Xfinity University

In a year of unknowns, the 2021 Xfinity University program implemented a hybrid strategy to reach students wherever they were most comfortable. Sponsored events, in-person engagements, esports tournaments, custom virtual games and more, all helped the brand to authentically reach students, while driving product messaging and earning brand love. Xfinity sponsored 65 events across 32 universities – for a total of 107 days interacting with students. The brand focused on student passions and other traditional campus events, such as Rec Sports Festivals, Welcome Weeks and more. The program focused on reaching both on and off-campus students, with each event helping drive awareness of Xfinity products/services. Xfinity developed a digital engagement in partnership with NBCU that challenged students’ knowledge of pop culture, sports, and entertainment through NBC’s properties. As the program shifted to back-to-school with in-person events in the fall, we adapted the trivia (Entertainment 101) to be played on an interactive digital kiosk. Knowing safety was top of mind, the game technology was built to be touchless, allowing students to use their own devices for gameplay, bringing competition and friendly camaraderie to students at events.
Our team understood not all students would step out to participate in campus events, so we successfully negotiated a deal, making Xfinity the title sponsor of April and Autumn Anarchy, a Fortnite tournament for college students. World famous eSports player and Team Xfinity athlete (Bugha) was also authentically integrated into the event. This allowed Bugha fans the chance to see him play and gave students the chance to compete against his World Champion talent. Xfinity’s brand received over 1.23 million total impressions and 73,000 total engagements. Following the sponsorships, 80% of on-campus students reported a positive opinion of Xfinity and 88% of students really enjoyed the in-person event experience –similar to the virtual event in Spring 2021 (89%). April and Autumn Anarchy, a partnership with Barnes & Noble, the American Video Game League, and Xfinity, proved successful results with over 2,600 registered players and 40 million total impressions.