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Hans Stolfus
Strategic Partnerships at Epic Games
Hans Stolfus is the Growth Partnerships Director at Epic Games.12 He has a background in marketing and partnerships.1 Prior to Epic Games, Stolfus held roles at Samsung Electronics America in partnership and experiential marketing, and at Red Bull, where he was involved in events and athlete marketing.1 He also contributed to tour management and editorial production at the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, and has experience as a beach volleyball athlete and freelance sportswriter for NBCUniversal Media, LLC.1 He was born in December 1976.5
Stolfus attended San Diego State University and the University of Hawaii at Manoa.1 He was a speaker at SXSW 2023.6 In a video deposition, Stolfus expressed surprise over Epic's policy breach with Google.3
Hans Stolfus is also a male beach volleyball player who won a silver medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, partnering with Ty Loomis.4
Highlights
These are the most frequently asked questions I receive regarding commercial brand activation in Fortnite:
Why can’t I get the player’s data? Why can’t I have the player link out to my website? Why can’t I have the player opt-in to receive emails? Why can’t I generate direct revenue off the player in the form of digital and physical sales?
In other words, how can I take from the player versus what can I add?
I try not to comment here regarding this space because the answer is complicated and the solution isn’t one size fits all.
But one thing I can offer up as a recommendation is this: try and stop looking at the industry as an extraction game, and start thinking about how you can contribute by adding real value in the form of fun.
That doesn’t mean you still can’t effectively market within live service games. Or that one day there won’t be a way to develop a more meaningful 1:1 relationship with the player if they so choose (of course I’m going to want to sign up for the chance to earn a Noah outfit if a third party art pipeline ever gets unlocked and Brendon designs his own line of in-game cosmetics). It just means, if you want to make an impact now, and start building a fan base within the coveted 14-24 y/o demo — a group of humans who notoriously pride themselves on how well they can block and avoid ads across every channel — try exploring a different creative approach today.
Humor works. Honesty works. Not taking yourself too seriously works. Actual acknowledgement of the passionate community you’re trying to engage works (maybe something net new isn’t the ticket, and finding a cool creative island with CCU to land your branded POI is?). And super fun, endemic gameplay that actually translates to your brand DNA works. (I know, not every brand can be Vans and build a skateboarding game, but if your brand lends itself to physics or mechanics that already exist within a particular dev toolset, it’s a great place to start.)
Trying to pretend you belong somewhere you don’t, and doing it in a way that isn’t any different than traditional TV, web or social, doesn’t.
Note: creating a proper game versus a brand activation is a MUCH different proposition.
Either way, are branded digital worlds the future? It would be stupid of me to even attempt answering that question. I have zero idea what the future holds; nor does anyone. But games like Fortnite are fun, and as we know, they’re incredibly popular. Players love spending time in-game with friends, and the brands who support their passions in ways that add value are only building long-term affinity that could one day even become nostalgia. I’m not saying that every brand can be an equal part of the story as it builds, but if the industry starts thinking about it more creatively now, even the most indifferent CPGs have a real shot.
In the meantime, we’ll keep working on our tools. And Discover. And I’ll keep trying to reach Mr. Babenzien for when they’re ready.
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