BATTLEFIELD 4 REVEAL YOUTUBE COMMENTATORS
MARCH 26, 2013, BY: NICHOLAS GIGANTE
"Twas the nights before the Battlefield 4 reveal, and all through the venue, not a Battlefield fan was spotted, not even one once. The attendee’s pockets were lined with EA's money to spare, in hopes the EA's wet dream of taking over Call of Duty was there."
Let me ask everyone a question. What draws the line between marketing genius and shady marketing tactics? More importantly, is it possible for a company to reach out to a new consumer base while adhering to the base that is already established? I ask these questions because EA has dug itself into quite the hole as of late, with the main focal point being these goals.
View slideshow: Yes, EA has their own partnership program that they are using during this event.
The past couple of weeks leading up until today, the eve of the Battlefield 4 reveal, have shown EA squandering their core Battlefield fan base by doing something completely unexpected: ignoring them. In a blind attempt to convert Call of Duty players into Battlefield fans, EA has been paying million+ subscription base Call of Duty commentators to promote their game. We have seen it over the past couple of weeks, but just how deep does this promotion go and what does it mean for the Battlefield fans supporting the game before this marketing blitz?
EA doing what it does best.
Photo credit: EA
Well, pretty deep as it may seem. EA has invited countless Call of Duty only commentators to witness the reveal of Battlefield 4 in both San Francisco and Sweden while failing to invite countless, worthy, Battlefield centric Youtube commentators. This is more than just an act of good will though toward the Call of Duty commentators (and a slap in the face to the Battlefield community), as EA has put many of these commentators under strict NDA while giving them massive benefits to boot.
What do these benefits entail?
Well if the rumors floating around are right, they are giving Battlefield 4 footage exclusivity to all attendees of the event and EA's own Ronku partnership program till Saturday. On top of this, all people involved get a premium CPM on all footage shown on their personal channel. It's even been said that some of these commentators received free flights, free GoPro camera and free games to boot.
Exclusivity you say? Yup, there are several rumors floating around that Youtube will be blocking all non-approved Battlefield 4 footage. EA won't be issuing strikes, but giving exclusivity to commentators for over four days is more than enough to make anyone who has supported the franchises over their Youtube career feel that much more salt in their wounds.
Now, in all honesty this is a brilliant marketing ploy by EA, and if approached correctly would have been 100% fine. EA notably has a hard-on for Activision, and they know they won't drastically increase their player base by advertising to people who they know will buy their game anyway. That does not mean they should start ignoring the community that built them to the level that they are and instead should be supporting their established players first and foremost.
Lastly, using commentators who pass them selves off as "fans" to promote their game without giving due to the notion of payment is not only a sad thing to watch for anyone who can see what is going on, but is the saddest account of self worth I have ever seen from the individuals taking part in it, considering several of these Call of Duty promoters (not calling them commentators anymore) have gone on record in the past talking about their disdain for the Battlefield series.
Here is the deal, majority of the people who watch Youtube gaming videos are unaware of the business behind it. More important so, it should be known that these commentators have intent. It is their right to promote what ever game they like, but should be done so with the consumer (listener) having knowledge of the commentators position. Money changes everything, people can't stand when companies like G4TV (remember the Doritos/Halo 4 debacle?) take advertising money to promote a game when they are a supposed source of "honest" reviews and opinions. If the Youtube community is going to move down this route of paid for product placement, than then veil of discrepancy needs to be removed in regards to the commentators intent when playing a specific game.
So what’s your thought on this? I know EA has invited several Battlefield commentators and fan sites (like Battlefieldo and MP1st) to the event, but the obnoxious promotion through "CoD Commentators" has reached a new level of obscenity. Let me know your thoughts by following me here and on twitter
@NicholasGigante.
Don't think EA has it's own partnership program? Here.
