back to explore the comics. Kids dressed up as Iron Man, adults collected figurines, and entire communities have formed across games, shows, films, and beyond. Each new entry point creates a new avenue for engagement - and a new layer of community. Fans can play Cyberpunk, binge Fallout and read The Witcher. Why should we identify with one category? We can identify as entertainment lovers, and we can identify as fans of a franchise. We can interact with stories across platforms and create rich multifaceted experiences. That’s why campaign material also needs to flex - trailers, cutdowns, captions, and creative must shift depending on the audience and platform, without losing the soul of the world they’re built from. We’ve seen this evolution play out in our own industry, and DDA
has been lucky to help shape some major fan moments. Fallout is a great example – an iconic, historical video game franchise with one of the most passionate fan communities. Working with Amazon on the Prime Fallout series, it wasn’t solely an opportunity or task to promote the show – it was critical to unite the two entertainment worlds, welcoming new audiences without alienating the core. DDA led the international campaign, coordinated the global tour and managed an immersive European premiere that brought people straight into the wasteland. By putting both the fanbase and potential new viewers at the heart of our thinking, we delivered a campaign that balanced retention and acquisition. This shift is not unique to Fallout; it’s part of a broader trend
where video game franchises are evolving into cross-platform ecosystems, and audiences are responding in kind. In March of this year, A Minecraft Movie was released. The film’s debut brought in record-breaking box office figures, cementing Minecraft’s broad appeal across generations. At DDA, we led the UK publicity and influencer campaign focusing on bringing together long-standing fans as well as a new wave of younger viewers and families. We crafted a comprehensive media strategy, with targeted
outreach, focusing on both gaming and film outlets to effectively reach a diverse audience. The goal was to balance the interests of the hardcore gaming community with the broader film press, ensuring the message reached across both sectors. Our influencer strategy mirrored this dual approach. We worked closely with Minecraft creators who have been part of the game’s community for years, ensuring that the content stayed true to the franchise’s roots while engaging new, broader audiences. By integrating these voices, we created an authentic connection that resonated with both core fans and the younger generation encountering Minecraft for the first time. Riot’s League of Legends has deep lore, great characters, a
dedicated community, and massive global recognition, but the game had a very specific following. Then came Arcane, a collaboration with Netflix that took League of Legends into new territory. Riot didn’t just create a show - it expanded the lore, deepened emotional connections to beloved characters (did anyone else cry at the Season 2 finale?), and invited a whole new audience to Runeterra. It
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wasn’t just an adaptation; it became an entry point, drawing in new fans while keeping longtime players engaged. As a League fan, I found Arcane a perfect extension of the game’s
universe - exploring the backstories and expanding the world I loved. For my friends, who had never played the game, Arcane offered a visually stunning and emotionally engaging entry into the world, with universal themes of ambition, loss, and conflict. Characters like Caitlyn, Vi, and Jinx became complex, relatable figures in their own storylines. Arcane was met with critical acclaim, quickly becoming Netflix’s highest-rated series within a week of its premiere. It ranked 1st in 52 countries and won an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program. By bringing a long-established video game to a global streaming platform, Arcane broadened the appeal of League of Legends beyond its original gaming community and created a significant cultural moment that was felt across platforms. These examples reveal a key truth: today’s audiences don’t just want
to watch or play. They want to live the story, no matter the platform. The campaigns that succeed are those that respect this, creating connections across formats and meeting fans where they are without sacrificing the heart of the IP.
SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? Fandom has evolved beyond the boundaries of traditional platforms into a new, exciting era of cross-medium storytelling. We, fans of entertainment, don’t want to consume content in one place – we want to find new experiences across games, film, TV and even in the real world. Fans can move seamlessly between spaces, expanding their connections with stories and characters, developing a new sense of community and generating huge opportunities for our sector. We don’t have to be ‘gamers’ or ‘moviegoers’ – we can be passionate about entertainment and storytelling. The opportunity for games here is huge but as the audience
landscape evolves, so too must the campaigns that target them. Marketers must craft campaigns that not only stay true to the core of the IP but also recognise and cater to these multi-format audiences.
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