{"id":11749,"date":"2025-10-07T20:41:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T00:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/2025\/10\/07\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T19:18:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T23:18:36","slug":"worldbuilding-that-scales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/","title":{"rendered":"Worldbuilding That Scales"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most rebrands die in the handoff. Stunning decks get approved \u2014 then fall apart in the wild. Logos stretch. Color palettes clash. Partners freestyle. Fans improvise. The brand world breaks. But what if your brand was built to scale from day one? If you&#8217;ve ever watched your brand guidelines collapse on contact with reality, this session is for you. Learn how brand worldbuilding can power more than marketing, but how it can build fandom, fuel culture, and future-proof your product. This panel illustrates these principles by demonstrating how Ubisoft and global brand agency Wolff Olins turned gaming title Anno 117: Pax Romana into a living, breathing world; across fan kits, collector\u2019s editions, cookbooks, vinyl records, and beyond. Explore and design modular brand systems that empower not just marketers, but players, creators, vendors, and fans to expand the brand\u2026 without breaking it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most rebrands die in the handoff. Stunning decks get approved \u2014 then fall apart in the wild.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":11750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[40,7],"topics":[2],"class_list":["post-11749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-awnewyork-2025-sessions","tag-storytelling","topics-editorial"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Worldbuilding That Scales | AW360<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Worldbuilding That Scales\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Most rebrands die in the handoff. Stunning decks get approved \u2014 then fall apart in the wild.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AW360\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-08T00:41:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-07T23:18:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-01-at-8.58.24-PM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"784\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"438\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Becky Johnson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Becky Johnson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/worldbuilding-that-scales\\\/11749\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/worldbuilding-that-scales\\\/11749\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Becky Johnson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9fa5c678f43836b2c6a5a08afc888eb4\"},\"headline\":\"Worldbuilding That Scales\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-08T00:41:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-07T23:18:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/worldbuilding-that-scales\\\/11749\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":144,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/worldbuilding-that-scales\\\/11749\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/Screenshot-2026-05-01-at-8.58.24-PM.png\",\"keywords\":[\"AWNewYork 2025 Sessions\",\"Storytelling + Media\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/worldbuilding-that-scales\\\/11749\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/worldbuilding-that-scales\\\/11749\\\/\",\"name\":\"Worldbuilding That Scales | AW360\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/worldbuilding-that-scales\\\/11749\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/worldbuilding-that-scales\\\/11749\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/Screenshot-2026-05-01-at-8.58.24-PM.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-08T00:41:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-07T23:18:36+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/worldbuilding-that-scales\\\/11749\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/worldbuilding-that-scales\\\/11749\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/worldbuilding-that-scales\\\/11749\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/Screenshot-2026-05-01-at-8.58.24-PM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/Screenshot-2026-05-01-at-8.58.24-PM.png\",\"width\":784,\"height\":438},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/worldbuilding-that-scales\\\/11749\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Worldbuilding That Scales\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/\",\"name\":\"AW360\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"AW360\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/AW360_Logo_2023_FullColor.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/AW360_Logo_2023_FullColor.png\",\"width\":1906,\"height\":849,\"caption\":\"AW360\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9fa5c678f43836b2c6a5a08afc888eb4\",\"name\":\"Becky Johnson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/95b8fb944eb578208dc1ae04ccfeab7ad76885699756e211ec37e80c8281d55b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/95b8fb944eb578208dc1ae04ccfeab7ad76885699756e211ec37e80c8281d55b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/95b8fb944eb578208dc1ae04ccfeab7ad76885699756e211ec37e80c8281d55b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Becky Johnson\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Worldbuilding That Scales | AW360","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Worldbuilding That Scales","og_description":"Most rebrands die in the handoff. Stunning decks get approved \u2014 then fall apart in the wild.","og_url":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/","og_site_name":"AW360","article_published_time":"2025-10-08T00:41:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-07T23:18:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":784,"height":438,"url":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-01-at-8.58.24-PM.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Becky Johnson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Becky Johnson","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/"},"author":{"name":"Becky Johnson","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#\/schema\/person\/9fa5c678f43836b2c6a5a08afc888eb4"},"headline":"Worldbuilding That Scales","datePublished":"2025-10-08T00:41:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-07T23:18:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/"},"wordCount":144,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-01-at-8.58.24-PM.png","keywords":["AWNewYork 2025 Sessions","Storytelling + Media"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/","url":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/","name":"Worldbuilding That Scales | AW360","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-01-at-8.58.24-PM.png","datePublished":"2025-10-08T00:41:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-07T23:18:36+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-01-at-8.58.24-PM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-01-at-8.58.24-PM.png","width":784,"height":438},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/worldbuilding-that-scales\/11749\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Worldbuilding That Scales"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#website","url":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/","name":"AW360","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#organization","name":"AW360","url":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/07\/AW360_Logo_2023_FullColor.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/07\/AW360_Logo_2023_FullColor.png","width":1906,"height":849,"caption":"AW360"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#\/schema\/person\/9fa5c678f43836b2c6a5a08afc888eb4","name":"Becky Johnson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95b8fb944eb578208dc1ae04ccfeab7ad76885699756e211ec37e80c8281d55b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95b8fb944eb578208dc1ae04ccfeab7ad76885699756e211ec37e80c8281d55b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95b8fb944eb578208dc1ae04ccfeab7ad76885699756e211ec37e80c8281d55b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Becky Johnson"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11749"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17737,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11749\/revisions\/17737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11749"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=11749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}