"Stand with me brothers and sisters" : A quantitative content analysis of League of Legends World Championships, based on the theory of brand community.

Abstract: The purpose of this research was to see at which extent the game League of Legends, during the world championship, could be seen as a brand community. I have used a quantitative content analysis where the variables that were measured consisted of the elements from the theory of brand community. The elements were (1) consciousness of kind, (2) rituals and traditions, (3) moral responsibility. I used the following research issues:

What physical evidence is there to support that the League of Legends scene is evolving? What qualitative, visual changes have been made over the years (in League of Legends world championship finals)? At what frequency does the elements of Brand Community, as an amount of mentions by the commentators, occur in League of Legends (E-sport, world championship finals)? My findings suggest that the League of Legends E-sport scene is a brand community that is evolving; according to the set criteria’s for a brand community; and that the world championship can be seen as a brand fest, a gathering of a brand community.