SEM9 Senai—Malaysia’s first esports hotel—faced a visibility challenge in an increasingly crowded gaming landscape. Despite a potential customer base of over 1.5 billion gamers in APAC, limited marketing spend made it difficult to reach and engage its niche audience: live-streaming gamers and their fans.

 
 

Beyond its business challenges, SEM9 recognised a systemic issue in esports: talented streamers often have dedicated fanbases that donate regularly, but these contributions are rarely celebrated. Standard shout-outs are fleeting, offering fans little visibility and recognition. As a result, engagement drops—fans who give don’t always return, and potential revenue is lost.

 
 
 
 
 

SEM9 saw a chance to tackle two challenges simultaneously:
build brand salience while empowering gamers and their communities to monetise their passion—by celebrating the fans who make it possible.

 
 
 
 

Enter The Fan-Powered Sponsorship—a software innovation that gamifies and glorifies fan contributions. Launched by SEM9, it transforms any live-cam feed into a dynamic sponsorship arena, turning every donation into a visible, animated logo.

Developed for seamless integration with OBS, Streamlabs, and other streaming tools, the software overlays four on-screen logo slots that update in real time with donor usernames—celebrating fans as official sponsors.As donations grow, logos rotate dynamically, creating friendly competition among fans for sponsorship visibility. Every stream thus becomes a gamified brand experience, where everybody wins:

 
 
 

WITH LIMITED PAID MEDIA, SEM9 FOCUSED ON COMMUNITY-DRIVEN GROWTH:

Integrated branding kept SEM9 visible in overlays without disrupting gameplay.

 

Discord, Twitch, and TikTok creator communities seeded organic installs.

Streamer shout-outs and in-game conversations explained the concept to fans.

 
 
 
 
 
 

More than just raising awareness, The Fan-Powered Sponsorship redefined what branded experiences in gaming can be—interactive, rewarding, and community-driven. SEM9 didn’t just entertain gamers—it empowered them, turning their fans into visible, live sponsors invested in their esports journeys, and ultimately giving them a reason to stay.