Mountain Dew kicks off second edition of Dew Arena

MOUNTAIN DEW KICKS OFF SECOND EDITION OF DEW ARENA

Bigger and better: Aims to double participation to 1.5 lakhs this year

India’s largest gaming championship to travel to 300 locations covering 11 states in the country

Winners to feature on Mountain Dew bottles

Bangalore, June 6, 2017: Mountain Dew today announced the 2^nd edition of its hugely successful annual property- Dew Arena. This year’s edition comes on the back of a successful 1^st edition that saw record participation from 75,000 gamers across the country, thereby becoming the largest ever gaming championship in India till date. The 2^nd edition of the Dew Arena is only getting bigger and better and the Championship aims to double participation to over 1.5 lakhs. As a brand, Mountain Dew has always been at the forefront of bringing in consumer experiences that have celebrated emerging trends and Dew Arena is a reiteration of its commitment to gaming and e-sports in India.

Dew Arena is a unique 6 month gaming championship which will give the winners, a chance to have their profile on the Mountain Dew bottle, in addition to the prize pool worth INR 20 Lakhs.  In a bid to take the experience of gaming to the masses, Mountain Dew has created a disruptive Gaming Truck that is going to 300 locations across 125 cities in 11 states, for consumers to experience cutting edge technology. 16 participants can play at one point of time on the Gaming Truck. Thus, the 2^nd edition of the Dew Arena widens up the opportunity for consumers be it anywhere in India, by opening up participation across platforms be it Online with Counter Strike and DOTA 2, On-ground with Rocket League and Street Fighter 5 and on Android with Warrior Prince.

Elaborating on the idea of the Dew Arena, Naseeb Puri, Associate Director, Mountain Dew, PepsiCo India said, “Mountain Dew’s brand philosophy has always been about celebrating real heroes and all our programmes have always been rooted in strong consumer insights. Our consumer research on gaming showed that Gamers seek recognition and fame and Dew Arena is our way of celebrating these real life heroes like never before. We are delighted to have on board two very strong partners in ESL India and ASUS who bring in immense credibility and expertise in taking forward our vision of Esports that truly seeks to massify Gaming in India.”

Another highlight of Dew Arena 2017 is the Virtual Reality Zones created with the aim of presenting consumers with a disruptive experience in all of the 300 locations that the Gaming Truck goes to.

According to Akshat Rathee, MD – ESL India, "Dew Arena is one of the properties that show what can happen when things are done keeping the extremely passionate community in mind. In the short time of a year it has become THE Esports cup to be part of. If you add the gaming activations done in over 300 cities, it is the largest gaming related activity in the world for ESL. It truly takes gaming to the masses. We as ESL India are extremely proud of the work we have done with the Mountain Dew team and 2017 will set the perfect springboard for the future of Dew Arena.”

A key factor of Dew Arena’s success has been Mountain Dew’s recognition of the need to create a strong gaming ecosystem with experts. This ensures that the Championship benefits from the strengths they bring in, be it in the form of technology knowhow or best in class gaming expertise.

According to Vinay Shetty, Asus Regional Director – Component Business, India and South Asia, “Our association with PepsiCo India, India’s largest beverage makers is a firm step in a direction to reinforce our position as industry leaders in PC Gaming.  Owing to last year’s edition of ‘Dew Arena’, we are excited to be part of this unique project. With the help and expertise of PepsiCo India, we hope to reach out to a wider audience and give them an opportunity to play  on the industry’s best gaming PC’s.  This relationship represents a powerful opportunity for us to expand our presence.”

Through the course of the championship, gamers will battle it out every day in order to secure a place in the Dew Arena Grand Finale scheduled to take place in the last week of September 2017 in New Delhi.