Journeys Looks to Grow Gaming Audience with New Karl Jacobs Partnership

Journeys has enlisted the help of online gaming personality Karl Jacobs as it works to build its roots within the gaming and streaming community.

As its new creative ambassador, Jacobs, who has a total of more than 28 million followers across all platforms, will leverage his gaming and retail experience to introduce Journeys to the vast gaming community throughout 2022, including summer, back-to-school and holiday campaigns, among others. He will be tasked with developing and supporting content strategies and digital marketing initiatives for the footwear retailer that resonate with the gaming world.

“He (Karl Jacobs) will play an integral role in our strategic approach to introducing ourselves and engaging with the gaming community in an authentic and meaningful way,” said Kari Irons, SVP of marketing at Journeys, in a statement. “Gaming is fueling youth culture right now and we know we need to earn our place and build trust with the community first. We are ecstatic for the value and expertise Karl brings in guiding us through this and also for our partnership with gaming firm Loaded in connecting us to creators and content partners like Karl, who share our core values and want to build long-lasting partnerships and connections.”

The partnership with Jacobs is part of Journeys’ larger initiative to continue serving as an extension of teen lifestyles, the company added in a statement on Friday.

Jacobs joins Journeys after a year of impressive growth for the company, which saw the retailer set an all-time record of sales and operating profit for 2021. As the company expands into new audiences, Jacobs brings his point of view as an active gamer and streamer with insights into digital content and social strategy for this specific audience.