Hey folks!

Welcome to Edition #55 of The SEG3 Report. Today’s instalment delves into brand integrations in games after the EA Sports & Lowe’s news; Disney StudioLAB’s collaboration with Deloitte to drive storytelling innovation using emerging tech, and last but not least, a look at YouTube creator Yarnhub’s community approach to funding game development & growth of their IP.

Contents: Edition #55

• EA Sports to integrate Lowe's into iconic titles

• Disney's StudioLAB and Deloitte partner to use emerging tech for next-generation storytelling

• Youtube animation studio, Yarnhub, crowdfund community to develop game

Before we jump in… 👇

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EA Sports to integrate Lowe's into iconic titles

Lowe’s has announced a multi-title partnership with EA SPORTS, marking the brand’s debut in gaming. The collaboration will see Lowe’s integrated into Madden, EA SPORTS College Football and EA SPORTS FC, with branded activations and challenges linked to their MyLowe’s Rewards program.

The deal will span both in-game presence and IRL experiences, with an “On the Road” gaming tour during the NFL season.

Why should you care?

TL;DR: Integrating into 3 well-known, established titles, to coincide with their traditional sports activation IRL means now wherever fans are engaging with their favourite sports, Lowe’s will be visible. With advertising becoming more synonymous (and less intrusive) within games, and immersive commerce picking up speed, Lowe’s understand their investment will put them at the centre of sports and now gaming culture.

In full: In-game ads, when done in a non-intrusive way, integrating directly into the gameplay, can significantly shift the needle for brands.

So Lowe’s targeting three established EA Sports titles in Madden, College Football & EA Sports FC, when they already have a significant presence across traditional sports sponsorship (in the NFL, NASCAR, Inter Miami CF and more), just feels like a natural extension for the brand.

So what’s the opportunity for Lowe’s?

Here’s a few questions worth asking:

→ Why games, and why now?
Lowe’s understands the value of supporting their customers passion points; it’s why they’ve had such a long-term connection with traditional sports. But fans don’t stop engaging with their favourite sports and brands when they leave the stadium - and this is where gaming, and specifically sim sports games, are a great fit for them to further build awareness.

But intrinsic in-game advertising can actually help Lowe’s far beyond just top of funnel awareness:

All the way from recall to purchase intention, intrinsic in-game ads are outcompeting other online media ad options.

So should we even be surprised anymore when we see brands add gaming to their media mix? Is it still ‘experimental’ or just part of an ‘innovation budget’, or are we seeing a genuine shift in media strategy and budgets to games because the channel offers more interactivity and returns for brands?

Spoiler: it’s definitely the latter.

And certainly for Lowe’s, this seems like a long-term shift, with a multi-year deal to take over EA’s native ad inventory (billboards around the pitch & track etc), and with immersive commerce picking up speed, as well as other retailers like Walmart creating stories and digital experiences with commerce at the centre of the strategy (i.e. Walmart Unlimited, which we covered in Edition #49), games are now offering opportunities for Lowe’s and brands to drive outcomes at all stages of the funnel.

And that is why we’ll see many more brands follow suit and up their presence across games in the coming months/years.

Disney's StudioLAB and Deloitte partner to use emerging tech for next-generation storytelling

Deloitte has entered into a multi-year collaboration with The Walt Disney Studios’ StudioLAB, joining as an innovation partner to explore how emerging technologies like AI, VR and cloud production can redefine how stories are told, and the traditional creative and production workflows within media & entertainment.

Why should you care?

TL;DR: Studios are upping their tech game, and this R&D partnership is a sign of what’s to come. For Disney, it’s about future-proofing how they build franchises. For Deloitte, it’s a front-row seat to develop enterprise-grade tools that can scale across the entertainment world (and beyond). The lines between media and enterprise blend more by the day, so expect to see more crossover as both industries look to advance their capabilities.

In full: When an article reads “Pushing the boundaries of innovation in storytelling by delivering transformative technologies and process”, you have my attention.

The focus of the partnership is on how stories are being made and delivered, with the aim seeming to be on designing tools and tech that support Disney’s end-to-end production and distribution pipeline.

So, what’s the likely long-term play here for both Disney & Deloitte?

Let’s break it down:

→ What’s in it for Disney?
StudioLAB is designed to experiment at the intersection of storytelling and technology -and with digital twin sets to real-time production tools and AI-enhanced editing workflows all live or in the works, Disney are finding future-proofed ways to create content that engages their audience, but also brings to life their franchises in new, immersive and personalised ways.

→ Why is Deloitte so interested in Entertainment?
Entertainment studios are complex, large beasts, with numerous moving pieces involved to produce the content we all see at home. For Deloitte, or any consulting business, working in that environment gives them first-hand opportunities to try and build systems, products and solutions that solve universal problems, and could potentially be rolled out to other enterprise clients in entertainment and beyond.

Essentially a co-development model (which I wrote more about in Edition #31), which I think we’ll start to see more and more of across media, entertainment & sports over the coming years.

→ So… what kind of tech are we talking?
A lot of the focus seems to be under the hood, the essential backbone stuff like real-time collaboration, secure cloud rendering etc. But layered on top is the more ‘wow’ side of innovation: immersive production design, AI-enhanced VFX pipelines and more.

Disney aren’t alone in pushing the boundaries here. SEG3 LA saw us host Vicki Dobbs Beck, VP of Immersive Content at Lucasfilm, who themselves have a studio called ILM Immersive, which focuses on delivering more interactive entertainment through virtual & mixed reality.

It’s clear new entertainment experiences are coming, and tech is going to be key in making them a reality, so we’ll be watching to see how and if Deloitte & Disney can reshape how the biggest franchises get made.

Youtube animation studio, Yarnhub, crowdfund community to develop game

Yarnhub, a YouTube channel with 35M+ monthly views known for its animated World War history content, is raising funds to expand into gaming.

The studio has launched a crowdfunding campaign for a World War II first-person shooter developed in Unreal Engine 5, hitting over $700K in preorders from their community, with weeks still to go.

Why should you care?

TL;DR: UGC is quietly becoming the next IP launchpad, and Yarnhub might be the perfect case study. The YouTube-native channel is expanding beyond animation into games, merch and more, with crowdfunding fuelling the leap. It’s proof that with a strong fanbase and clear world-building and narrative, creators don’t need studios to build their franchise, they can do it themselves, on their own terms.

In full: Yarnhub, an animated military history YouTube channel with over 1.5M subscribers, is raising funds to expand its IP into new verticals; notably gaming, but also merchandising and putting infrastructure in place for international distribution.

And there’s some BIG trends on show here that any IP owners should be aware of:

→ This is proof that IP can start anywhere
I’ve had a number of conversations over the last 6-12 months about where the next big franchises will be built from, and I think Yarnhub is a great example of why UGC environments are really going to be the next IP goldmine.

They are YouTube-native, community-backed, and have built clear repeatability and an emotional pull with their content over many years - that’s a recipe / foundation for any strong entertainment IP.

And now that base is in place, what’s the logical next step? Of course it’s extending the Yarnhub world, deepening the lore and diversifying revenue.

And that leads to…

→ Gaming as the growth engine
Yarnhub’s content means that they could easily extend the IP into strategy games or narrative sims. Their audience clearly already leans toward military history buffs and gamers, and they have had requests for a game to be launched for a long time, so it’s a crossover that’s been a long time in the making.

But of course game development is hard, and there are no guarantees, however…

→ Crowdfunding is market validation
Raising from the community: A) gives them upfront cash and B) tests their audience’s willingness to invest. It’s smart, and means they have full creative control over the development vs raising through institutional, traditional routes.

And at a time when incumbents are struggling to develop new IP, or worse, failing to give it the marketing push it needs to cut through, creators with built-in communities like Yarnhub and way more agility are the ones most likely to eat their lunch.

In other news this week…

• Cristiano Ronaldo & Matthew Vaughn team up to launch film studio, UR MARV: see here.

• IOC releases Marketing Report from Paris 2024 Games: read here.

• Warner Music Group to release ‘superfan app’: read here.

• Sweet launches sports mini-games on Telegram: read here.

• Monopoly reality competition coming to Netflix: read here.

• Brand partners of HBO’s White Lotus capitalise on cultural clout: read here.

• Coca-Cola launches new exhibit - Stories: read here.

• Rovio, SEGA, Paramount & dentsu set 2027 date for Angry Birds 3 release: read here.

• Dagenham & Redbridge FC welcome Youtuber, Ezra3, to ownership group: read here.

• PSG launch elite loyalty program, ‘Silver Card’: read here.

• Epic Games improve discoverability for UEFN ecosystem: read here.

Working on anything cool, or have a press release you would like us to cover? Send it in for the chance for it to be covered in next week’s edition!

That’s all for now folks - thanks again for reading the latest edition of The SEG3 Report and if you found it of interest, do consider sharing with a friend!