Esports merchandising company We Are Nations has entered a long-term, global licensing agreement with Ultimate Media Ventures.
The deal, which also includes a marketing partnership, will see We Are Nations license the ULT brand and IP to build its presence in North America, Europe, and further regions.
Ultimate Media Ventures will also become We Are Nations’ marketing agency of record, working on ULT and other projects that the company has undertaken. ULT’s partnership with Overwatch League is separate to this agreement, the press release specified.
Trenton Pierson, SVP of Strategy at We Are Nations, who will head up the project, discussed the agreement in a release: “Nations firmly believes that the esports industry thrives on the idea of playing well together and we are extremely excited to partner with UMV to help expand their lifestyle brand around the world. At Nations, we have always believed that success in esports merchandising would be less about reacting to production orders, and more about actively building brands. Nate and his team have built a truly authentic brand within the esports world and we are proud to become part of its story”
We Are Nations will work on getting ULT stocked in North America retailers, launching the brand in Europe, and “actively exploring other global” options. It announced a deal with Walmart Marketplace last June.
Nate Eckman, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Ultimate Media Ventures also commented on the deal: “At ULT we believe that in order to create long term brand value for the gaming and esports lifestyle category we ought to build a spirit of collaboration. With We Are Nations, we envision a true partnership that will grow ULT internationally and reach an even larger audience. We are excited to be kicking off 2020 together!”
Esports Insider says: This is quite a big deal in the world of esports apparel and merchandise, even without the Overwatch League deal being included. We Are Nations made a host of significant moves in 2019 but this feels like somewhat of a new direction for the company, one that’s definitely worth keeping an eye on throughout the year.