A new campaign called ‘Drive Is The Difference’ saw BMW UK leverage its partnership with eSports team FNATIC to shine the spotlight on the importance of looking after eSports players’ mental health and promote its BMW M3 Competition Saloon.
The partnership activation sets out to support eSports stars embrace the importance of work/life balance and continue to prioritise mental health as a route to ensure optimal gaming performance.
The innovative campaign launched on 26 August and is led by a 10-minute documentary-style hero film backed by a set of four supporting 45-second films.
The video creative see FNATIC stars Tekkz and Shawrey embark on a relaxing weekend away inside a BMW M3 Competition Saloon: a break which allows them to disconnect from the professional gaming world’s pressures, recharge their engines and refind their drive.
The campaign was created by agency Octagon and produced by sister company Milkmoney.
“These young stars are incredible at what they do – what’s important to BMW and FNATIC is ensuring they maintain their joy for the sport. That’s why we are so excited to launch “Drive is the Difference”, explained BMW UK Marketing Director Michelle Roberts. “We hope this will send a strong message out to the Esports community globally, encouraging all gamers to follow the example set by Tekkz to find that all important balance in their lives.”
“Performance is something that BMW and FNATIC have always had in common, but an often-neglected part of performance is what to do during your down time”, added Colin Johnson, Team Director and New Projects Lead at FNATIC. “Drive is the Difference is a perfect example of the importance of the idea that running yourself into the ground is not always the key to success – you must be efficient in every aspect of life and rest and relaxation is no exception. That balance is what has lead stars like Tekkz to become happy and healthy champions and we hope that is communicated to our fanbase and the rest of the community through this initiative.”
“This campaign is a first-of-its-kind programme in the Esports world and one I’m incredibly proud to bring to life,” outlined Octagon Creative Director Ryan Shaw. “Our film follows two Esports stars completely unplugging from the game so they can find their drive and come back feeling recharged. It’s unexpected for a performance brand to take you away from the sport you love, but that’s what makes BMW such a brilliant sponsor. They understand the importance of finding balance, so you always find joy in playing at that top level.”
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It was in April 2021 that BMW first penned a multi-year partnership with London-based eSports entertainment brand and team FNATIC in X in a tie-up based around the idea of both being driven by performance and which sees the team work with BMW engineers, designers and marketers and make use of BMW’s industry leading research, design and technology to innovate how we look at eSports and can improve every aspect of our performance.
FNATIC, which was founded in 2004 by Sam Mathews and has since won more than 200 championships across 30 different games, is one of several eSports partnership for the Munich based premium automotive company. Alongside Fnatic, BMW has partnered with four of the most successful eSports teams in history; Cloud 9 (US), Funplus Phoenix (China), G2 Esports (Germany) and T1 (South Korea). While they are all competitors, the activation programme is based around the idea that all the teams share competitive spirit, passion and dedication to achievement and are ‘United in Rivalry’ through their shared values and a drive to win, it is the competition that pushes development and enhances performance.
“At Fnatic we are dedicated to maximising performance and entertainment through technology and innovation. It is these shared values that make BMW the perfect partner as we seek to level-up every gamer on the planet. As a pioneer in the automotive space, with a history of advancing entertainment in competitive sport and working with the best talent and teams, we are thrilled to be working with BMW to build the future of esports and entertainment together,” said FNATIC’s Glen Calvert.
“Esports shows us how sports entertainment can continue to thrive and play a key role considering today’s challenges. Our entry into esports is motivated by a commitment to become a sustainable, global partner, supporting the teams and the discipline as a whole, before, during and after these times of uncertainty,” explained BMW Senior Customer and Brand VP Jens Thiemer.
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