(Rocket League trophy image courtesy of Gen.G)
One of ExxonMobil’s biggest brands and an international esports team have signed an unusual partnership to field and run men’s and women’s teams in North American circuits of Rocket League, Epic’s racing-meets-soccer title.
The deal between Mobil 1 and Gen.G marks a different kind of relationship between a consumer-facing brand and a team in esports, which has long had sponsorship deals from endemic advertisers such as gaming peripherals, energy drinks and snack foods, said Gen. G CEO Arnold Hur.
“It’s sort of a new model for esports,” Hur said. “We’re actively helping a brand build a team. They’re very involved in working with us to construct the roster. It’s kind of a true (joint venture) and more of a long-term venture.”
Mobil 1’s racing division has long been involved as a sponsor in traditional racing circuits such as Formula 1, NASCAR and extreme events, and had already been a sponsor of the men’s North American Rocket League Championship Series. But the brand wanted to dive deeper on esports racing, to build a tighter, more direct connection to the community, Hur said.
“We have a long-standing relationship with Rocket League, which dates back to season 1 of the RLCS,” Ryan Allen, ExxonMobil’s brand & partnerships manager of North America, said in a release. “We have a long history of success in motorsports, and we hope that our teams in Rocket League will be able to add to that legacy.”
So the energy giant is backing what will be called Gen.G Mobil 1 Racing.
“People cheer for teams, they don’t cheer for billboards, but you have to build a winning roster,” Hur said. “For (Mobil 1), this is going to be their team. That’s really exciting for us. They’re wanting to do it across the scene, both men’s and women’s sides, and work with content creators. At the end of the day, both of us want to be heavily involved.”
Each team will feature three players and a coach, with their work further amplified online with two social media specialists. The new seasons start in October for teams in the men’s NA RLCS and in the women’s circuit, the Women’s Carball Championship. The women’s team will compete under the name Gen.G Mobil 1 Racing Black.
And although Mobil 1, a synthetic oil, has a long involvement in high-end racing, this marks a significant extension of the brand as it tries to reach younger audiences.
“Two factors are happening,” Hur said. “There’s kind of a sports-racing auto culture that’s now going much larger thanks in large part to the Netflix
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The second factor: “A lot of young people care about this sport as well as auto sports in general,” Hur said. Many hobbyist gamers are used to building their own PCs and figuring out other complicated technical challenges. Surveys of Gen.G fans have found many of them take the same DIY approach to maintaining their cars.
Har said Mobil 1 is even considering creating intramural esports teams for its employees using Rocket League, where rocket-powered cars try to push the ball into an opponent’s net. It’s definitely a changeup from the traditional softball team, but likely to appeal to many younger employees of both genders.
The men’s team will include Jack “Apparently Jack” Benton, Joseph “noly” Kidd, and Nick “Chronic” Iwanski. The first two had top finishes in the European circuit last season, and will be joined by the up-and-coming 17-year-old Iwanski. The team is likely to be based in Texas.
The women’s team will feature Kira O., Courtney Johnson, and Isabella “Bella” Williams. The latter two finished in third place last season in the WCBC, with Johnson named MVP of the regular season. Kira O.’s team had beaten Johnson and Williams in last season’s playoffs, where her team placed second.
Two content creators, Nathan “stanza” Stanz and Widow, will also be part of the team, providing social media content for each team.
Gen.G – which has “co-headquarters” in Santa Monica, Calif., and Seoul, South Korea – also operates competitive teams across League of Legends, Overwatch League, NBA 2K League, VALORANT and PUBG.
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