Electronic Arts is setting up new rules and regulations for sponsored content.
In a post on the EA german website (which has been partially translated thanks to NeoGaf) we see EA breaking down new rules regarding their contracts between content creators from Youtube.
The changes include EA requiring by contract, the disclosure of sponsored content through Youtubers, and places them into two separate categories, represented by two different hashtags; #supportedbyEA and #advertisement.
Those under the #advertisement tag are effectively straight up advertisements for a product, with direct influence or material provided by Electronic Arts for advertising purposes, such as controlling what is said about the game before a release.
Those under the #supportedbyEA tag are sponsored content creators who were given access to the game, including review copies, press-events, travel expenses, and so forth. EA will be fitting the bill for those perks, but will have no direct influence on the content of the videos- the content creators can effectively say what they wish about the products.
Another requirement includes the use of two specific EA watermarks, or some clear audio message in the beginning of the video, to show that the content is supported by the company or is an advertisement. The new logos were also provided on the German website.
In addition to these major changes for Youtubers, Electronic Arts is now requiring content creators to use the above hashtags, #supportedbyEA and #advertisement, to mark written content being promoted by social media, such as facebook and twitter.
These changes are aimed to provide more transparency between content creators and Electronic Arts, as Youtube and other video formats become increasingly popular as a medium for showing off video games.
Several other companies have created different guidelines for content creators in the past, to mixed results. Nintendo is perhaps the most well-known, and has been criticized in the past for its revenue sharing model.
So what do you think about this move? Leave your comments below.
