UCF Puts Walt Disney World on Its Helmets, and the Magic Kingdom Picks Up the Tab
The Knights debuted a Walt Disney World logo on the back of their helmets during Saturday's Big 12 opener against TCU, becoming the latest college program to sell off equipment space the NCAA would not let anyone touch a year ago.
UCF football ran onto the field in Orlando on Saturday with a new passenger riding along on its helmets: the Walt Disney World logo, stitched onto the rear bumper for the Knights' Big 12 opener against TCU. Walt Disney World and UCF unveiled the deal Friday, and by Saturday it was live on national television, which is about as fast a turnaround as branding gets.
The pairing writes itself: Disney World sits fifteen minutes from campus, UCF's mascot already wears a knight's armor, and the athletic department gets to monetize real estate the NCAA only unlocked for sponsorship this year. UCF joins Utah and Minnesota in cashing in on the rule change that took effect August 1, and it will not be the last program to figure out a helmet is just an unsold billboard with a facemask attached.
For Disney, it is a hyper-local buy dressed up as a statement: the mouse does not need brand awareness in Orlando, but it does need younger, ticket-buying households paying attention to something other than streaming numbers, and a stadium full of them on a Saturday night beats another 30-second spot they will skip.
Source: UCF Athletics
Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →
