Still, gamers pay money to access many of these titles, so EA is wary of incorporating too many ads. But the company has a full suite of free, mobile games, which feature heavier ad loads in exchange for their free-to-play nature.
Like CTV more broadly, these games are still primarily upper-funnel plays, and the company runs brand recall and lift studies to track engagement. It is working to reach further down the funnel, including through partnerships with brands like Domino’s, which offered EA Sports FC players who donned its branded jersey free pizza via redemption codes on Fridays.
For Dao, the closest analogy is the channel from which EA hopes to siphon budgets.
“The CTV comparison is a really good one, because it shows up on the same screen,” he said. “Where CTV is moving from traditional into interactivity, gaming starts with interactivity. That and engagement are our bread and butter.”
