Your customers play games too! How to communicate with them effectively?
Gaming marketing relates to marketing activities aimed at the target group of gamers. All activities, not only those carried out by the manufacturers of games, equipment necessary for gaming or gaming gadgets. Non-endemic brands — beverage and snack manufacturers, telecoms, banks, cosmetics companies and many others — can also successfully find their place in gaming. Marketers often fear that a brand does not fit into this group of customers because it has no connection with games. This thinking is very easy to change — you have to remember that every gamer is a consumer of many products that accompany them entertainment and everyday life.
How to start gaming marketing activities?
First of all, get to know the phenomenon of gaming as a whole as well as the characteristics of gamers. Today, gaming is the largest entertainment segment, growing faster than music or cinema. The global value of this market is currently estimated at $159 billion. Analysts from Newzoo, a leading gaming market research firm, expect this to surpass $200 billion by 2023. Gaming is becoming more popular, more accessible and no longer stigmatized, so not only is the spending of gaming enthusiasts increasing, but so is the gaming population itself.
According to Newzoo there are almost 2,9 billion gamers in the world! This is a really large target group, which is connected by games and certain common behaviors. It should be remembered, however, that this does not mean that this community is uniform. Gamers differ in the types of games they choose to play, the ways they consume content online, their favorite titles, the equipment they use to play and very importantly, their motivations. These are well illustrated by the typology of Professor Bartle, a gaming researcher. According to him, all gamers can be divided into four groups: killers (want to beat other players), achievers (want to gain achievements, honors), explorers (want to explore the worlds shown in games) and socializers (want to create and develop relationships with others). Each of these subgroups has its own needs, pains and preferences. We should also not forget that contrary to popular opinion, gamers are not mainly men. Globally women make up to 49% of gamers. When planning your activities, you should also think about them as recipients.
It is crucial to get to know your target group as well as possible, based on available sources — industry analyses and research. It is very difficult to make an effective campaign for all players. It is much better to invest in activities for a smaller, but consciously selected group. For example, Fortnite fans or FIFA game fans in a specific age range. By offering them something within their interests, you will win against competitors who spend less time getting to know and analyzing the needs of the target group.
So, what to do once you know and choose the right target group for you? There are many ways to engage players. When connecting a brand with the world of players, let’s propose solutions that meet business objectives and at the same time offer real value for the recipient. Banners and other non-interactive types of advertising will not work in gaming. Instead, through communication, we should create experiences for players, opportunities to engage or operate very well in context. Instead of point actions, it is better to utilize a long-term strategy that will gradually build the brand position and allow it to win the players’ trust.
Where do we find players?
The online environment is natural for them, and “traditional” media are not actively consumed by them. Gamers use social media such as Facebook, Instagram or YouTube, as well as newer, gaming-related platforms such as Twitch (the most popular streaming portal) and Discord (a gaming communicator). The widespread use of online media among the target audience creates many opportunities for active product placement, user engagement and content targeting.
Examples of activities in gaming marketing
- Cooperation with influencers
- Product placement
- Dedicated videos
- Streaming
- Ambassador programs
- Dedicated campaigns
- Tournaments, contests and challenges for the community
- Sponsorship of gaming/esports events
- Partnerships with game publishers
- Product/service for gamers
One of the most effective tools in gaming marketing is cooperation with influencers. It gives us direct access to a large pool of active game fans, and the possibilities from engaging with such a gaming star are very wide. Starting from dedicated videos on their channel or special streams, through product positioning on their social media to offline activations with their participation. They can also be the ambassadors of our brands or campaigns, be it image, sales or user acquisition campaigns. Most gaming influencers are associated with specific titles or game genres. If we decide to communicate with the aforementioned group of FIFA fans in a specific age range, we can effectively reach them through the creators, recording videos about the game, whose audience corresponds to the selected average age. Contextual presentation of product features or a related challenge for the community referring to the game mechanics will certainly be appreciated.
Players really like activations focused on interaction, challenging them or based on competition. An example of this can be a tournament organized by the brand for the gaming community described below. Importantly however, this is not the only way to engage gaming fans. An activity that effectively engaged users and presented product features in a natural way was the promotion of Philips OneBlade razor conducted in Poland. Fans of gaming influencer PAGO chose a beard style for him through voting. As a result, 22,230 votes were cast for the beard, which translated into sales of the product.
It is also worth considering the possibility of creating a product or service for players from scratch. Banks are leading the way and more and more willingly complement their offer with accounts for players, offering them a card with graphics related to the game or the opportunity to earn points in the game or vouchers for gaming expenses.
Although the market for gaming marketing is getting more and more crowded and brands from various segments compete with each other, the possibilities of creating campaigns or products for gamers from scratch are definitely not exhausted. There is still room for many innovative ideas which will combine business objectives with the needs of the player audience. However, there’s no need to delay, as brand interest will only grow.
Summary — what to keep in mind when planning a gaming marketing campaign?
- Firstly, understand the gaming phenomenon, read industry analyses and demographics, get to know the target group;
- Get to know the most interesting implementations from the industry
- Analyze the important features of the product/service from the perspective of the players;
- Create a strategy that is long term and includes different activations;
- Choose influencers and platforms on which you will base your campaign;
- Choose the right partners with gaming know-how;
- Stay up to date with the gaming world. Take the time to regularly update your knowledge.
Karolina Kałużyńska, PR Manager at Gameset (LTTM Group)
A specialist in communication in the gaming, esports and new technology sectors, Karolina Kałużyńska currently manages the PR activities of the Gameset agency. She has previously led projects for clients in the gaming and technology sector at the communications agency Monday, her portfolio includes work for brands such as Intel, Electronic Arts and Quantic Dream.
