“It had to be scalable, so that whatever platform we developed, we didn’t want to have to edit it every time we wanted to put in a new advertiser campaign. It needed to be able to grow with the business.”
Electronic Arts (EA) is the second largest video game publisher, including franchises such as Sims, Madden, Pogo, Hasbro, and PopCap. Jack Koch works in the Global Media Solutions department, and his department is tasked with connecting advertisers to premiere content, in a relevant and insightful way. Ads have to be relevant to the gamer.
He shows the way that Toyota adds their product into the Sims game, and players get a play boost by interacting with the brand. Gatorade in Madden 12 – Instead of having non-branded drinks , the drinks are Gatorade, which makes sense in the game context.
But how do you measure all of the effects together?
EA’s Data Challenge
- Multiple Platforms & Devices
- Multiple Titles & Game Teams
- Multiple Ad Serving & Data Warehouse Technology
Electronic Arts Legend System
EA’s Legend system takes information from console, online, mobile, and social platforms and provides deep, actionable cross-platform insights. Then they take it one step further. They overlay third party consumer data to give advertisers a really deep view of the information. The main characteristics of the system are:
- Scalable
- Flexible
- Provide Actionable Insights
Key Benefits for Advertisers
- It’s the first time many advertisers have seen cross-platform metrics and insights.
- Brand research in analysis.
- Consumer insights.
Internal Benefits
- Game teams are seeing insights better
- Less strain on analytics teams
- Improves games and gameplay, overall increasing company revenue (as opposed to just advertiser revenue.)
At 11 minutes, Koch goes through a demo of the Legend System, showing the console that advertisers can see.
Jack Koch – Director of Global Marketing Insights, Electronic Arts
Jack leads advertising effectiveness strategy and research, audience profiling, and industry analysis for the Global Media Solutions group at Electronic Arts. Prior to joining EA, Jack has held strategic positions on both the client and agency sides designing and leveraging research to deepen consumer insight, evaluate advertising effectiveness, and maximize media efficiency and return on investment.