An innovative collaboration between Electronic Arts and Coca-Cola sees the soft drinks giant add its first virtual athlete ambassador by sponsoring EA Sports FIFA 18 in-game virtual player Alex Hunter.
The partnership is spearheaded by a new Coke spot, running across Coke’s online platforms such as YouTube and Twitter, that sees a young fan hand Hunter a bottle of cola after a tough game.
Welcome to the Coca-Cola family @MrAlexHunter! #WelcomeAlex #CokeZeroSugar #FIFA18 pic.twitter.com/2yoMfbWJPs
— Coca-Cola (@CocaCola) September 21, 2017
This central, computer-generated commercial, a creative tribute and reworking of the brand’s 1979 classic ‘Mean Joe Geen’ ad, is being amplified online and on high profile OOH sites such as the recently installed Coca-Cola Times Square 3G robotic sign.
The campaign also spans special packaging and retail partnerships in the US and globally: including limited-edition cans bearing special codes enabling fans to unlock additional game content leading up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
This unusual sports star sponsorship marks the first time that Coca-Cola has added a virtual athlete to its ambassador stable.
The sponsorship campaign sees the drinks brand co-promote EA’s FIFA 18.
It was actually the previous iteration of the world’s leading sports video game, FIFA 17, that saw the debut of virtual player Alex Hunter (@MrAlexHunter) to introduce the game’s cfinematic ‘narrative-driven’ mode.
He was first introduced through a campaign based around a digital/social film called ‘The Journey’ which follows the young football prodigy’s rise through the ranks of English football into the elite world game.
(which aimed to encapsulate multiple aspects of contemporary football: including brand endorsements – Hunter even starred in Adidas’ ‘First Never Follows’ campaign).
Coca-Cola is now supporting the virtual athlete’s second in-game season as he becomes an ambassador for Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.
EA has brought Hunter back in FIFA 18 with a storyline centred on a comeback in MLS for LA Galaxy after a tough season in the English Premier League.
Coke has entered the game narrative when Hunter signed an endorsement deal with the brand as it shines the spotlight on ‘Coca-Cola Zero Sugar’ (it’s rebranded version of Coke Zero).
The game features Hunter’s life both on and off the pitch and his personality is determined by how video game players themselves answer questions for the media.
And the brand will continue to activate around the virtual athlete’s expanding soccer storyline.
“This is an exciting brand innovation. Signing Alex Hunter puts Coca-Cola at the intersection of gaming and brand marketing within the most popular franchise sports game in the world,” explained Coca-Cola vice president of entertainment, ventures and strategic alliances Matt Wolf.
According to Wolf, Hunter represents the core of the Coca-Cola DNA.
“He is the democratization of football stars. Everybody that plays ‘The Journey’ really falls in love with Alex and embodies themselves into his persona,” he argues.
“Going beyond the field of play presented an amazing window for us. The role Coca-Cola plays in football is before or after the match, so we recognized a natural tie-in with FIFA 18,” said Alban Dechelotte, senior entertainment marketing manager at Coca-Cola.
“Fans of the FIFA game, especially younger fans, share a 360-degree passion for football – playing, watching and gaming. So we decided to connect the love stories Coke has with the real and virtual worlds of football through our partnership with the world’s biggest football video game,” added Dechelotte.
Dave Madden, head of global brand partnerships for EA, added: “It’s great to be a part of this truly unique collaboration, the first of its kind. This in-game Coca-Cola endorsement gives our fans a taste of life as a renowned football star and the opportunities that come along with it.”
Comment:
The lead spot is a tribute to Coca-Cola’s iconic and award-winning 1979 ‘Mean Joe.
While several brands have already integrated into video games, there’s still plenty of opportunity for activation in the video game space: from in-game marketing to sponsoring eSports stars.
Indeed, it was back in 2013 that Coke partnered with Riot Games and League of Legends to launch a challenger series to give amateur players a path to professional eSports, while the brand also has hosted eSports viewing parties in cinemas around the world.
This new virtual player partnership comes with the added benefit of the brand not having to fret about its new sports star getting into any kind of legal trouble or bringing the brand into disrepute.
Of course, brand control safety in the sports sponsorship space aren’t really why Coke have penned the partnership: the tactic is more about giving players control over Hunter.
The approach fits neatly with its global football marketing strategy, which includes its grassroots programs like Copa Coca-Cola, and enables it to market towards the 2018 FIFA World Cup internationally (EA’s FIFA game is available in more than 190 countries and in 19 languages) without having to pick a side.
EA Sports FIFA is the world’s most popular football video game with more than 3.5 million daily players.
FIFA 17 sold more than 21 million copies, according to EA creative director Matt Prior and around three quarters of all FIFA 17 players interacted with the playing mode featuring Hunter – which from start-to-finish totals a 15-hour experience.
The initial launch campaign for FIFA 2018 rolled out in June (see case study)
and it officially goes on sale on 29 September.
Links:
Coca-Cola
https://us.coca-cola.com/bracket-refresh/
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/
https://twitter.com/CocaColaCo
https://www.youtube.com/user/cocacola
https://www.facebook.com/CocaColaUnitedStates/
https://www.instagram.com/TheCocaColaCo/
EA FIFA
https://www.youtube.com/user/EAsportsfootball
https://www.facebook.com/easportsfifa
https://twitter.com/EASPORTSFIFA
https://www.instagram.com/easportsfifa/
