eSports sponsorship: How employer branding helps us reach and recruit the unreachables

The competition for top talent is greater than ever. In addition to the general shortage of workers in many parts of the world, marketing to the digital-native generations and generating interest in your brand is a complex undertaking. They are the first to grow up in a globally connected world, but capturing their attention and really resonating with them takes more than a catchy social media strategy.

What’s more, DHL faces a hurdle that many big brand names don’t encounter. People know that we are a logistics company but don’t fully understand our multi-faceted business or the potential opportunities. Many young professionals don’t realize that our global company, which operates worldwide in over 220 countries and territories, offers a wide variety of jobs and career paths – everything from customer-facing frontline roles to behind-the-scenes business and high-tech roles.

So how do we market and establish our brand as an attractive employer and connect with specific target audiences to ensure that they know about these opportunities?

The answer is connecting their world to our world. We need to seek out and find the spaces where potential talents in younger generations like GenZ and Alpha focus their passion and strike a balance between direct and online engagement.

One way we do that is through our eSports sponsorship with EFG.

The eSports community is one of the world’s fastest-growing markets with a steadily rising global fanbase that is overwhelmingly young and dynamic – digital natives who make up a perfect pool of potential candidates for careers at DHL.

We are the first brand to build a meaningful connection with eSports by creating branding and marketing content that seamlessly integrates our brand into the eSports world. 

Built on our solid partnership with EFG, we have established ourselves as a recognized company that sponsors eSports. Fans have come to expect DHL Red and Yellow at ESL events – and competitions like the DHL Drop have become super popular. What's more, Dota2 legend “SirActionSlacks” gives our brand an authentic, human face.

Together with Slacks, we speak directly to eSports fans, opening their eyes to the world of logistics and the many career paths we offer that are ideal for gamers.

The results speak for themselves: conversion rates and time spent on the sites exceeded all expectations. Our eSports employer branding page has received nearly 200,000 visits in the past two years, resulting in 80,000+ job views and more than 10,000 job applications.

This year, we went back to where it all began – to Birmingham, where we launched our partnership with EFG in 2018. There we started the new campaign with Slacks – and we look forward to expanding our collaboration. 

Together, we’re embracing the future of entertainment and reaching the next generation of logistics professionals. 

Why eSports?
The eSports community is one of the world’s fastest-growing markets, with a steadily growing global fanbase that is expected to hit more than 640 million this year. This group is overwhelmingly young and dynamic – digital natives who make up a perfect pool of potential candidates for IT and other careers at DHL.

Is DHL involved in other eSports titles besides Dota2?
Yes. DHL has established a presence at EFG’s Counter-Strike 2 events, which we also leverage with a unique employer branding approach. Combined with our Ultimate 10 competition, where entrants can win a trip to the ESL Pro League Finals, we connect the skills needed for various roles in the game with job skills at DHL. Players can instantly discover the careers relevant to their skillset with the click of a button.

We also work with Snapdragon Pro Series, the world’s largest multi-title mobile eSports league. Mobile gaming is the fastest-growing sector of eSports, driven by faster chips and better graphics cards in mobile devices and easy access to all kinds of games on smartphones.

How long has DHL sponsored eSports?
DHL and ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) have collaborated for the past six years to elevate fan experiences at EFG’s Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 eSports tournaments. DHL is the Official Logistics Partner of ESL.

What is the DHL EffiBOT Dash?
First, EffiBOT is one of DHL’s mobile warehouse robots. It can follow employees through facilities and carry heavy loads. In the DHL EffiBOT Dash, we brought our beloved bot into the online world. The jump-and-run game challenges you to drive EffiBOT and collect as many parcels as you can. Be sure to watch this space for a chance to win great prizes at the 2024 EffiBOT World Championship, starting soon.