Hey! Welcome back to Edition #47 of The SEG3 Report!

Today’s piece dives into MLB’s 3 year commitment to Pokemon GO, NASCAR’s year-long integration into Roblox game, Driving Empire, and finally, GEEIQ’s report on the state of games & virtual worlds.

Without further ado…

Contents: Edition #47

• Major League Baseball commits to 3-year presence in Pokemon GO

• NASCAR integrates into Driving Empire for 12-months

• What’s the State of Play in Gaming & Virtual Worlds?

Major League Baseball commits to 3-year presence in Pokemon GO

Major League Baseball (MLB) has partnered with Niantic's Pokémon GO to enhance the ballpark experience over the next three seasons. Starting on Opening Day 2025, all 30 MLB stadiums will feature team-branded PokéStops and Gyms within the Pokémon GO app. Fans attending games can engage with special in-game content, including team-branded items and exclusive Timed Research missions. Additionally, select games will host Pokémon GO Theme Nights, offering fans exclusive merchandise and in-game bonuses.

Why You Should Care

TL;DR: Creative gaming partnerships seem to be front of mind for sports organisations as we start 2025 - and I’m pleased to see it. They can unlock new fans, help to give an additional entertainment layer to IRL games and offer a new storytelling channel for brands to talk about their sports and franchises, which is vital to remain relevant to sponsors and youth audiences alike.

In full: Who wasn’t playing Pokemon GO in 2016? It had me traipsing around trying to catch ‘em all (and failing!) - but I wasn’t alone - at its peak, there were reportedly over 250 million monthly active users (MAUs), with around 21 million daily active users (DAUs) in the US alone.

Undoubtedly a cultural phenomenon.

The combination of iconic IP like Pokemon (which transcends so many generations) tied in with fun (and slightly addictive) game mechanics & AR to overlay physical reality was a perfect combination.

And despite its drop off from all-time highs, Pokemon GO still has access to an engaged, global audience, with reportedly 115 million MAUs.

So fertile ground for the MLB. But what makes it an interesting collaboration?

Simply, Augmented Reality is about enhancing the physical experience rather than detracting their attention elsewhere. That in the eyes of a sports organisation, who trade in IRL experiences, is certainly a good thing.

The practicalities of it: They’ll be adding Pokestops & Gyms at MLB stadiums to incentivise Pokemon GO players to visit the stadium - with a treasure hunt of sorts planned through ‘Official Routes’, where they can follow the routes to important locations throughout the stadium to collect rewards in-game.

A DIY stadium tour if you will.

Joking aside, these geofenced experiences (i.e. that only fans within the stadium/location can receive) feel like a relatively low-lift way to reward match-going fans and gamifies the experience for those who want to engage. I’m sure we’ll see more of this as brands battle to capture attention and incentivise attendance.

Now, this partnership likely isn’t for the traditional MLB fan (which is statistically 45 years old), that is happy with the current format of the game (the average game length of which being a lengthy 2hrs 38 mins last year) and the traditional in-stadium experience. And whilst that should be respected, it can’t be a blocker for sports brands to innovate through fear of backlash.

The next-generation demands entertainment, off-field as much as on it, and given the endless options youth audiences have for where to spend their time & money, sports needs smart partnerships like this takes the sport outside its typical fanbase and into other complementary sub-cultures.

So whilst the MLB has seen a 9.8% increase in ticket buyers ages 18-35 since 2019, there is still an uphill battle to entice new audiences to the sport.

And that’s where partnerships like this become interesting as it engages multiple groups:

1) The sub-set of baseball fans that are pokemon, or Pokemon GO fans, and this will service both of their passions.

2) The Pokemon, or Pokemon GO fans that are lapsed baseball fans or have a light affinity/interest in sports, and this will be the driver to re-engage them with the sport.

Both of which are valuable to the MLB, and with the activations they have lined up, it seems feasible that the experiences they will curate for these fans can co-exist or be separate to the traditional experience.

Co-exist as it appears relatively light-touch during gameday, with fans that wish to follow Official Routes during games able to do so without disrupting the traditional fans experience.

Separate because for those that engage with the activations year round, it will culminate in a themed night, which only fans interested in more of an entertainment driven experience alongside the game will attend.

Closing thoughts: In short, Pokemon GO got folks up and moving in search of their favourite characters, and still has a loyal community in the US that can be leveraged. AR also adds to the IRL experience rather than taking away, which for sports brands is a big plus. Entertainment value is becoming a key metric to younger generations, with the off-field experience becoming as important as on-field. Geofencing rewards and gamifying their in-stadium experience will incentivise continued (or first time) attendance from younger generations, whilst collaborating with iconic IP like Pokemon broadens the storytelling capabilities of the MLB and allows them to introduce the MLB brand and sport of baseball to the next generation, which will be important for the league to retain its commercial partners & relevance. 

Kudos to the teams involved on the creative partnership and I look forward to keeping track on how it’s received by fans over the next season and beyond.

NASCAR integrates into Driving Empire for 12-months

Voldex has teamed up with NASCAR to bring racing experiences to Driving Empire. Launched pre-Daytona 500, players can now race official NASCAR vehicles from manufacturers like Toyota, Ford and Chevrolet on many of the sports iconic tracks. The partnership will also introduce "NASCAR World," a dedicated hub within the game where users can access over 40 exclusive liveries, collect official NASCAR items, and participate in themed events throughout the year.

Why you should care?

TL;DR: The teams at NASCAR & Voldex are some of the best operators I have come across at the intersection of sports & games, so a sustained 12 month commitment to engaging with Driving Empires audience will likely yield some fascinating outcomes. Original and integrated/licensed experiences both have their merits (for different outcomes), but there does seem to be a shift towards integration/licensing as the preferred route for sports brands to guarantee eyeballs.

In full: For those of you who have attended SEG3 LA or London when we had the pleasure of hosting the NASCAR team, you’ll know that they have been extremely active in exploring gaming + emerging tech/platforms for many years as a route to story tell and engage youth audiences.

Building a presence on the major UGC game platforms made up a large part of that strategy, with a quick timeline of their activity being:

Roblox:

• NASCAR Speed Hub: 2023 (Original)

• NASCAR Tycoon: 2024 (Original)

• Driving Empire: 2024 (Integration)

Fortnite:

• Rocket Racing: 2024 (Integration)

As with many brands, step 1 was to build original experiences, but over the past 12 months, they seem to have shifted their focus to step 2, which is a more licensing/integration led approach, bringing NASCAR into Rocket Racing & Driving Empire.

Both approaches have their merits (which we covered in more depth in Edition #42 if you’d like to dive in further), but this partnership with Driving Empire is noteworthy because of the length of the commitment.

A 12 month commitment to content like cars, liveries, races, events, UGC items and more signals that:

1. Voldex & NASCAR’s shorter-term partnership in 2024 was likely successful in providing activation opportunities for their partners (like Goodyear)
   

2. It was likely also successful in driving IRL impact (and introducing NASCAR to a new audience of car enthusiasts)
   

3. Integration/Licensing into games that have a strong player base and look after development/updates of the game is almost certainly a less resource-intensive way for brands to introduce their brands to targeted audiences

SEG3 London alumni Nick Rend gave a bit more rationale below:

What is there to learn from this approach?

Gaming is a media channel, and should be treated as such. Short-term campaigns can work as part of wider strategies, but nothing builds brand and connection better than long-term support and commitment to your audience's passion points.

NASCAR get this, and having kicked off the partnership during the Daytona 500, will now have the majority of 2025 and the season to work with Voldex to test different strategies, get feedback from their community and then iterate to be able to deliver experiences and content that their audience of young car enthusiasts crave.

That kind of insight is invaluable.

Closing thoughts: Gaming enables interactivity like no other channel - so having a sustained commitment, like NASCAR are going to have, that educates, engages & nurtures Gen Z/A on your sport is a smart and necessary strategy to onboard the next-generation of fans.

What’s the State of Play in Gaming & Virtual Worlds?

GEEIQ have released their 2025 State of Brands in Gaming & Virtual Worlds report, which explores how brands are showing up in gaming & virtual worlds, as well as the strategies that are driving success.

The report dives into Roblox, Fortnite and ZEPETO as marketing channels, the power of in-game activations, the potential of immersive commerce and more, alongside industry case studies from everything from fashion to entertainment.

Why you should care

TL;DR: Here’s the topline findings:

In full: Media & Entertainment (and sports by extension) has dethroned fashion & apparel as the most active segments within games & virtual worlds in 2024.

Is this surprising? Probably not.

From Paramount to The R&A to Warner Bros Discovery to NASCAR, the currency that keeps these franchises alive is fandom.

So the earlier that sports & entertainment franchises can bring new audiences into their funnels and build fandom, the greater their lifetime value will be and the more valuable and future-proofed the franchise is.

Despite topping the charts, interactive storytelling still feels like a relatively nascent concept to a lot of media, entertainment & sports brands (from conversations across our community), so I’ll stick my neck out and say I think we may see this dominance grow for next year's report as these brands become more adept at storytelling through these channels, and the platforms and games themselves evolve to offer more varied, economical routes for brands to get involved.

One of those platform developments that has the ability to make the economics stack up a bit more centres around immersive commerce, where we’ve seen a tonne of innovation and a number of really interesting case studies emerge over 2024, whether that be from Superdrug, Differin (which we covered in Edition #42) or Walmart (which we covered in Edition #7).

Charles Hambro, former SEG3 London alumni said that Walmart selling real-world products through Roblox will:

Commerce will certainly add a new dimension to experiences, and unlock a new stage towards full-funnel marketing.

I’d argue most experiences are only successfully doing stages 1 & 2, so plenty of room for growth as these platforms develop, and as brands refine their strategies and commit long-term to unlock the full potential.

Closing thoughts: There’s still half a report to be released around industry breakdowns, successful strategies & trends for 2025, so likely we’ll be back to dissect that at a later date for you all. But from what we have seen so far, and the other news stories from this week, youth audiences continue to flock to prefer games as the channel of choice to engage with their friends and passions, so it is no surprise that we see it grow as a media & marketing channel for brands & IP owners.

In other news this week…

• NASCAR & Fox Sports show Daytona 500 in VR: read here.

• Aston Martin F1 announce Coinbase as Official Crypto Partner; taking payment entirely in stablecoin USDC: read here.

• NBA launches new AR feature, Tabletop, for League Pass subscribers: read here.

• Rumours are swirling that GTA 6 could have creator-made games: read here.

• Tether, issuer of USDT, announces Strategic Minority Stake in Juventus FC: read here.

• How to create a GPT app in under four minutes: watch here.

• Formula 1 announces headline music lineup for F1 75 Live: read here.

• Channel 4’s social video strategy bears fruit with a 75% increase in revenues from Youtube: read here.

• Tottenham player Dominic Solanke partners with Crunchyroll: read here.

• Adidas kicks are now in Fortnite: read here.

• £350k tender for Immersive Design of London’s The Vaults Museum: read here.

• Skybound Entertainment acquires Maple Media: read here.

• ICC using AI to revolutionise digital experience for Champions Trophy 2025: read here.

• Netflix considers its next content play; Video Podcasts: read here.

• Shinobi game returns in the summer, confirms SEGA: watch here.

• Sawhorse Productions launch first Fortnite game, Rogue Wave: watch here.

• LinksDAO announces first US course, Hillcrest Country Club: read here.

• Team Liquid sign chess Grandmaster, Magnus Carlsen: read here.

• SURJ Sports Investments announces investment into DAZN: 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 we’ll see you next Tuesday for more on the intersection of culture & emerging technology!