Dentsu Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004; President & CEO: Toshihiro Yamamoto; Head Office: Tokyo; Capital: 74,609.81 million yen) announced today that it has been appointed the dedicated marketing agency for the Japan esports Union (JeSU)1 (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Chairman: Hideki Okamura).

As the Union's marketing partner, Dentsu will leverage its knowledge and expertise in the content and sports businesses accumulated over many years up to now, as well as its comprehensive capabilities in terms of strategic marketing plan formulation and sponsorship sales, to promote the further development of esports in Japan.

As of today, KDDI CORPORATION, Suntory Holdings Limited, Lawson, Inc., THIRDWAVE CORPORATION, BEAMS, and Indeed Japan, Inc., have joined as official sponsors.

About esports
esports is the abbreviation for electronic sports, which are sports competitions played using video games. These competitions, in which anyone can participate regardless of physical characteristics or gender, have become wildly popular overseas among the young generation known as millennials.
At present, the global audience for esports is approximately 380 million people, but that number is forecast2 to grow 1.5 times larger in the next three years.
From August 18-September 2, 2018, the 18th Asian Games, a demonstration competition, will be held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia. At the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, medals will be announced in various categories. The movement toward esports becoming an Olympic event is heating up, with the possibility that esports will be adopted as an official event category at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

1. About the Japan esports Union (JeSU)
JeSU was established in spring 2018 with the objective of improving the competitiveness of Japanese participants and popularizing the sporting spirit through the promotion of esports in Japan. JeSU promotes (1) surveys, research and awareness related to the promotion of esports, (2) the popularization of esports competitions, (3) the issuance of professional licensing and certification at esports competitions, (4) support for the development of esports athletes and (5) cooperation between various parties related to esports. In addition to the Asian games, JeSU is also proactively engaged in measures that enable the sending of esports teams and supply of domestic game titles focused on the adoption of esports as an official Olympic event category. For details, please visit: https://jesu.or.jp


2. Source: Newzoo 2018 Global eSports Market Report

#####