1. Is The FIFA Video Game an
Antecedent to Team Loyalty?
Evan Baechler
Adviser: Whitney Wagoner
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2. How many team brands?
...
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3. Team Sport Marketing Environment
• Strong association with place
• Like any business growth is goal
• Geographic expansion is an
opportunity
• Digital technologies make
geographic more accessible
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4. Digital & Geographic Expansion
• Content production is cheap
• Distribution is Free
• Create out-of-market brand touch
points
• BUT...sports marketers must choose
between many digital spaces
spaces
• Proliferation poses danger
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5. Branding & Sport Video Games
• Product placement and digital
signage common
• BUT...sports teams overlook huge
potential
• Players take control of the core
brand experience
• Games facilitate achievement and
actions people can't do themselves
Brand intimacy and
achievement potential
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6. Games Are Extremely Realistic
Little disparity between virtual
brand experience and real brand
experience.
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7. Test The Viability of Team Sports Video Games:
• Is playing FIFA an antecedent to developing brand
loyalty to an out-of-market soccer club with which
an individual has no other "real" connection?
• If yes, how can sports organizations use FIFA as a
marketing tool to elevate their brand among
gamers?
• What further research does this project reveal?
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8. What is FIFA?
• Club soccer video game
produced by Electronic Arts
• 29 leagues from 22
countries; 42 national teams;
56 stadiums
• Available on all major game
consoles and mobile devices
• Players manipulate teams in
a variety of scenarios
• Social: play with friends and
community
• $50-60
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9. The FIFA Experience
Play single match
Create player
Customize /help
Play online
Extended exp.
As a team
Tutorials
Single games
Live Season
As a single player
Profile MGMT
Tournaments
Manager mode
With the computer
Game manual
Aligned with real events
Offline tournament
With friends !9 Friends' records

10. Why FIFA?
Best research platform for
team sports and loyalty
• Most successful sports game -
100 million copies
• Exclusive licenses
• Most teams aren't American /
best teams aren't American
• Decreases previous, close
contact with teams prior to play
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11. What is Brand Loyalty?
Two-dimensional Construct
Attitudinal Behavioral
• Psychological commitment to • Demonstrates commitment
team
through brand interactions
• Bias in favor of one team • Such as purchases, watching
relative to similar teams games, consuming news...
Satisfaction is an antecedent and sustainer of loyalty
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12. Why is Brand Loyalty Important?
Soccer team example:
Mechanism of profitability:
• An increase in out-of-market
• Repeat purchases
loyalty leads to increased
• Willingness to pay more to stay
• Licensed product purchases
with one brand over another
(jerseys, etc.)
• Increase in word of mouth, online
• Media consumption
sharing, referrals, socialization
• More lucrative licensing, media,
• Growth of per customer revenue
and sponsorship partnerships
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13. Existing Video
Game Research
• Violent Video game play leads to
aggressive emotion, cognition, and
behavior.
• More graphically real games lead to
stronger effects.
• Players develop tangible
relationships with game characters
• Virtual success = self-esteem =
satisfaction.
Research proves video games can
influence satisfaction, behavior,
and attitude - components of brand
loyalty
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14. Methodology
First survey
Second survey
• Identify a sample of viable • Measures loyalty - attitude and
research participants
behavior
• People who have played a lot • Psychological commitment to team
and often
scale (attitude)
• People who play with one team
• Open-ended questions about team
brand interactions outside FIFA
• People who weren't loyal to team (behavior)
before playing FIFA (basic
awareness OK)
• Series of yes/no and how often
questions about brand interactions
• People who are skilled (behavior)
35-50 participants
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15. Methodology
Targeted online distribution
• Qualtrics
• Through LCB classes
(Whitney to help)
• Through EA campus rep.
• Second survey is a follow-up
• Incentives!!!
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16. Hypothesis
Based on existing research proving video games do influence
behavior and attitude, and because of the self-esteem parallel
between sports fandom and video game play, I anticipate players
who fit the profile determined by the first survey will show signs of
loyalty toward the teams they manipulate in the FIFA video game.
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17. Implications
• Clubs can use FIFA to grow
brand
• FIFA becomes a bona fide
branding medium
• Elevate team within game
through EA partnership (be on
• Can sell exclusives to clubs cover, integrate other media)
who want to boost loyalty
• Increase jersey sponsor and
license fee value
• Can sell data about where
pockets of loyalty exist
• Locate foreign pockets of loyal
fans - align other markets there.
• Interview to determine other
possible implications • Manchester City example...
Interviews with other sports organizations:
media (ESPN), footwear / apparel (NIKE)
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18. Exclusive jersey release in FIFA 12 using this video
distributed through game platform
Elevated brand experience: stadium detail, game content aligned with real events, more detail in MCFC players
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19. Further Research
This study focuses only on FIFA, soccer, specific gaming
platforms, American gamers, and if FIFA leads to team loyalty.
A new study could alter each of these variables:
League brands:
Other games:
Body movement-
How / Why players
Relevent to
Relevent to non-US
controlled video
Select teams:
building MLS? Basketball loyalty? games
Inform Specific tactics for
elevating teams
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20. Questions
please!
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