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  • eSports specialist Emerge Gaming (EM1) has locked in a South African marketing contract with Kagiso Media
  • Through the contract, Kagiso will spend $240,000 on a 15-week marketing campaign
  • In return, Emerge and Kagiso will share the revenue pulled in from advertising
  • Kagiso reaches two million unique listeners through its radio channels each month and one million through online streaming
  • Emerge shares are trading grey today, currently worth 1.4 cents each

eSports operator Emerge Gaming (EM1) has signed a $240,000 (R2.4 million) marketing contract with South African media specialist Kagiso Media.

The contract is for Emerge’s ArcadeX esports platform, which launched in South Africa just before Christmas.

Under the agreement, Kagiso will invest the $240,000 into a 15-week marketing campaign through its radio channels and other services.

In return for the campaign, Emerge and Kagiso will share the ArcadeX revenue brought in from Kagiso’s marketing.

According to Emerge, based on the risk of the investment, Kagiso’s decision to sign the contract is a testament to its confidence in the ArcadeX platform.

ArcadeX is a centralised platform for casual and competitive gaming tournaments. It follows the footsteps of fellow-ASX-listed Esports Mogul (ESH) in providing automatic matchmaking and a cloud-run hub for tournaments with small and large prize pools. While Mogul is primarily focused on PC gaming, however, Emerge has decided to pursue the expanding mobile gaming market.

Currently, Emerge has signed on with three of South Africa’s four major mobile network operators and enlisted digital marketing expert Tiburon Media Group to help spread the word of ArcadeX.

The new Kagiso contract expires in April 2020, but the companies can mutually decide to extend the agreement.

According to Emerge, Kagiso has almost two million unique South African visitors each month through the radio stations it operates. Recently-developed streaming services have expanded this reach further, with Kagiso boasting one million streams each month.

Emerge CEO Gregory Stevens said the company is looking forward to working alongside Kagiso.

“Kagiso is one of South Africa’s largest and most influential media houses and we are excited to enter into an agreement with them. This marketing agreement demonstrates Kagiso’s confidence in the ArcadeX platform,” Gregory said.

Emerge shares saw a small morning spike after today’s news dropped, but since then have retreated. In early afternoon trade, EM1 shares are sitting grey at 1.4 cents each.

EM1 by the numbers
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