Facebook drawing EA ad money away from TV and print

EA has admitted that it is to distance itself from TV and print advertising in favour of a social networking focused marketing strategy.

The decision comes following the results of its Battlefield 3 Facebook campaign – the performance of which significantly exceeded EA’s expectations.

ClickZ reports that the company invested a total of $2.75m on Facebook across a seven-month campaign. The end result was the game generated $12.1m in incremental sales (around 200,000 units), equating to $4.40 for every $1 it spent.

Over 800,000 people engaged with the brand on Facebook during its release week helping it towards becoming EA’s biggest ever game launch, with 10m units shipped to retail in the first week.

We believe everything is heading in the digital direction. It’s been a massive realignment internally," EA’s senior marketing director Chris Thorne stated. "I can’t understate how much Facebook is at the core of our marketing strategy now."

[Traditional media like print, radio and TV] still have their place [but] those types have shifted by the wayside because it’s more difficult to justify that spend.”

EA currently has over 30m Facebook Likes for its assorted brands.