Changing the game: An Investigation on the Potential of Electronic Arts' FIFA Soccer Video Game to Drive Soccer Club Brand Loyalty Among Gamers

1. Changing the game:
An Investigation on the Potential of Electronic Arts' FIFA
Soccer Video Game to Drive Soccer Club Brand Loyalty Among
Gamers
Evan Baechler
Prof. Whitney Wagoner | Prof. Susanna Lim | Mr. David Bruce

2. What is FIFA
Video
Multiplayer online | Multiplayer offline / local | single player

3. “FIFA is an authentic representation of
the real club soccer environment”
- Matt Mahar, former Lead FIFA online producer

4. Manchester City FC | Italian Manager | UEA Owner
English Belgian Ivorian English English Bosnian
Spanish Argentinean French Argentinean Serbian
”Soccer is much further along in the process of
globalization than any other economy on the planet.”
-Globalization Journalist F. Foer

5. A Global Strategy
Affinity / Engagement
•Mid 90s Strategic Shift
•Global Brand = Huge opportunities
•Sponsors
•Media Distribution
•Licensing
• Economies of Scale Time
Global is Resource-Intensive, Difficult to maintain

6. Digital is a solution
Exhibition tours | Player signings | IPO | fan shops | club partnerships | digital
•Digital platforms ‘Fill in the gaps’
•Constant brand presence
•E-commerce
•Customer service
•Engagement
•China.com | Mobile | Tailored Content |
“One United” | VISA
•Digital is complex

7. Video games : a powerful opportunity
•Digital environment is complex
•Control is difficult
•Videogames :
•Intimate*
•controlled
•Realistic
•Relevant

8. Video games are Realistic
Real
Rendered

9. Video games are Relevant
•Video Game Revenue > Box Office Revenue
in the US, 2010:
•72% of households played
•25.1 Billion USD
FIFA is Most popular sports game
•100m copies sold
•Top seller in every Global Region

10. Research Focus
Hypothesis:
Electronic Arts’ FIFA Soccer video game is a powerful digital, global expansion tool
for Soccer Clubs.
Investigation:
•Does FIFA Drive brand loyalty toward foreign soccer clubs?
•how does this information affect the sports business environment?
•further research?

11. Literature Review: Brand Loyalty
Attitude: Behavior: (not always purchase)
2-dimensional
psychological commitment Congruent Brand Engagement
•Leads to a more valuable, more profitable org.
•Building loyalty is a process:
Frequency of Brand Exposure
Informational Identification Volitional
Process Process Process
1................2…….………3……….….…4………..….…5………..….6
Likert-Scale Equivalents
•Frequency / Satisfaction drive loyalty

12. Literature Review: Loyalty & Sports
•Fans vs Participants
•Self-Esteem
•Fan Socialization process
•Socialization agents: family, peers, school, community, and media
Preference Building Emerging Loyalty True Loyalty
Preference Preference Emerging
Introduction Identification
Formation Strengthened Commitment

13. Literature Review: Video Games & Loyalty
•Violence: Video Games affect Attitude & Behavior
•More realistic Stronger effect
•RPGs: Gamers develop relationships with characters
•FIFA expertise  self-esteem  loyalty to game

14. Methodology
Survey: 368 Responses
•Screener Questions  Isolate FIFA as loyalty-inducing variable
•Independent Variables: FIFA engagement
•Dependent variables: Loyalty scales
•Additional questions:
•Prior engagement with soccer
•Qualitative questions
•Social questions
•Implication Interviews: EA, Nike, MLS, ESPN

15. 3-stage analysis
No previous No previous Anyone identifying as a
relationship with team relationship with team FIFA user
No previous Investigated other Qualitative Questions
relationship with soccer variables
soccer Social Gaming
Double-checked #1 Questions
Average protocols
Ordinal Regression Synthesis
1 . N=23 2 . N=70 3 . N=171

16. respondents who Agreed FIFA made them more loyal to their favorite
FIFA team
40 67%
35
Number of Responses
30
25
13%
20 20%
15
10
5
0
strongly Agree Somehwhat Neighter Agree Somehwhat Disagree strongly
Agree Agree nor Disagree Disagree Disagree
FIFA has made me more loyal to my FIFA team outside the video game?

17. stage 1 Analysis: Avg. Protocols
Change in average reported loyalty scores given FIFA engagement
Length of Relationship With FIFA Club
How Frequently Respondents Play FIFA
Average per-question loyalty score
Average Per-Question Loyalty Score
4.5
4 6
3.5 5
3 Attitudinal
2.5 Loyalty 4
2
1.5 Attitudinal
Behavioral 3
1 Loyalty
Loyalty
0.5 2
Behavioral
1
Loyalty
0
<1 1-6 mo. 6-12 1-2 2-4 yr. 4-6 yr.
month mo. years
Change in FIFA Expertise
Average Per-Question Loyalty Score
How Frequently Respondents Switch Clubs
Average Per-Question Loyalty Score
4.5
5
4
4.5
3.5 4
3 Attitudinal 3.5
Loyalty 3 Attitudinal
2.5 Loyalty
2.5
2 2 Behavioral
1.5 Behavioral 1.5 Loyalty
Loyalty
1 1
Amateur Semi-pro Pro World Legendary
Class

18. stage 2 Analysis: Ordinal Regression
•Ordinal Regression:
•for scale-based, non-discrete variables
•Reports Probabilities
•Independent variables: Dummy Variables (yes / No variables)
• Soccer player?
•Hometown club supporter
•FIFA Expert
•FIFA team Loyal
Soccer Hometown FIFA Expert FIFA team
Player Club Loyal Loyal

19. stage 3 analysis: synthesis
Qualitative analysis:
FIFA Informs | FIFA Is social | Virtual Players are Important
Social-Gaming Questions:
Average Disappointment given Scenarios involving
60%
favorite FIFA Club
50% Your FIFA team loses a real game
outside of the video game
40% You lose with your FIFA team in
the video game to a human durring
30% online Multiplayer
You Lose with your FIFA team in
20% the video game to a human during
offline multiplayer
10% You Lose with your FIFA team in
the video game to the computer
0%
Play by Play offline play online 2 2.4 2.8 3.2 3.6 4 4.4 4.8
1=not at all disappointed
yourself multi-player multi-player 7=very disappointed

20. FIFA Fan Socialization process
Less FIFA Engagement More
Introduction Preference Avidity
Social Motives
FIFA facilitates
FIFA facilitates Additional brand
knowledge, awareness,
connections with engagements
and interest
club brand elements catalyze loyalty.
around soccer
(players).
Lower Value of Fan to Club Higher

21. "I would have absolutely zero interest in Chelsea if it
wasn't for the game. The game is the sole driver of my
fandom."
"FIFA was how I got into European Soccer. Before my
FIFA days, I didn't even care about the World Cup. Now
soccer has become my career. I am employed as an
agent for FC Barcelona, to put on youth camps in the
United States."

22. Errors & Improvements
Errors in the Sample:
•Sample Size
•Low Sample Diversity  Predictor of small fan population
Errors in Method:
•Scales are limiting
•No control group
Improvements:
•Use FIFA User Data instead of scales
•Compare to loyal non-gamers

23. Implications
•FIFA is an information source
•FIFA becomes a viable Brand marketing medium
•Partnership opportunities / integrations
•EA gains bargaining power
Shifts in the FIFA Value Chain:
Develop
Distr. & Manage
License FIFA
sell & Update
product

24. Further research
This study provides evidence that FIFA drives loyalty toward soccer clubs.
What Else can we learn?
Other sports games / How / Why players
League brands: Emerging Tech:
Other samples: Select teams:
Relevant to Body movement-
•Other cultural groups Inform Specific tactics for
building MLS? controlled video
•Individual sports games elevating teams
games

25. Maintain Authenticity:
Within FIFA

26. Maintain Authenticity:
At Soccer’s Grassroots Core

27. Acknowledgements
Prof. Whitney Wagoner | Prof. Susanna Lim | Mr. David Bruce
Prof. Robert Madrigal | Prof. Ted Helvoigt | Warsaw | CHC
Prof. Michele Henney | Prof. Doug | Wilson Kyle & don

28. Questions &
Comments