With Matt Wolf getting a promotion to vice president of entertainment, ventures and strategic alliances at Coca-Cola, his colleague Alban Dechelotte has been named head of global eSports for the soft drink company. Dechelotte told [a]listdaily that he’s been working behind-the-scenes at Coke for the past four years, after identifying gaming as a key growth potential for the company.
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Dechelotte’s background is in traditional sports, having worked as a Western European sponsorship manager for Coke across sports like tennis and cycling. He explains: “There are a lot of similarities between traditional sports and eSports: from a competition point-of-view, from the stage, to the coaches, players, fans, the broadcast booth, the training, the pressure and the competitive ecosystem.”
Dechelotte said that, from a brand perspective, there’s a greater ability for brands to be on stage in eSports than anywhere else in gaming in the past. “Fans love that Coke is engaged with them and recognizes the popularity of eSports,” Dechelotte said. “They love being invited to live events, whether it’s through an activation in movie theaters for League of Legends or connecting with fans live at the League of Legends world championship—which we see as the Super Bowl of eSports.”
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Coke will be at the Staples Center this October for the League of Legends world championship, and the company is also increasing its movie theater livestreaming activation. “We’ll be in cinemas like never before in both the number of cinemas and the number of countries, including Canada and Eastern countries,” Dechelotte said. “We’ll also be working with additional partners in cinemas.”
Dechelotte said Coke is actively looking beyond League of Legends to expand its eSports presence and that the company engaged in a huge international activation around the recent launch of Blizzard’s Overwatch. “We saw big eSports potential with Overwatch early on, and the recent success of the game has proven that out,” Dechelotte said. “Overwatch gives us a more diverse portfolio. It’s a nice complement to what we’ve done in the past with League of Legends.”
Dechelotte also sees a huge eSports growth opportunity for the soccer game, FIFA in the US. FIFA and Electronic Arts have been collaborating on the FIFA Interactive World Cup for years, and the Grand Final was held this past March in New York City. Additionally, the Final Showdown was broadcast live on Fox 1, as well as Twitch and YouTube. Coke is a long-time sponsor of both FIFA and the World Cup. “EA’s FIFA soccer franchise has been growing as an eSport, especially in the US,” Dechelotte said.
Next week, Coke is partnering with EA to celebrate the upcoming launch of FIFA 17 through a collectible Slurpee cup activation at 7-Eleven stores across the US. There will be a FIFA 17 contest featuring over 10,000 prizes. Dechelotte said there will be five layers of prizes that include codes that can be redeemed for in-game items like special jerseys; points that can be used for FIFA Ultimate Team; copies of the game; or a trip to Vancouver to meet the EA development team behind the game.
Later in September, Coke, FIFA and EA will launch a nationwide FIFA 17 collegiate eSports competition with students from 80 colleges participating. It’s a pilot program for the companies that will debut in the US and not in Europe, which Dechelotte said shows the power of soccer in this country.
The FIFA 17 competition will run for two to three months and feature a local round where students will compete to become college champions. The second round will award a winner for each of the four conferences, which sets up a Final Four showdown and championship round with the top universities competing for college tuition money. The competition will be livestreamed. Dechelotte said all of the details are still being worked out.
“We see 150 million players per year playing FIFA and we’re excited to be part of this franchise and help EA take this game further into eSports,” Dechelotte said. “Our belief in the potential for eSports aligns consistently with EA and what they’re building on their side for competitive play.”
The key with both traditional sports and eSports is to find the right balance between the sport and the brand, according to Dechelotte. However, two eSports games Coke won’t be getting involved with are Valve’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Activision’s Call of Duty. Dechelotte said the violence in these games and their Mature ratings will keep Coke on the sidelines from any marketing or sponsorship endeavors.
Coca-Cola Signs Alex Hunter as Brand’s First Virtual Athlete
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ahead of next summer’s 2018 FIFA World Cup, The Coca-Cola Company has released its first ever in-game advertising spot for use on external marketing platforms.
Welcome to the Coca-Cola family, Alex Hunter! #WelcomeAlex #CokeZeroSugar #FIFA18 (Photo: Business Wire)
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The advert, which features EA SPORTS™ FIFA 18 virtual athlete Alex Hunter is a nod to the brand’s classic 1979 “Mean Joe,” television spot, in which an American Football star is given a bottle of Coca-Cola from a fan after a tough game.
The story behind the fully computer-generated ad spot is told within “The Journey: Hunter Returns” mode for the PlayStation 4, Xbox and PC versions of EA SPORTS FIFA 18 which allows players to experience life as emerging soccer star, Alex Hunter. As part of the game’s story, Coca-Cola signs the rising player to become its ambassador to launch the new Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.
The unique collaboration with EA SPORTS FIFA 18’s Alex Hunter will extend beyond the game through specialized packaging and retail partnerships within the US and globally. The ad spot will be shared on social channels and displayed on marquee out of home sites including the recently installed Coca-Cola Times Square sign, the world’s first 3D robotic sign.
“This is an exciting brand innovation,” said Matt Wolf, Vice President of Entertainment, Ventures & Strategic Alliances at The Coca-Cola Company. “Signing Alex Hunter puts Coca-Cola at the intersection of gaming and brand marketing within the most popular franchise sports game in the world.”
“It’s great to be a part of this truly unique collaboration, the first of its kind,” said Dave Madden, Head of Global Brand Partnerships for EA. “This in-game Coca-Cola endorsement gives our fans a taste of life as a renowned football star and the opportunities that come along with it.”
EA SPORTSFIFA 18 will be available for purchase on September 29, 2017.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest total beverage company, offering over 500 brands to people in more than 200 countries. Of our 21 billion-dollar brands, 19 are available in lower- and no-sugar options to help people everywhere more easily control added sugar. In addition to our namesake Coca-Cola drinks, some of our household names around the world include: AdeS soy-based beverages, Ayataka green tea, Dasani waters, Del Valle juices and nectars, Fanta, Georgia coffee, Gold Peak teas and coffees, Honest Tea, Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks, Simply juices, smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater, and Zico coconut water. At Coca-Cola, we’re serious about making positive contributions to our world. That starts with reducing sugar in our drinks and bringing new and different drinks to people everywhere. It also means continuously working to reduce our environmental impact, creating rewarding careers for our associates, and bringing economic opportunity wherever we operate. In fact, together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people around the world. For more information, visit our digital magazine Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com and follow The Coca-Cola Company on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA has more than 300 million registered players around the world.
In fiscal year 2017, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.8 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster brands such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, EA SPORTS™ FIFA, Battlefield™, Star Wars™ Battlefront™, Need for Speed™, Dragon Age™ and Plants vs. Zombies™. More information about EA is available at www.ea.com/news.
EA SPORTS, The Sims, Dragon Age, Plants vs. Zombies, Battlefield and Battlefield 4 are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. and its subsidiaries. John Madden, NFL and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with permission.
The Coca-Cola Company
Kate Hartman, +1-404-245-1084
kahartman@coca-cola.com
Source: The Coca-Cola Company
Released September 21, 2017