Philips India Makes Strategic Entry into Indian Esports with BGMI Team 'OneBlade’

In a strategic move to tap into the growing gaming industry, Philips India has entered Indian esports by signing its own BGMI esports team, 'OneBlade'.

The newly formed 'OneBlade' team will be represented by the R Esports lineup and will showcase the OneBlade brand logo and the tagline 'Move Fearlessly' while participating in BGMI tournaments. According to a release, the tagline aptly reflects the synergy between Philips OneBlade's commitment to providing a grooming experience without nicks or cuts and the team's bold playstyle in competitive BGMI esports tournaments. 

The 'OneBlade' BGMI roster consists of a talented lineup comprising Abhinav Kumar, Harshit Kashyap, Dev Sapra, Badal Kumar Behara, Almaz Rahman, and Akhand Pratap Singh from the renowned R Esports team. The BGMI team will compete under the banner of the Philips OneBlade brand from July 1st to October 1st.

Philips India’s BGMI Team: A Potential Game Changer for Esports Partnerships

This initiative from Philips India to engage with the esports audience marks a significant departure from the conventional path of team sponsorship taken by most Indian brands. Rather than simply sponsoring an existing organization, Philips India has opted to forge its own path by creating a BGMI team. This unique strategy allows the company to establish a deeper and more authentic connection with the community. Moreover, the visibility of the 'OneBlade' brand is likely to be heightened as it takes center stage, rather than being overshadowed as a mere sponsor of another established team. The lack of an existing esports fanbase for the brand could be offset by the novelty of a non-endemic brand forming its own esports team.

This move by Philips India to create its own BGMI team could spark a shift in the dynamics of esports partnerships, prompting existing esports teams to reassess their monetization strategies with a focus on delivering even greater value for partner brands. As brands like Philips India take control of their own teams, it raises the bar for existing esports organizations to prove their worth as partners, lest they turn into their competitors. 

This new dynamic could drive a positive transformation in the esports ecosystem, fostering increased creativity and competition among teams to secure and retain valuable brand partnerships. As a result, this could result in a net positive for both brands and esports teams in the long run.

The initiative could prove to be a hands-on marketing approach that serves as a creative alternative to team sponsorship, allowing Philips Oneblade to nurture the team and the community around it in accordance with its own brand values.

Nimish Raut, Global Head of Esports Partnerships & Special Projects at Nodwin Gaming, commended Philips' innovative approach to entering the esports market and finding a new way to make a mark in the competitive BGMI space. He highlighted the challenge of building value for brands within the esports ecosystem, stating that the traditional sports approach of logo presence and ad inventory alone is insufficient in such a dynamic and rapidly evolving industry. 

“I'm very glad that Philips has done this. They are a very close partner, and I'm very glad that they have done this and taken the first step towards something new, towards something cooler,” he said.

Raut concluded by stating that this initiative by Philips could be the beginning of something truly groundbreaking. “I hope that more and more partners look at opportunities within esports and within gaming from a more creative angle because the traditional approach of sponsorships and partnerships for this particular sport is not going to work. We need to keep reinventing ourselves and this is a start for something really, really big," he added.

Philips India's foray into the Indian esports scene shares similarities with ASUS Republic of Gamers’ (ROG) marketing initiative in Indian esports. Known as the ROG Academy, this initiative offers a holistic bootcamp experience designed to nurture and develop emerging first person shooter (FPS) players in India. Over a period of six months, aspiring players undergo training and mentorship within the ROG Academy ecosystem. During this time, these talented individuals compete in a range of tournaments, representing the ROG Academy brand.