AdWeek – ESPN Debuts New Animated Characters to Promote Its Platforms
ESPN is assembling a new team.
Today, the sports network announced the debut of the ESPN Squad, four animated characters that viewers see when watching ESPN’s content.
ESPN Squad was developed by ESPN Creative Studio and is designed to bring fun and entertainment to audiences, while introducing something unexpected to the ESPN ecosystem. The main objective is to forge deeper connections with its audience, per ESPN.
Viewers will see the characters during breaks for commercials and other promotions when streaming ESPN, ESPN+, and Disney+ on the ESPN tab. The promos will be served in place of slates that previously read: “Your event is in commercial break.”
Carrie Brzezinski-Hsu, SVP and head of ESPN Creative Studio, told ADWEEK that ESPN’s viewers are crossing over with different types of fandom, and the characters are a way to represent that.
“We’re always thinking of how to take the fan experience to the next level through creative—animation has become a really big part of that strategy,” Brzezinski-Hsu said. “It’s also our DNA as part of the Walt Disney Company so we think it serves as a way to connect with fans and bring them sports and sports information through a different, fun lens and keep them in the game.”
Keeping Fans Engaged
The first character will make its debut this week. His name is Ez, and is described as hip, bold, athletic, funny, and a little mischievous.
He will show up in a series of spots, which are five to 14 seconds in length, to promote messages like, “ESPN+, it’s in the ESPN App,” and, “Download the #1 Sports App.” Ez will also simply remind fans about the ESPN tab on Disney+.
The rest of the characters will be unveiled early next year. Each of the characters has a name that corresponds to the “ESPN” acronym, explaining why Ez is the first to make an appearance.
There’s also Shay, who is described as a competitive, confident, risk-taking, and outgoing jock. PJ is a logical, artsy, and organized homebody. And Nora is artsy and trendy.
Paul Wilson, senior director, ad integration and strategy for ESPN Creative Studio, said the concept of the ESPN Squad started about a year ago when his team was challenged to think about how to make the streaming experience more compelling, especially in spaces where viewers see commercial breaks.
At the time, animation was taking off with ESPN following its Toy Story alt-cast, which featured characters like Toy Story 4’s Duke Caboom during the halftime show.
From there, Wilson worked with David “Sparky” Sparrgrove, ESPN Creative Studio’s lead animator, to build the first ESPN-branded character. Eventually the one character grew into an entire family.
Part of the team’s challenge was to identify ESPN’s key fan segments for future growth, Wilson said.
“The characters are all intentionally very different from each other because the way people show up in fandom and ESPN across all our touch points is really different,” Wilson said. “Every time you see one of our characters, they’re going to be taking the experience that wasn’t super fan-friendly and turning it into something entertaining, engaging, and hopefully something that fans are going to look forward to due to the variety, the creative, and unexpected nature.”
More Branded Characters
The debut of the ESPN Squad comes after ESPN’s The Simpsons-themed telecast earlier this month, which took place during the NFL game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys.
In the future, fans can potentially expect to see the characters in co-branded creative pieces for ESPN’s ad partners, within its programming, on social, and on merchandise like t-shirts, sports gear, and other collectibles.
Brzezinski-Hsu said that the characters could have a larger place in content and with their ad partners in the future.
ESPN’s ties with Disney’s animated properties like Toy Story and The Simpsons means that there is already a built-in audience. But ESPN wants to test the waters and develop the characters before fully pushing the figures to fans. Social media backlash, for instance, can be harsh.
“We don’t want to be overly bold that this is going to resonate, but particularly, I think that’s why we’re starting in commercial, because there is more flexibility to introduce a new character in that space than there is in content as a whole,” Brzezinski-Hsu said.
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