step forward in gaming, signing a multi-way partnership with IGN, Arcade X and two top local professional gaming teams. Debonairs Pizza has taken a massive step forward in gaming, signing a multi-way partnership with IGN, Arcade X and two top local professional gaming teams.
Cape Town - Internationally, it comes as no surprise for a variety of different brands from car manufacturers to telecoms to fast moving consumer goods companies to be part of the gaming and esports craze that has gripped the planet. Locally, however, this space has been dominated by “gaming endemic” brands, such as console and PC manufacturers, that see a direct synergy between their products and gaming. This is why we celebrate and welcome one of the biggest local fast food brands, Debonairs Pizza, leading the charge to take a massive step forward in gaming, signing a mammoth multi-way partnership.
The partnership will marry the world’s largest gaming hub, IGN; two of the top local professional gaming teams, Sinister 5 and White Rabbit; as well as the Arcade X tournament platform to explore gaming and gaming content which has become a notable passion point for many consumers. The objective of the partnership is to engage with this rapidly growing sector of consumers, by adding value to them through sponsoring tournaments and generating local content, thus entrenching its position as a key player and contributor to the gaming economy.
“This is a huge step for a brand that is not related to gaming or gaming technology. It does however illustrate their understanding of gaming as a lifestyle that has broken the barrier from a tiny niche to a legitimate mainstream way of life”, says Gareth Woods, Managing Director at Good Game Well Played – gaming marketing specialists.
Debonairs Pizza has always been a “tech forward” fast food company, being the first to introduce tech innovations such online ordering and the Debonairs Pizza app to South Africa, so the move into the always-online, tech-hungry world of gaming is not as foreign as some may think.
Debonairs Pizza understands the growing importance of gaming as a passion point for consumers and sees the convenience of their online ordering and free delivery offer as a natural fit with the gaming lifestyle. Debonairs Pizza seeks to add value to both the most casual and avid gamer by creating bespoke content, in collaboration with two professional gaming organisations, White Rabbit Gaming and Sinister 5 – to engage with gamers on their passion and in some cases, their profession.
According to a recent PWC report gaming has shown consistent growth in South Africa, boasting a 6% year-on-year (YOY) growth, with 8% YOY (equating to R53-million) in the gaming development sector. In totality, there are 1.6-million connected console gamers, with 39% as professional gamers earning an average of R30 000 - R50 000 and 22% earning over R50 000 monthly. On average, console gamers enjoy 10 hours of uninterrupted gaming a week with 91% spending more than R2 500 a month on gaming.