After entering into a multi-event partnership with ELEAGUE, the US Air Force has now partnered with Cloud9’s Counter Strike Global offensive team, the first esports organisation to receive sponsorship from one of the wings of US military.
As a Jersey and content sponsor, the Air Force will collaborate with C9 on video content featuring the team, in which the team will travel to different Air Force bases across the country and interact with different units of the US Air Force, starting with the Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Georgia. All this will be recorded and streamed to the online audience. Moreover, as part of the deal, the Cloud9 team will proudly display the Air Force logo on their jerseys. (Cloud9 is already sponsored by OMEN by HP, HyperX, Twitch, MSI, HTC, NEEDforSEAT USA and RedBull.)
“Cloud9 is proud to create awareness of the Air Force for our amazing fan base. By developing a dynamic partnership with the Air Force, we will be able to deliver extraordinary content that will show fans a totally different side of the team. No one else in the world can put our team into a jet and let our fans watch the sheer thrill come over their faces. It’s going to be amazing.”
-Jack Etienne, Cloud9 owner and CEO
This isn’t the first time when the Air force has ventured into esports. Prior to the multi-tournament partnership with ELEAGUE, the military branch had also sponsored the Boston Major earlier this year where an Air Force Sergeant presented a sponsored MVP award to C9’s Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham.
And the reason for this interest? With the rise in popularity of esports, more and more organisations are acknowledging the unique marketing opportunities being presented by esports. With the younger demographic moving away from the traditional media and entertainment sources, the best way to reach out to them is through esports and online video contents, and the US military is following that path to reach its target audience.
This article was contributed to esportsportal by Sanjib “YakuzaSRC” Roy Choudhury.
