‘Infra for esport in India is still developing, but demand for content is skyrocketing’

In India, gaming has evolved from a niche to a cultural and economic force. For Lenovo, this rapid growth offers a significant chance to establish more genuine and profound relationships with Indian customers. "Gaming, if you get into it, is very immersive. It’s something which you can’t let go of,” said Manas Gupta, Marketing Head, India Region at Lenovo, at the Pitch CMO Summit. 

At a Fireside Chat Session chaired by Sameer Mitha from 91 mobiles, he shared that Lenovo's rapid growth offers a significant chance to establish more genuine and profound relationships with Indian customers. 

Lenovo is strategically positioning itself with a portfolio that serves every sector, given that there are an estimated 400–600 million gamers in India and that esports is becoming more and more popular. With top-tier specifications and technologies like liquid cooling, the Legion series caters to professional, hardcore gamers. In the meanwhile, LOQ offers mid-range and prospective gamers an affordable entry point. "LOQ is, in a way, like a sibling of Legion… great value for money and has some fantastic thermals," Manas said.

Lenovo has started advertising efforts that combine intelligence and entertainment to appeal to various user categories. One such example was a campaign that targeted Call of Duty "campers." He said that by utilizing in-game hostage elements to convey distinctive marketing messaging, "We turned hundreds of camping moments into hundreds of Lenovo ads."

Lenovo is also well aware of the importance of casual and mobile gaming in India. "We try to get across the whole cohort… the ecosystem will enable the movement from a casual gamer to a PC gamer,” Manas said. This covers portable consoles like Legion Go, Motorola gadgets, and tablets.

The infrastructure for esport in India is still developing, but the demand for content is skyrocketing. "We don’t have franchisee teams or global representation yet… but it’s a $200 million market by the end of 2024," he continued.