Tencent Games has announced a partnership with PepsiCo India to make its Mountain Dew brand a “platinum sponsor” for the PUBG MOBILE Pro League (PMPL) South Asia. Updated branding now shows the league as being “fueled by Mountain Dew.”
Financial terms and additional activation details were not disclosed.
PUBG MOBILE’s professional esports ecosystem consists of four regional pro leagues, a new model implemented this year. The start of these leagues was delayed due to the global novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but the South Asia PMPL is now scheduled to resume on May 22 with an online format.
PepsiCo has partnered with a wide array of tournaments, teams, and esports influencers over the last few years, but the majority of its effort recently has been focused on its gamer energy drink brand MTN DEW AMP GAME FUEL. So far this year the brand has partnered with Twitch Rivals, Team SoloMid, and streamer Jack “CouRage” Dunlop.This is one of the company’s first major esports partnerships in the last year to not specifically tie to GAME FUEL.
In the company’s Q1 2020 earnings call, PepsiCo CEO Ramon Luis Laguarta highlighted GAMEFUEL and the Mountain Dew brand as having opportunities in the energy boost category. “So you will see some more innovation of our Mountain Dew brand to play more intentionally in that space.”
