Overwatch League franchise Houston Outlaws has established a partnership with fast casual restaurant chain Zaxby’s.
The one year-deal will see Zaxby’s act as the exclusive quick-service restaurant of Beasley Media Group’s franchise.
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Lori Burgess, COO of Beasley Esports, spoke on the deal in a release: “We are thrilled to be working with Zaxby’s as we work to elevate their brand with both our players and our fans. We applaud Zaxby’s effort to remain cemented into this community by keeping their stores open with their drive-thru and delivery services. These partnerships help us bring great content to our fans while we look to build upon Zaxby’s already tremendous standing amongst the gaming community.”
The partnership is said to include content creation and online activations. Zaxby’s joins gaming furniture company Respawn Products, headset brand Turtle Beach, electronics and gaming merchandise retailer GameStop, and grocery chain H-E-B as a partner of the team.
Beasley Media Group hired Herb May as its Director of Corporate Partnerships in January, a role that’s focused on bringing in new partners for Houston Outlaws.
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Joel Bulger, CMO of Zaxby’s, added: “This is one of Zaxby’s first esports partnerships, and we couldn’t have picked a better partner than the Houston Outlaws. Our brand is passionate about friends, family, and flavor, and we can’t wait to share and create memorable experiences with the Outlaws community.”
Zaxby’s has moved fast in esports since the end of March. It started by partnering with Florida Mayhem, the Overwatch League owned by Misfits Gaming Group. Just days after, it established a deal with the High School Esports League.
All esports-focused deals involving Zaxby’s, at the time of writing, include online activations with gift cards being given away for its restaurants. The chain has over 900 locations in the United States.
Esports Insider says: It’s clear that Zaxby’s is betting on esports in a big way during the COVID-19 pandemic, utilising all of the attention esports is getting in an attempt to keep customers coming in. What’s noticeable, so far at least, is that Overwatch League franchises appear to be targets for the chain.