Fortnite Enters the College Football Playoffs

How a video game leveraged its investor's properties to capture its target audience

Author

Ali Kaltman
December 22, 2024

Brand: Fortnite / ESPN

Campaign: Fortnite OG Kickoff

Read time: 5 minutes

💬 Overview 💬

At the beginning of 2024, Disney made a SERIOUS investment into the gaming space.

They invested $1.5 billion in Epic Games, creator of Fortnite.

Simultaneously, they unveiled massive plans to create a Disney x Fortnite universe.

(And you know what they say… if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em)

Rather than create their own metaverse, which takes millions of dollars and man hours, they’d team up with the best in the biz.

Fast forward to this weekend, I was watching the College Football Playoffs with my husband and saw the “Fortnite OG Kickoff.”

I sprinted to Google to learn more, and found out some interesting info (interesting enough to make it the branded moment this week!)

So, today, let’s get into WHY Disney is teaming up with Fortnite/Epic Games and what we should expect from the future of this partnership…

💙 The Branded Moment 💙

The Disney and Epic Games partnership is a perfectly calculated move on both ends.

What does Disney have? IP + Storytelling + Mass Media Channels

What does Epic have? A Captive Gaming Audience

This collaboration is ripe to make waves in pop culture.

The OBVIOUS thing to do here is to put Disney characters into the world of Fortnite.

Make some Mickey skins, build experiential digital worlds of familiar Disney places, leverage Disney artists for digital concerts, etc. etc.

BUT Disney’s roster of media is SO MUCH BIGGER THAN THAT.

Disney owns ABC (The Bachelor, Dancing With The Stars), ESPN, Marvel, National Geographic, and so much more.

This weekend, Disney proved this partnership would break the walls of classic IP and capture audiences from every angle…

ESPECIALLY in moments that matter like the College Football Playoffs.

Disney’s ESPN ownership made the Fortnite OG x CFP sponsorship a natural fit.

Consumers 18-26yo were old enough to play Fortnite Season 1, but young enough to have made Fortnite a key part of their life, especially during COVID.

What do men this age also like?

College football.

In fact, men are 4x more likely to describe themselves as avid college football fans than women. With the NFL, it’s only 2x (Statista).

Coincidence? Definitely not.

So what did they do next?

Boast Fortnite “OG” (the Fortnite that 24/25/26yos might have played in their dorm) as a presenting Kickoff sponsor.

It’s so good.

I am SURE Disney has many more tricks up their sleeve to get Fortnite in front of potential players and vice versa.

I’m curious where else Fortnite will pop up…

💡 Results 💡

This partnership is quite new, so there are no real results just yet…

The initial announcement of the sponsoring segment definitely got some press.

Not only was it trending on X, but the partnership was covered by USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and more.

I can’t say the coverage was tremendously positive (yet), but people took notice.

Let’s see what happens from here…

🎬 Take Action 🎬

Partnerships Are the New Innovation. 

If building something from scratch doesn’t make sense for your brand, look for collaborators who have already mastered the space.

Is there a true business need to create something? Or does it make more sense to go externally & find a mutually beneficial way to achieve what you need?

Meet Your Audience Where They Are.

Disney didn't need to create a new platform because Fortnite’s audience was already primed for their content.

If a brand as established as Disney didn’t feel like it made sense to build something from the ground up, this might be true for you, too.

Who can help you achieve your goals faster, smarter, and more creatively?

What’s New This Week

One new product I tried this week 👉 Kize Cookie Dough Bar Yum!

One new campaign I’m loving 👉 Thought this DoorDash commercial was cute!

One new piece of content to watch or listen to 👉 DON’T JUDGE but I am finally reading Atomic Habits and I think my brain is forever changed. If you have read it, what’s your favorite piece of advice? And if you haven’t, this is your sign to pick it up before the new year!

Brandkeeping

Quick note! I’ll be off for the holidays next week, so no TBM, but we’ll be back soon with a fantastic line-up of TBM Case Studies to start 2025 off with a bang!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please forward it on to 3 marketers you know!

And if you have a brand or campaign you want to spotlight, please reply directly to this newsletter.

Let’s chat!

See ya!

Ali

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