BACKGROUND

Super Bowl LV had few fans in the stands, few visitors to Tampa, and few parties at home. Our brief was to demonstrate the transformational power of Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband—the fastest 5G in the world—with mobile gaming as our proof point and the Super Bowl as our occasion. We were asked to create something entertaining for football fans, hardcore gamers, and mainstream consumers alike, so we knew we needed to go big, with an activation that exceeded the scale of the Super Bowl itself.

​IDEA​

We used Verizon’s 5G network to build Verizon 5G Stadium in Fortnite — a communal space where millions of fans could come together. Verizon 5G Stadium was inspired by the real home of Super Bowl LV, Tampa’s Raymond James stadium. Using social media, we welcomed 40 million fans to celebrate the Super Bowl, play new NFL-inspired games, join multiple primetime influencer-studded livestream gaming events, and meet their favorite NFL players in the virtual stadium — avatar-to-avatar.

STRATEGY

Although COVID restrictions made it harder for fans to enjoy the in-person magic of the Big Game, it actually revealed the opportunity to bring NFL players and pro-gamers closer to more fans than any year prior. By going virtual and partnering with the right influencers, we could actually demonstrate the connective power of Verizon 5G to create a more connected Super Bowl experience than ever before.

EXECUTION

We worked with a team of the best Fortnite builders in the world to bring Verizon 5G Stadium to life. Then in the week leading up to Super Bowl LV, we partnered with a massive roster of entertainment, NFL, and gaming influencers to host 2 huge primetime livestreams on Twitch, which were also simulcast across all Verizon’s social channels. We showed the true power of influence by utilizing top NFL players and gamers across the industry, elevating novice builders and female gamers, and empowering all of them to bring the Stadium to life for their massive fanbases. We also recreated live NFL fan interactions in-game through “avatar-to-avatar” meet and greets between fans and NFL players. And all together, some of America’s biggest influencers connected with 40 million fans to make this the most attended super bowl stadium in history.

RESULTS

40M players witnessed the stadium in-game, 5M+ tuned into the livestreams on Twitch, 1.5M played stadium games, all resulting in Verizon being the most discussed telco during Super Bowl week, and delivering Verizon’s largest activation in their history.