Disney's Sponsorship Success in Holiday and Sports Content

This year, hundreds of brands have decided to celebrate the holidays with Disney. Today, the company exclusively revealed to Adweek that around 100 additional advertisers have signed on for Halloween and holiday sponsorships since the beginning of October, which is an increase of 7x over the last two months. According to John Campbell, svp, entertainment and streaming solutions, brands are responding to a variety of opportunities across the company's portfolio. "That's why I think you're seeing these hundreds of clients coming to us," Campbell said. "We can bring creative packaging and assets across sports, streaming and specials like nobody else." Disney+ Adds 7 Million Subscribers as Bob Iger Highlights 4 Areas of Focus According to data from an ePoll Audience Profile Study, which Disney shared with Adweek, 94% of Disney+ viewers watch the same or more Disney+ content during the holidays, 57% are tuned into holiday content and 67% are shopping for gifts. Additionally—and most notably—45% of Disney viewers say they've purchased a product or service after seeing an ad across the company's content, according to a Disney Dialogue Survey. "That's where we like to say we're taking them—whether it's in sports or entertainment—from content to the cart, from the screen to shop," Campbell said. And with Disney+ now one year into its ad-supported tier, the company is letting sponsors take advantage of new capabilities, including content-targeted campaigns that let advertisers activate alongside seasonal collections for the first time. Brands now have the opportunity to play spots pre-roll and mid-roll alongside Disney's Season's Streaming collection, with titles such as Home Alone 2 and Noelle; its popular series with holiday episodes; and its top originals, including Marvel Studios' Loki Season 2 and The Mandalorian. "We put it out into market, and within less than a month, it sold out, and there was actually more demand that we could take," Campbell said. "Hulu comes over to Disney+ in a meaningful way in March, and we want to make sure that we have opportunities for our clients to take advantage of audiences across all of our platforms." Brands joining in on the new capabilities include Gameloft, J.Crew, Navy Federal Credit Union, Synchrony Bank and Wayfair. Sports are also proving to be a major draw during the holiday season. Staying in the game this holiday At this year's TV upfront, Disney saw single-digit increases in sports volume and pricing, and the company is continuing that momentum with strong seasons of college football and Monday Night Football, according to Deidra Maddock, vp of Sports brand solutions. "We're still wrapping up Monday Night Football, but we're just seeing high watermark after high watermark. Even just this past weekend, we saw another one with the Pac-12 Football Championship Game," Maddock said. "So we're excited about that the next couple of weeks. It's going to be busy, but it's going to be worth it." This year's sports slate has already brought in 250 advertisers spanning nearly 30 categories now through the New Year, collaborating with Disney on unique activations and integrations. "We're seeing interest from categories from auto, financial, CPG, insurance—not just the retail categories," Maddock said. "That speaks to the power of the positioning and the sponsorship that they're getting and knowing that the viewing that's happening around the holidays is memorable." This year, Disney is bringing fans 40 college football bowl games, including the College Football Playoff National Championship, along with 40 different sponsors. Among the activations, Ally Bank is collaborating with Disney CreativeWorks to craft custom DirectConnect executions, integrating the brand into multiple bowl games; Capital One is extending its partnership with Capital One Bowl Mania with integrations in 33 bowl game broadcasts and a CFP Official Sponsorship; and Progressive Insurance returns with the Progressive Bowl Challenge Cup, featuring on-site trophy integrations and standing updates. Meanwhile, Monday Night Football's Christmas Day matchup is bringing in 14 sponsors for in-game integrations and features, including Allstate; Burger King; ESPN Bet; Draft Kings Sportsbook; Goodyear; Jersey Mike’s; Kroger; Mercedes-Benz USA; Panera; Progressive; Taco Bell; Target; United Airlines and Verizon. Verizon and Disney Use AR to Make Children’s Holiday Wishes Come True Plus, Christmas Day features five live NBA games across Disney platforms, with NBA 2K24 joining as a halftime sponsor on ABC, ESPN Bet sponsoring a “First Half Stats” integration and a “Pick and Roll” NBA Countdown feature in all shows throughout the day and Starry running a “3 Point Performers” feature in all the games. Returning sponsors include Google Pixel showcasing its “Built Different” custom transition element in both ABC games, Papa Johns coming back to sponsor NBA Countdown on ABC; State Farm acting as the presenting sponsor for the Christmas Day coverage on both ESPN and ABC (while also sponsoring Hoop Streams, one of ESPN’s NBA Digital shows, and debuting new State Farm basketball commercials); Taco Bell sponsoring “Starting Lineups” in each game; and Toyota returning as the ESPN Halftime sponsor. And if that's not enough, viewers can also expect NHL and women’s and men's college basketball games during the holidays. "This time of year, in particular, showcases the breadth and depth of a variety of sports content that we have across all of our platforms," Maddock said. "There really is something for everybody across both our linear and streaming options." And with the company's success through its content, reach and engagement, Campbell is already looking to next year. "That's really when you create a campaign versus a one-off, so brands aren't looking at come in and out. They're looking for that multi-year approach," Campbell said. "How can they lock in? Because you can't get this anywhere else."

TV Upfronts

How Disney Got Hundreds of Sponsors for Its Holiday and Sports Content

The company is rolling out new integrations on Disney+ and across its portfolio

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