GobalWebIndex has released its annual report that examines consumer use on the internet. It may not surprise you to learn that GlobalWebIndex's survey found that the most popular and growing reason for using the internet is searching for TV shows and films, finding music, and for entertainment. But an intriguing survey finding is that the primary reason 66% of the 16-year olds to 24-year olds who participated in the survey engage with a brand is for entertainment.
The conclusion, according to GlobalWebIndex, is that brands need to become creators of content. To better understand how brands are becoming content creators, let's take a look at a platform for doing just that, at the same time that it gives social gamers a great, entertaining experience.
RockYou® is the developer of high-quality social entertainment games. Their work is likely familiar to you. Have you played the award-nominated Gourmet RanchTM? What about the celebrated and ultra-fun Zoo World2TM? RockYou® is getting a considerable amount of attention from advertisers. Using the expression value-per-engagement, advertisers are recognizing that the various approaches used by RockYou® provides "meaningful interactions with players," and that can translate into meaningful ROI.
To learn more about the gamers who enjoy RockYou® social entertainment, the cross-media market research firm Interpret LLC was commissioned to conduct an extensive study. As surveys go, it was ambitious. More than 2,000 social gamers in the United States, who were 18 years of age or older, and who played social games at least one hour a week participated in the survey. The purpose of the study was to explore the current >a href="http://marketresearch.about.com/od/market.research.social.media/a/User-Generated-Content-Is-Like-Gold.htm"> social-game related behaviors, motivations, attitudes, and purchase intent of the social gaming population in the United States.
Using Psychograpics Magnification for Market Segmentation
One of the techniques that Interpret LLC used to learn more about their population of gamers was psychographics. With the information that Interpret collected, they were able to conduct market segmentation of the current gamer population in the United States. Four target segments of consumers were identified. Let's take a look at the market segmentation Interpret developed.
- Affluent Players To get ahead in the game, these player will buy a considerable amount of in-game currency.
- Competitive Players Broadcasting their scores and achievements is a big part of the gaming fun for this segment. Needless to say, they play to win.
- Newbie Players New to the game, these players tend to have less sophisticated technology knowledge and prefer the game content to be free.
- Devotee Players Spending a lot of green is not their preference, but these players spend a lot of time in the game and they are power users.
It May Be All Fun-and-Games, But Social Entertainment Media Makes For Serious ROI
The social entertainment media is a burgeoning industry. Thought leaders like Julie Shumaker of RockYou® appreciate the importance of big picture market research. Thought Leadership. That's one reason that RockYou® commissioned Interpret to conduct market research on gamers. If you were wondering who those thought leaders for the social entertainment media industry are, meet one at RockYou®. Julie Shumaker has knows her way around lifestyle media and has gotten some important industry recognition for her work. She was named one of Digital Media Wire's "25 Executives to Watch in Digital Entertainment 2005 Ad Age Women to Watch Report. Shumaker understands interactive technology, commerce, and community.
Here is what Julie Shumaker says: "RockYou® is investing in the development of the social gaming landscape and its growth as a powerful advertising medium. This study enables us to better understand social gamers and their motivations and provide advertisers, agencies, and social game developers with actionable information they can leverage in a rapidly evolving social economy."
So what are the take-aways from the Social Gamer Thought Leadership Study?
- Gamers spend more than the equivalent of a full work day plus commute, playing social games.
- Social gamers are an amazingly socially active bunch. They have an average of 281 online social connections and an average of 16.5 friends in real life who play the same social games that they do. And they have made an average of 20 new friends through their social gaming activities. Here's the kicker. The social gamers who participated in this study spend an average of 13 hours each week on social networks, and they actually played social games for an average of 9.5 hours each week.
- Gamers respond to in-game ads and they frequently purchase in entertainment and consumer packaged goods (CPG) categories.
- 42% of game players say they are more motivated by social games that offer coupons, or gift cards, or other real-world rewards, 55% social gamers say they want to earn virtual currency and not buy it with real-world money, and 24% of players claim they have clicked on an in-game ad to make a purchase.
Michael Dowling, CEO of Interpret, LLC -- the market research specialists who conducted the Social Gamer Thought Leadership Study study -- says that, "social gamers are a population who have gone from zero to 37 million in the US in just a few short years, making them a formidable entertainment audience, yet they are not well understood."
It looks like the market research conducted by Interpret will continue to inform publishers, advertisers, and marketers for some time. For more details of the Social Gamer Thought Leadership Study, go to the RockYou®website. While you are there, be sure to have a look at the many examples of types of advertising that are appealing to gamers.
