SEATTLE, April 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jones Soda Co. (the "Company") JSDA, a leader in the craft soda industry known for its unique branding and authentic connection to consumers, is reaching the virtual racing community for the first time through a partnership with Torque Esports. The company is the title sponsor for the Last Chance Qualifier competition in The Race All-Star Series, a five-week esports sim racing series that is gaining strong viewership among motorsports fans in the wake of coronavirus-related cancellations of live events.
Each week's races have generated up to 12.1 million minutes watched on the event's YouTube channel, including nearly 30,000 combined comments and millions of impressions on social media. Viewers are drawn in part because of participation by racing superstars from NASCAR, IndyCar, F2, F3, Super GT and Formula E, who compete remotely with a simulation system.
Running the last four rounds of the five-week series, Jones Soda's sponsorship includes in-game integration such as Jones banners throughout the event's virtual track and promotional spots read by sportscasters as they call the races. The campaign also includes custom ads on the race website as well as joint social media posts and contests.
"Marketing our brand through live action sports like skateboarding and BMX biking is part of our DNA, so moving to sim racing is a logical way to adapt our promotional efforts to today's stay-at-home reality," said Jones Soda VP of Marketing, Maisie Antoniello. "As the first corporate sponsor of this Torque Esports race series, we are achieving excellent visibility, placing the Jones Soda name front and center in an environment with strong appeal to our sports-minded fan base, and ensuring that our brand maintains a high profile despite the cancellation of the skateboarding events that originally anchored this year's marketing campaign."
Torque Esports President and CEO Darren Cox commented: "The viewership of this series offers an excellent opportunity for brands to reach the millions of consumers looking for alternatives to the live sports events that are no longer available, either in person or broadcast. Jones Soda is leading the way for what we believe will be growing adoption of esports by advertisers looking for fresh outlets to tell their story."
About Jones Soda Co.
Born in Vancouver, BC, and now headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Jones Soda Co.® JSDA markets and distributes premium beverages under the Jones® Soda and Lemoncocco® brands. A leader in the premium soda category, Jones Soda is made with pure cane sugar and other high-quality ingredients and is known for packaging that incorporates ever-changing photos sent in from its consumers. Jones' diverse product line offers something for everyone – pure cane sugar soda, zero-calorie soda and Lemoncocco non-carbonated premium refreshment. Jones is sold across North America in glass bottles, cans and on fountain through traditional beverage outlets, restaurants and alternative accounts. For more information, visit www.jonessoda.com or www.myjones.com or www.drinklemoncocco.com.
About Torque Esports
Torque focuses on three areas - esports data provision, esport tournament hosting and esports racing.
Torque aims to revolutionize esports racing and the racing gaming genre via its industry-leading gaming studio Eden Games which focuses on mobile racing games and its unique motorsport IP, including World's Fastest Gamer (created and managed by wholly-owned subsidiary IDEAS+CARS, Silverstone UK). With the proposed acquisition of simulator company AiS – Torque offers gamers everything from free-to-play mobile games to the highest end simulators.
Building on the leading position of Stream Hatchet, a wholly-owned subsidiary, Torque also provides robust esports data and management information to brands, sponsors, and industry leaders. Its tournament organizing arm, UMG, has recently added a digital tournament platform to its portfolio of assets in its ever-growing ecosystem.
For more information, visit www.torqueesport.com.
Media Inquiries and High-Resolution Photos:
Andrew Baumann
425-677-0553
abaumann@jonessoda.com
Investor Relations Contact:
Cody Slach
Gateway Investor Relations
949-574-3860
JSDA@gatewayir.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b400d71e-0a94-41f3-a074-121a92efade9
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