Electronic Arts is launching a new advertising business. EA Advertising was announced on Monday across the company’s gaming portfolio.
What We Know: EA Advertising lets brands integrate directly into gameplay across EA’s titles. Placements include stadium signage, broadcast overlays, and custom in-game content. Also, EA SPORTS anchors much of the platform’s reach through Madden NFL, EA SPORTS FC, and College Football. Players complete the equivalent of 23,000 NFL seasons daily in Madden and over 1 billion EA SPORTS FC matches monthly.
What They Said: David Tinson, Chief Experiences Officer at Electronic Arts: “Players come to EA’s games and live experiences every day to play, watch, create and connect. That gives brands a meaningful opportunity to show up in ways that add value and respect the player experience, while maintaining authenticity in the worlds our teams are building. With EA Advertising, we’re helping brands become part of those moments in ways that are relevant and built for players.”
What Remains Unclear: While EA has already begun working with several brands, EA hasn’t disclosed pricing or revenue targets for EA Advertising. It’s also unclear how quickly the new ad server and SDK will roll out across EA SPORTS titles. Meanwhile, EA hasn’t said whether ad inventory will expand beyond sports into titles like Apex Legends or The Sims. Additionally, the company didn’t specify how player feedback will shape future placements.
What It Means: How has this not happened already? As someone who has played EA titles for nearly thirty years, this announcement seems very dated. With that said, I don’t believe player feedback will overly be negative if the strategy remains the same as it’s been. EA Advertising signals a major shift for in-game advertising in sports titles. Brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and Mountain Dew already signed on. While gaming sales have slowed over time, this revenue stream could be a needed boost for an industry that needs it.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
