Case Studies Technology & Industrial manufacturing

EA SPORTS™ FIFA Online 3 SPEARHEAD Invitational 2014

EA Korea(Electronic Arts Korea)


The Challenge

The EA SPORTS™ FIFA Online 3 SPEARHEAD Invitational 2014 was the first integrated Asia e-sports event of FIFA Online 3 organized by Spearhead, the developer of the free-to-play massively multiplayer online football game and hosted by EA Korea. It was a big event that would bring together national teams from seven countries in Asia where FIFA Online 3 was in service. However, although EA is one of the major global game developers, the event lacked awareness among the public since it was an inaugural event. In addition, it was the first branding activity since the change of the developer’s name to Spearhead. The event also carried significance because it was the first e-sports event directly organized by Spearhead as an official sponsor, which had been overshadowed by the publisher. Therefore, media relations activities were planned to promote its significance and achievement as much as possible. In addition, they were also strategically organized to raise the awareness of FIFA Online 3 and show its potential as e-sports while contributing to popularizing the game by bringing together publishers, the media and athletes from countries in Asia.

The Solution

Since it was the first branding activity to be conducted since Spearhead, the developer of FIFA Online 3 changed its name as well as the first-ever e-sports event since EA Korea entered the Korean game market, the focus was on bringing visibility to the developer, previously overshadowed by the publisher. To shed a light on the fact that it was the first integrated Asia e-sports event of FIFA Online 3, the event was live broadcasted in seven Asian countries, making people aware that FIFA online 3 is an international game enjoyed and serviced around the world. In addition, a variety of media tools were used including interviews and feature stories for strategic and systematic media relations activities. A particular attention was given to exposing people from EA Korea to the media to make its presence stronger. In the leading up to the event, relevant issues were discovered and press releases were distributed on an ongoing basis to promote the EA SPORTS™ FIFA Online 3 SPEARHEAD Invitational 2014 and its significance. PR House was not only in charge of media relations but also led the overall activities of Media Day with a focus on active communication with the media. It directly led the Media Day end-to-end from planning, production of promotional materials, composition of the program, and venue-setting designed to promote the event and lay the foundation for it to grow into one of the major e-sports events in the future.

The Result

Though the EA SPORTS™ FIFA Online 3 SPEARHEAD Invitational 2014 was held for the first time this year, thanks to continuous media relations and aggressive media communication efforts, it attracted over 100 reporters from some 60 media outlets. The event was covered over 800 times with 30 interview articles featured by Korea’s major game media including business magazines. In addition, the event was also covered 170 times by Chinese and South East Asian media. This means PR activities succeeded in raising awareness of and drawing interest in FIFA Online 3. Although the characteristics of the game industry makes it difficult for the event to be reported by general media, the event was covered by daily, business and sports papers, major game media, and even IT media. Systematic PR strategy, high-quality media contents, and active communication with the media were decisive factors in drawing positive responses and explosive interest from the media and users as well as the public. As a result, the achievement of FIFA Online 3 and its vision as e-sports were well promoted, presenting its potential to grow into a major e-sports event.

Through this event, Land, Infrastructure & Transport Technology Fair is expected to serve as a network venue to promote exchanges of information technology and further advanced R&D achievements.