Consumers React to Pre-Launch Madden NFL 25 Marketing

Videogame players have provided unsolicited feedback around the new Madden NFL 25 game on social media in the days and weeks leading up to its launch. At Crimson Hexagon, we used the ForSight™ platform to analyze this massive amount of social data to obtain consumer insights about pre-launch marketing and gameplay expectations.

Published in: Marketing, Sports, Entertainment & Humor

Consumers React to Pre-Launch Madden NFL 25 Marketing from Crimson Hexagon

Transcript

• 1. COMPANY & TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 2. CASE STUDY: PRE-LAUNCH MARKETING VIDEO GAME: EA Sports  Madden NFL 25 BUSINESS QUESTION: How is our pre-launch marketing received by consumers? METHOD: Use the Crimson Hexagon ForSight™ platform to analyze the pre-launch social media conversation surrounding Madden NFL 25 and uncover which elements drive consumer anticipation for the video game release. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 3. EA SPORTS: MADDEN NFL 25 PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 4. HOW IS MADDEN NFL 25 DISCUSSED BY GAMERS PRIOR TO ITS OFFICIAL RELEASE? PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 5. MADDEN 25: PRE-LAUNCH ANTICIPATION Madden NFL 25: Consumer Anticipation (8/1/13 – 8/26/13)  57,033 Relevant Posts A FINDINGS: A. Almost half of Madden 25 conversation (42%) is driven by anticipation and intent to purchase B C D B. Praise for new gameplay features (15%) and realistic graphics (4%) increases as gamers test the demo C. Some express disappointment with team and player ratings and other capabilities (9%) D. Gamers are also frustrated with the pre-snap camera angle being too far away (3%) PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 6. MADDEN 25: PRE-LAUNCH ANTICIPATION Madden NFL 25: Consumer Anticipation (8/1/13 – 8/26/13)  57,033 Relevant Posts A FINDINGS: A. Almost half of Madden 25 conversation (42%) is driven by anticipation and intent to purchase B C D B. Praise for new gameplay features (15%) and realistic graphics (4%) increases as gamers test the demo C. Some express disappointment with team and player ratings and other capabilities (9%) D. Gamers are also frustrated with the pre-snap camera angle being too far away (3%) PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 7. MADDEN 25: PRE-LAUNCH ANTICIPATION Madden NFL 25: Sentiment Trends Demo Release Purchase intent for the new video game increases 34% from the time the demo was released, until the day before the official launch Madden NFL 25: Intent to Purchase PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 8. HOW DO CONSUMERS REACT TO PRE-LAUNCH MARKETING FOR MADDEN NFL 25? PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 9. MADDEN 25: PRE-LAUNCH MARKETING Pepsi MAX: “Disappearing Sanders” Madden 25 Demo Release Aug 13 Aug 19 EA Sports: “Running Back Sons” Aug 20 Official Madden 25 Release Aug 25 Aug 27 EA Sports: “Summer Camp” HEXAGON, INC.PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 10. MADDEN 25: REACTION TO ADS Madden 25 Ads: Consumer Sentiment (8/18/13 – 8/27/13)  2,213 Relevant Posts FINDINGS: A. Madden 25 ads’ appeal to humor strongly resonates with gamers (19%) B. More than half of the conversation is driven by fans’ love of the EA Sports “Born to Madden” segments A • B C The Arian Foster & Marshawn Lynch segment received more praise (32%) than the Colin Kaepernick & Russell Wilson spots (24%) C. In comparison, the Pepsi MAX Barry Sanders ad sparked minimal conversation (3%) PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 11. MADDEN 25: REACTION TO ADS Madden 25 Ads: Consumer Sentiment (8/18/13 – 8/27/13)  2,213 Relevant Posts FINDINGS: A. Madden 25 ads’ appeal to humor strongly resonates with gamers (19%) B. More than half of the conversation is driven by fans’ love of the EA Sports “Born to Madden” segments A • B C The Arian Foster & Marshawn Lynch segment received more praise (32%) than the Colin Kaepernick & Russell Wilson spots (24%) C. In comparison, the Pepsi MAX Barry Sanders ad sparked minimal conversation (3%) PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 12. MADDEN 25: REACTION TO ADS “Summer Camp” Kaepernick & Wilson “Running Backs Sons” Lynch & Foster C A B FINDINGS: A. Conversation about the Madden ads spikes as the “Running Backs Sons” commercial airs B. Discussion mix shifts drastically with the release of EA’s second spot in the campaign, “Summer Camp” • Elicits more negatively-charged consumer commentary C. However, general praise of the Madden 25 campaigns still increases in weight during this time period PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 13. MADDEN NFL 25: KEY TAKEAWAYS • Gamers recount each facet of gameplay on social media and reveal what factors drive a favorable user experience • We see intent to purchase Madden NFL 25 increase greatly (34%) from the day the demo was released until the day before its official launch • Gamers react very differently to the various advertisements for Madden NFL 25 in the weeks preceding the game’s launch PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 14. MADDEN NFL 25: KEY TAKEAWAYS • With ForSight, video gameplay companies can quickly understand pre-launch consumer opinion of a new game from both advertising and product perspectives: ADVERTISING • • Analyze and track how consumers react to celebrity endorsers for video game releases Quantify online purchase intent and uncover how this sentiment fluctuates with pre-launch promotions PRODUCT • • • Leverage historical consumer conversations during pre-production planning Capitalize on gamers’ favorite aspects and quickly address major pain points from initial demo reactions Tap into unsolicited consumer opinion and incorporate feedback into the next product development cycle PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 15. CRIMSON HEXAGON Crimson Hexagon, founded in 2007, is the leading provider of analysis software that delivers business intelligence from social media data for global corporations. Powered by patented technology developed at Harvard University’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science, the Crimson Hexagon ForSight™ platform delivers the industry’s most comprehensive Big Data analysis capabilities for a variety of large-scale data sources. Clients include leading global organizations such as: Microsoft, Paramount Pictures, Starbucks, Simon & Schuster, Twitter, and many more. For more information go to: http://www.crimsonhexagon.com. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• 16. Learn More About Crimson Hexagon’s ForSight ™ Platform Click Here for An Introduction To PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL © CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.