How to Grow Your Esports Brand With Giveaways

The esports world thrives on energy, community, and loyalty, exactly what a great giveaway can amplify.

Whether you’re part of an esports organization, a gaming brand, or a creator growing your fan base, the right contest can turn casual viewers into loyal supporters who keep coming back.

In today’s esports industry, effective content marketing is all about interaction, engaging with fans across streaming platforms, social media, and live esports events.

A well-timed giveaway or campaign can boost brand awareness, strengthen relationships, and drive lasting growth for your team or partners.

Here are ten creative giveaway ideas to help esports teams, brands, and creators grow their communities, attract sponsors, and energise fans across Twitch and YouTube.

Few things build anticipation like access. Offering free or VIP passes to your next video game tournament or esports event gives fans a tangible reason to engage early and spread the word.

This strategy turns pre-event promotion into a form of community marketing. Ask fans to follow your Twitch channel, visit your event page, or share your trailer on social media for a chance to win. Each entry action fuels awareness, clicks, and conversation.

The result is an engaged audience before the event even starts, ensuring a full crowd, whether that’s in-person or on-stream.

Esports teams thrive on identity. Branded merch, jerseys, hoodies, and accessories, gives fans a way to represent that identity both online and offline.

Running a merch giveaway is more than a prize drop; it’s a brand awareness campaign.

Encourage fans to tag your team, share their favourite moments, or post photos of themselves wearing your gear.

Each interaction spreads visibility to new target audiences who might not know your brand yet.

Consider adding referral or share actions to reward fans who help expand your reach.

The best part is you’ll collect new followers, email signups, and user-generated photos that can be reused across future esports marketing strategies.

Every esports gamer dreams of the perfect setup, and that’s exactly why gear giveaways perform so well.

Partner with hardware or peripheral brands like Red Bull, Logitech, or HyperX to offer high-value bundles that get people talking.

A co-branded giveaway drives traffic to both partners while amplifying your professional image in the global esports community.

You can design actions that benefit each partner: follow your YouTube channel, visit a sponsor’s store, or watch a highlight reel.

The collaboration boosts brand awareness, grows your target audience, and cements your place within the wider esports industry.

Influencer marketing plays a huge role in esports marketing strategies, and collaborations between streamers and teams are one of the most effective ways to grow.

Co-hosting a contest with a streamer allows you to connect with their engaged audience while giving them a reason to follow your channels too.

For example, fans could earn entries for following both Twitch channels, watching a collaborative stream, or posting a clip of the broadcast.

These actions boost discoverability and create a sense of shared community across multiple streaming platforms.

When done right, a collaboration like this feels authentic, energising, and fun, exactly what the esports gaming audience wants to see.

Your Discord server isn’t just a chatroom, it’s your most active fan hub.

Turn it into a loyalty ecosystem by rewarding activity and engagement.

Offer exclusive roles like Champion, Moderator, or Insider to fans who complete entry actions or consistently participate in events.

This creates a system where fans feel recognised for supporting your esports organization, while also keeping your fan base active between tournaments.

The key is ongoing value: Discord giveaways don’t just build hype once, they build belonging.

Tournament participation is the heartbeat of esports events, and giveaways can play a strategic role in driving signups.

Reward players who register early with automatic contest entries or instant digital perks.

Ask for verification details like a player tag or order number to validate entries, an easy process to manage with Gleam.

This helps organisers reduce no-shows, increase commitment, and make sign-ups feel like part of the event experience itself.

It’s a simple but powerful esports marketing strategy: reward the behaviour you want to encourage, and you’ll see participation grow every season.

Nothing captures esports gaming like highlights and replays, and your audience loves to share theirs.

Run a video clip contest inviting fans to post their best moments from your tournaments or streams.

Ask them to upload clips to YouTube, tag your esports team on social media, and use a campaign hashtag for visibility.

Shortlist finalists, let fans vote for their favourite, and showcase the best submissions in a montage or aftermovie.

This not only strengthens community engagement but gives you an ongoing stream of authentic, reusable content.

Your sponsors help power your events, so give them the spotlight.

Create a joint giveaway that combines products, gift cards, or exclusive experiences from multiple partners.

Each one gains exposure to a new target audience, while your team builds stronger partnerships for future seasons.

Think of it as a collaboration that adds value for everyone: sponsors get reach, fans get rewards, and your brand gets credibility in the global esports space.

Creativity fuels the esports community, and visual campaigns are an amazing way to celebrate that.

Invite fans to create artwork, memes, or posters inspired by your team, brand, or tournament.

Share the top entries on social media and feature the winner’s design on official merch or streaming overlays.

This kind of content marketing deepens emotional connection with your fan base and transforms passive followers into active participants.

It’s fun, viral, and meaningful, everything a great esports marketing strategy should be.

Every esports organization has milestones worth celebrating, follower goals, first wins, sponsorship deals, or anniversary events.

Turn those moments into a story your fans can share.

Offer themed prizes, like 10 gifts for 10K followers, or host a thank-you giveaway that rewards your community for helping you grow.

You can even tie it to live streams on Twitch and YouTube, announcing winners or milestones in real time to make it feel personal.

These celebratory campaigns not only increase brand awareness but also show gratitude, a key factor in engaging with fans and keeping loyalty high.

• Combine engagement-based actions like follow, share, join, and comment to maximise reach across multiple platforms
• Validate entries automatically to prevent spam and ensure fairness
• Feature winners publicly to encourage transparency and trust
• Reward supporters instantly with small perks or discounts to build goodwill
• Leverage social proof, when your engaged audience posts, more people want to participate

The esports landscape is more competitive than ever, but giveaways remain one of the most powerful ways to connect meaningfully with your audience.

When designed thoughtfully, they don’t just promote a product, they create a sense of community.

They strengthen fan bases, attract sponsors, and tell stories that live beyond the campaign itself.

Whether you’re building an esports team, growing a global esports brand, or experimenting with new influencer marketing tactics, focus on authenticity, fairness, and fan experience.

That’s what turns a one-time contest into long-term loyalty.