LED... It's in the game. EAFC are capitalising on traditional LED's dying impact 🕊️
How seeing Nando's whilst playing a game of EAFC prompted me to reconsider my stance on LED boards... well virtually for the time being.
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EAFC 25 has landed. Back for another year. Despite trying my hardest to refrain from playing the game… the bug has caught me again. A yearly routine. But this year’s routine has added some cheeky flavour.
I was playing my first game and was getting smoked. A new humbling experience for me in my 20+ year EAFC career. Is it finally time to hang up the pad? Time to leave the game before the game leaves me. Shoutout Jamie Carragher for the bars. But mid-game, I noticed something special. A multi-verse experience.
It was an in-game Nando’s LED board with a tagline of ‘extra hot line-up’.
Instantly I was thinking ‘Raa what kind of simulation is this?? I’m seeing my favourite restaurant in my favourite game. This can’t be true?’ I wasn’t tripping. It was in-fact a reality. After Nando’s, I also noticed Uber One and Birds Eye feature as advertising boards.
Seeing Nando’s sparked joy despite my woeful efforts in-game. The other night me and my mates were in party chat and the Nando’s LED had an instant impact on them as well. An instant reaction of ‘Ahh I ain’t been Nando’s in time I wanna go now.’ The advertising has worked. We have well and truly been influenced and Nando’s you will be seeing us soon. Pound for pound best restaurant in the country. We cannot replace. Miss me with the Pepe’s talk.
This got me thinking. I’ve been lucky to go to many live football experiences. But when has seeing an LED board in a real-life game ever had an effect on me like this?
Before working in the sports industry I never noticed an LED board. Only once I started working with partnerships teams did I pretend to care about LED. We’d report back to partners on how much over-inflated ‘media value’ they’d generated from a season of LED mins.
The reality is LED on it’s own feels incomplete. Which is often the case. As activations can feel like an afterthought due to the reactive nature of club football. There needs to be a story that’s communicated to the consumer. Alongside the ‘awareness’ generated by an LED.
Awareness on it’s own doesn’t mean much. Unless you’re a fugazi gambling brand who wants to validate your company.
If I asked my mates to name sponsors based on the ones advertised on traditional LED, they’d struggle. At games we’re taking in the atmosphere and seeing what players are doing on pitch. But the sponsors they can name are those with engaging content activations. The likes of Liverpool and Quorn. Manchester United and Marriot Bonvoy with content featuring Harry Pinero another standout example.
Back to EAFC. Let’s play spot the difference between the images below. From left to right; me in the stands at Old Trafford, Old Trafford footage from the Sky Sports YouTube channel and EAFC 25. It highlights how prominent the Nando’s advertising in EAFC is compared to the LED boards in real life. The visibility of the EAFC boards is consistently like this as well.
This is the benefit of advertising in video games. It’s an immersive experience that few can compete with. Eyes fixed directly at your monitor and no fan distractions to worry about. You’re gaming with a headset on, locked in and in flow state. The success of activations in Roblox and Fortnite in recent years show that brands are starting to realise the opportunities. I’ve never been to America but I know about 7-Eleven due to the many hours I spent playing Midnight Club LA.
This first entry into in-game EAFC LEDs could get real interesting. Imagine the seasonal and in-game reactive campaigns that could be done?
Peri-chicken gravy has just re-launched again. 10/10 would recommend. But imagine you’ve conceded and then a gravy boat appears on the in-game board. A gentle reminder that despite your in-game woes, warm gravy is waiting for you at your local Nando’s. Or imagine a Nando’s branded game mode. Where online players are competing for a top 100 ranking to be in with a chance of winning a Nando’s black card.
I wrote about the growing inaccessibility of live Premier League fixtures last week. This will mean that for many young fans, EAFC will be one of their key touch points with football. Brands are able to tap into a young and globally engaged football / gaming community.
These virtual LED’s can evolve with time as well. Imagine a 3D like billboard experience in-game. The process of upgrading LED in a video game should be easier than upgrading stadium LED boards.
But where does this leave traditional LED? A gambling ban on front-of-shirt sponsors is set to come into place at the start of the 26/27 season. Traditional LEDs might just end up becoming a home for gambling brands.
This leaves space for EAFC and other virtual worlds to capitalise. The possibilities are endless and I need a Nando’s black card.