Viral marketing isn’t anything to scoff at. Popular YouTube personalities have the power to push a significant number of software by presenting featured games in a positive light, so it seems pretty obvious that EA would try to get its biggest games into their hands.
That’s exactly what it did when it introduced the Ronku program, which pays popular personalities to cover certain aspects of an EA game. YouTubers aren’t exactly held to the same standard as journalists, but wouldn’t it be easy to just take the money and lie about Battlefield 4’s quality? A member of LevelCapGaming has taken to Reddit to explain situation.
“Having been a part of several EA Ronku campaigns, I can tell you that at no point was I asked to lie or falsify my opinion of a game,” he wrote. “EA is aware that asking people to do this is wrong and if you actually read the assignment documents that were leaked, EA never asks us to misinform people by only saying positive things about the game. I would love to disclose the actual campaigns to the public so you could see just how tame the requests were but I don't have the authority to do so.
“Everything that I say in my Battlefield videos is genuine; no opinions are bought, and thus I didn't feel the need to disclose that I was getting paid by EA to say what I want. That being said, my knowledge of the law and FTC guidelines is not extensive. People are upset that YouTubers involved in Ronku programs did not disclose this information, and so retroactively and from this point forward any video that I am getting paid to make will contain that information in the video description. I don't feel like I've cheated anyone or falsely influenced anyone into purchasing Battlefield or any other game. And while I cannot speak for all my fellow YouTubers, I know that those with whom I work on a regular basis feel the same way.”
A Joystiq report suggests that compensation for Battlefield 4 was $10 per CPM with a cap of 20 million views, or $200,000.
