The Elder Scrolls Online is promoting the game in unconventional ways.

The marketing team at ZeniMax Online Studios (ZOS) is thinking outside the box when it comes to advertising The Elder Scrolls Online and introducing the game to potential new players. According to a recent thread on the official ESO forums, The Elder Scrolls Online sponsored a segment of this morning’s SportsCenter broadcast on the ESPN network (if you’re unfamiliar with SportsCenter, it’s a daily sports news show that’s been on the air since 1979).

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Outside The Box Marketing

Surprisingly, today’s sponsorship isn’t the first time ZOS has marketed ESO to sports fans. There’s reports of commercials being aired during Saturday’s UFC 189 mixed martial arts prelims, and I personally watched an Elder Scrolls Online commercial shown during Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals (as a Blackhawks and ESO fan, I was almost giddy).

ESO And Sports?

When thinking about the connection between video games and sports, Madden Football and a host of other sports related games come to mind.

But The Elder Scrolls Online?

While it may seem strange to spend advertising dollars to promote the MMORPG to sports fans, one poster named Paradox summed things up quite nicely, probably hitting the Dremora on the head when it comes to ZOS’s outside the box strategy:

The purpose of marketing is to introduce new customers to something, not show current customers the same. Where would you have them market their game? Game sites? Places people who already know of ESO frequent? They want potentially new players to see the ads, not current ones.

Pman85 further adds:

I think the age demographic from ESPN is right where it needs to be for ESO. Generally ESPN might be more a male demo vs a female, but the same can be said for the ESPN views. If you really think about it, it makes a pretty good spot for advertising your game.

Final Thoughts

So what do you think about the marketing strategy for The Elder Scrolls Online? If you were in charge of the game’s advertising budget, would you promote ESO to sports fans or look elsewhere to attract new players? Share your thoughts and ideas in the Speak Your Mind section below, and let us know where you’ve seen Elder Scrolls Online advertisements or promotions.