The video game company Electronic Arts will arrive at Cannes Lions next week with a pitch that advertisers have never heard from the publisher before: For the first time, its in-game inventory will now be available as targeted, measurable media.
On Monday the company launched its first advertising platform, which is built on a proprietary ad server and SDK designed for its Frostbite game engine, according to EA vice president of advertising and sponsorship Alex Dao.
The system will enable the company to serve brand placements inside EA Sports titles, which include heavyweights like EA Sports FC, Madden NFL, and College Football 26.
Inventory in these games mimics the kind of advertising surfaces that are available during real matches, such as stadium ad boards, scoreboards, jumbotrons, and broadcast-style overlays. At launch, targeting will be available based on geography and flight date.
“The way that game publishers have done this before always required a lot of custom work and resources, so it was not scalable. It was done game by game, studio by studio,” Dao said. “The big difference is that we have built a centralized ad platform that can feed across all of our games.”
The launch marks a key shift for EA, which has historically worked with brands through bespoke, hand-built integrations. Those custom deals will still be available as sponsorship packages, but dynamic media will now be available on a CPM basis, whose prices will range from $1 to $10 depending on title and placement, according to Dao.
To make the inventory more turnkey for media buyers, EA worked with the IAB to standardize its in-game ad assets, and impression measurement will align with IAB in-game standards.
The company has partnered with Integral Ad Science to verify viewability and invalid traffic, as well as with LiveRamp to enable advertisers to match LiveRamp’s identity cohorts against EA’s first-party ID, which is persistent across multiple consoles. Early advertisers include Visa, Coach, and State Farm.
Brands can also combine custom packages with dynamic media. Visa, which has sponsored a squad-building challenge in EA Sports FC, offers an example of a brand that is integrated into the gameplay itself, yet can amplify that presence with standard media.
EA is also pairing the platform with the EA Sports Official Partner Program, a product that grants official designations to brands working across multiple titles. The exclusive status pulls these brands into tentpole franchise moments, such as cover reveals, player ratings reveals, and live events like the Madden Bowl during Super Bowl week. Visa and crypto exchange Gemini are among the first partners.
The attention pitch
Underpinning the launch is a compelling argument about attention.
Brands clamor to advertise against live sports inventory, with its draw of large, concurrent audiences of engaged viewers. But such inventory is wildly expensive, and viewers’ attention is often fragmented. Audiences often turn to their phone while watching games or turn away from the television during commercial breaks.
