
I just received an email to my work address from EA mobile. It was my first email from them. The email featured several games, and like any diligent brand, they wanted to offer up recent reviews to encourage me to make a purchase. It is the weekend (late on a Saturday which is smart), so I open up the links to find…
The worst possible reviews you could find. One game, Sims Medieval, is filled with comments about how the game simply “doesn’t work.”

The next, Monopoly (plenty of brand equity here so I gave it a shot), calls the game a sham and a waste of time and money. These reviews mean I probably won’t open up another email like this ever again.
EA’s email was a waste of time, money and resources because customers’ information journeys have been reduced to one, possibly two, clicks. With fewer clicks to work with, social engagement and marketing or demand generation need to work together. This is a perfect example of the need for integrated journey management for every moment. Simple planning and simulated openings of this email would have shown the two errors, and the company could have created a different engagement plan.
Social engagement is immensely powerful. It can deepen your relationship with customers, but it requires strategic planning and a journey approach to see significant economic returns.













