For marketers, esports such as 'League of Legends' an enticing way to reach millennials

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. –  The latest ally in competitive gaming's fight for mainstream awareness just might be marketers.

At an intimate, invite-only gathering this week at an exclusive seaside resort, executives from corporations like AT&T, State Farm and McDonald's were looking to electronic sports to potentially capture new consumers. While esports now regularly draws tens of millions of spectators both online and in person, the genre continues to battle for broader recognition in North America.

"There is definitely an awareness issue across mainstream elements," said Dustin Beck, vice president of esports and merchandising at "League of Legends" publisher Riot Games. "We want this to be a successful ecosystem for decades to come, and that will be buoyed by having larger brands, like those here, who become aware of esports and get involved in esports."

Beck was among the attendees Wednesday at the sixth annual PTTOW! summit, an exclusive get-together of execs interested in reaching young consumers. Other subjects discussed at PTTOW! — which stands for "Plan To Take On the World" — included virtual reality, globalization and predictive marketing, with esports among the summit's most popular topics.

"Our job is to tell people what they don't know," said Roman Tsunder, co-founder and CEO of PTTOW! "Who wants to talk about something everyone knows about? Everyone here is the best in the world at what they do, and esports was important to include because enough people mentioned it. That's notable because there's $68 million of media investment in this room."

Over the past 10 years, the popularity of esports has amplified as technology has evolved, Internet speeds have become more reliable and a generation of gamers has grown up watching competitive bouts on streaming video sites like Twitch and YouTube. Earlier this year, a report released by research firm Newzoo said 205 million people watched esports in 2014.

However, a divide continues to frustrate the medium. The broadcast of a collegiate tournament for Blizzard's upcoming game "Heroes of the Storm" drew only about 100,000 viewers when it aired last month on ESPN2. It also inspired ire. ESPN radio host Colin Cowherd later remarked that he would retire if he was "ever forced to cover guys playing video games."