Is FIFA an Antecedent to Soccer Team Brand Loyalty?

Evan Baechler

Adviser: Whitney Wagoner

Is The FIFA Video Game an Antecedent to Team Loyalty?

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...How many team brands?

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Team Sport Marketing Environment

• Strong association with place

• Like any business growth is goal

• Geographic expansion is an opportunity

• Digital technologies make geographic more accessible

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• Content production is cheap

• Distribution is Free

• Create out-of-market brand touch points

• BUT...sports marketers must choose between many digital spaces

• Proliferation poses danger

Digital & Geographic Expansion

• BUT...sports marketers must choose between many digital spaces

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• Product placement and digital signage common

• BUT...sports teams overlook huge potential

• Players take control of the core brand experience

• Games facilitate achievement and actions people can't do themselves

Branding & Sport Video Games

Brand intimacy and achievement potential

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Games Are Extremely Realistic

Little disparity between virtual brand experience and real brand

experience.

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Test The Viability of Team Sports Video Games:

• Is playing FIFA an antecedent to developing brand loyalty to an out-of-market soccer club with which an individual has no other "real" connection?

• If yes, how can sports organizations use FIFA as a marketing tool to elevate their brand among gamers?

• What further research does this project reveal?!7

• Club soccer video game produced by Electronic Arts

• 29 leagues from 22 countries; 42 national teams; 56 stadiums

• Available on all major game consoles and mobile devices

• Players manipulate teams in a variety of scenarios

• Social: play with friends and community

• $50-60

What is FIFA?

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Play online Single games Tournaments

Aligned with real events

The FIFA Experience

Play single match As a team

As a single player With the computer

With friends

Extended exp. Live Season

Manager mode Offline tournament

Create player Customize /help Tutorials

Profile MGMT Game manual

Friends' records

• Most successful sports game - 100 million copies

• Exclusive licenses

• Most teams aren't American / best teams aren't American

• Decreases previous, close contact with teams prior to play

Why FIFA?Best research platform for

team sports and loyalty

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• Psychological commitment to team

• Bias in favor of one team relative to similar teams

What is Brand Loyalty?Two-dimensional Construct

• Demonstrates commitment through brand interactions

• Such as purchases, watching games, consuming news...

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Attitudinal Behavioral

Satisfaction is an antecedent and sustainer of loyalty

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Why is Brand Loyalty Important?

Mechanism of profitability:

• Repeat purchases

• Willingness to pay more to stay with one brand over another

• Increase in word of mouth, online sharing, referrals, socialization

• Growth of per customer revenue

Soccer team example:

• An increase in out-of-market loyalty leads to increased

• Licensed product purchases (jerseys, etc.)

• Media consumption

• More lucrative licensing, media, and sponsorship partnerships

• Violent Video game play leads to aggressive emotion, cognition, and behavior.

• More graphically real games lead to stronger effects.

• Players develop tangible relationships with game characters

• Virtual success = self-esteem = satisfaction.

Research proves video games can influence satisfaction, behavior, and attitude - components of brand loyalty

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Existing Video Game Research

First survey

• Identify a sample of viable research participants

• People who have played a lot and often

• People who play with one team

• People who weren't loyal to team before playing FIFA (basic awareness OK)

• People who are skilled

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MethodologySecond survey

• Measures loyalty - attitude and behavior

• Psychological commitment to team scale (attitude)

• Open-ended questions about team brand interactions outside FIFA (behavior)

• Series of yes/no and how often questions about brand interactions (behavior)

35-50 participants

Targeted online distribution

• Qualtrics

• Through LCB classes (Whitney to help)

• Through EA campus rep.

• Second survey is a follow-up

• Incentives!!!

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Methodology

HypothesisBased on existing research proving video games do influence

behavior and attitude, and because of the self-esteem parallel

between sports fandom and video game play, I anticipate players

who fit the profile determined by the first survey will show signs of

loyalty toward the teams they manipulate in the FIFA video game.

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Implications

• FIFA becomes a bona fide branding medium

• Can sell exclusives to clubs who want to boost loyalty

• Can sell data about where pockets of loyalty exist

• Interview to determine other possible implications

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• Clubs can use FIFA to grow brand

• Elevate team within game through EA partnership (be on cover, integrate other media)

• Increase jersey sponsor and license fee value

• Locate foreign pockets of loyal fans - align other markets there.

• Manchester City example...

Interviews with other sports organizations: media (ESPN), footwear / apparel (NIKE)

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Exclusive jersey release in FIFA 12 using this video distributed through game platform

Elevated brand experience: stadium detail, game content aligned with real events, more detail in MCFC players

Further Research

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This study focuses only on FIFA, soccer, specific gaming

platforms, American gamers, and if FIFA leads to team loyalty.

A new study could alter each of these variables:

League brands: Relevent to

building MLS?

Other games: Relevent to non-US Basketball loyalty?

Body movement- controlled video

games

How / Why players Select teams:

Inform Specific tactics for elevating teams

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Questions please!