From the screen to the broadsheets.
EA SPORTS FIFA 22 faced the challenge of cutting through the cluttered holiday marketing landscape to promote their seasonal offer while driving awareness and player acquisition. Our solution was an innovative hybrid campaign that literally put football on the front pages in key cities London and New York by creating custom newspapers celebrating the "Next Generation" of football talent including cover star Kylian Mbappe, Phil Foden, Eduardo Camavinga and Theo Hernandez. I delivered creative copy across the Mbappe portion, and supported our GTM/activation strategy across London - thinking about key PR partners like Mundial Magazine, and also tactical locations to hit max footfall traffic so we could make the biggest impact in the key sustain phase for FIFA 22’s rollout which fell on the competitive holiday period of 2022.
The campaign centred on a bold creative concept: if football stories are typically expected to on the back pages, so at EA we decided we would create our own front-page headlines. Fusing magazine-like style in a newspaper form. This insight led to the development of traditional 32-page broadsheet newspapers featuring six of the world's brightest young football stars, each receiving a dedicated 4-page spread with in-depth articles, quiz questions, and integrated promotional content via QR codes.
The newspapers were produced in six limited editions and translated into four languages (English, French, Spanish, and Italian) to maximise our global reach. The physical distribution strategy was equally creative, utilising custom EA SPORTS FIFA-branded newsstands positioned in high-traffic areas across London, Paris, and New York City. These newsstands maintained the authentic newsstand aesthetic while embodying the energy and visual identity of FIFA 22.
Results
The "Next Generation" campaign delivered exceptional performance across all key metrics:
Distribution Impact:
Over 14,000 newspapers distributed across physical and digital channels in key markets
Successful deployment in three major global cities plus Premier League venues
Digital Performance:
Over 25 million impressions generated across social media through owned and partner channels
Significant over-delivery against media investment targets
Sustained social media presence throughout the holiday period
Business Results:
10% year-over-year increase in FIFA 22 daily users during the campaign period
Additional 10% increase in new player acquisition
Recognized as EA Sports FIFA's most successful holiday campaign ever
Engagement Excellence:
Successfully bridged physical and digital experiences
Created authentic brand moments that felt organic to each market
Generated meaningful fan engagement through storytelling and interactive elements
The campaign's success lay in its ability to transform a digital game promotion into a tangible, newsworthy experience that honoured both traditional media formats and modern engagement strategies, ultimately achieving unprecedented results for EA Sports FIFA during the competitive holiday period.