Social media is clearly going to be important for all marketers going forward, and Electronic Arts is excitedly embracing the trend. On Facebook, EA can brag that there are 500,000 following FIFA, 850,000 following EA Sports and five million that have become fans of BioWare.
“We see huge value in engaging directly with the fans of all our games,” said EA s U.K. PR director Simon Smith-Wright. “Many of our studios and games already boast enormous active communities but Facebook is also very valuable to us in growing these. And with social media experts Playfish now part of the EA team, you can imagine how we can really grow in this space.”
Tecmo Koei’s community manager Chin Soon Sun noted that Facebook adds a quick and easy way to boost existing campaigns. “It’s free, so we don t need to spend a huge amount of advertising cost,” said Sun. All we need is to be enthusiastic, interact with them, keep them updated and we get to know each other better.”
“However, with this direct sort of content, publishers need to be cautious to make sure they control their message. Facebook is a sure fire way of hyping the community and spreading information and assets such as trailers on new titles,” said Namco Bandai’s head of PR Lee Kirton. “But anything you release will spread to a much broader level, so communication is important. It all needs to fit into the overall campaign and not damage any of your global relationships.”
Source: MCV
