In 2013, Madden experienced the worst sales decline in our brand’s history.

In diagnosing the problem, we discovered that Madden’s buyer was aging out, and was 4 years older than the other top-selling video games. If we didn’t grow our teen audience, and fast, we

would record another disastrous year and risk fading into obscurity.

To stop the free-fall, we set out to reinvent how we marketed our game: using an over-the-top music video, Vine and YouTube Influencers, and an animated GIF engine that mirrored insider language of teens and became its own Internet meme.

In the end, we moved beyond football to embed Madden deeply into culture—mirroring our audience's interests & becoming a part of their language. So much so, that they spread our message for us, helping to restore our place as a top-selling game, leading to our most profitable year in Madden’s 25-year history—all while ushering in a new generation of gamers into the Madden madness.