Ad-tech companies are "creating new ways to measure the impact of brand sponsorships across various streaming and social platforms," as the "volume and variety of esports streaming becomes increasingly mainstream," according to Marty Swant of ADWEEK. With more spending in the sector comes the "need for better measurement, and this presents an opportunity for ad-tech startups as well as the standard coterie of analytics firms." In June, Nielsen partnered with Riot Games to "measure esports sponsorships while others have been courting investors to expand their presence in the space." Esports crowdfunding platform Matcherino created a "SponsorQuest," which "lets sponsors incentivize esports viewers by giving money to a tournament's prize pool and to the organizers every time a fan engages with a brand in a specific way." A marketer can "put 50 cents into the pool for each app download or $1.50 for every sign-up for a trial gym membership, allowing for a metric beyond brand awareness or reach." Measurement is not just an "issue for brands spending on esports advertising; it's also an issue for the platforms selling it." Startup StreamMetrics "gathers demographic and geographic audience data so that media companies will better understand their audiences," with Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment as one of its "main investors." StreamMetrics co-Founder & COO Dan Nemo said the "pain point" for HBS&E-owned Dignitas is the "same that all the teams have: this inconsistent, confusing set of metrics that nobody has been able to grab and explain to the brand advertiser community" (ADWEEK.com, 8/19).
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