Why Gamers Are Your Most Powerful Audience
Newzoo, which is a market insights platform specializing in gaming, says that the gaming industry will cultivate $160bn of revenue in 2020, which is a 7.3% growth. Gone are the times when being a gamer was a dirty little secret and was kept to your group of friends. Now the times and the industry has changed and it’s blossoming constantly. Even luxury fashion brands like Louis Vuitton are getting a slice of the pie. Many businesses are still scared of the risks of entering into this territory and are skeptical of the results.
According to Statista, there are over 2.6 billion gamers worldwide. In earlier times, it was a stereotypical thought that gamers were a group of sweaty teenagers who are basement dwellers. But gamers of today are different from that. Rather, the association for UK Interactive Entertainment, says that females comprise half of the gaming community in 2020, and in fact play games more regularly than men. Apart from this, the gaming audience now is not limited to a particular age group and a large portion of the audience is into the age of 18-35. Hence, sweaty teenagers have left the basement.
How times have changed
People do not know how to see a gamer outside his gaming platform. Now, a gamer is also a fashion expert, a fitness lover, a specialist of food and drink, an enthusiastic traveler, and a tech master. Gamers now hold a second lifestyle channel that showcases their time outside of playing games.
A study of Google also shows that 47% of gamers are parents. It is to be realized by the marketers that they’re not just marketing to the gamers who are solely interested in gaming products, they are marketing to an audience, who are interested in all other products as they have appreciations for purchase far outside the latest gaming keyboard as well.
Alongside, Consumer research group Magid found that Gaming Enthusiasts, those who game for 10 hours or more a week, have disposable income that is double that of non-gamers. Hence, as a marketer is always looking to advertise their products or services to audiences with higher spending power, what is better than the gamers. Now that we know that gamers have a life outside the games and thus need means to sustain their lives luxuriously. The report by Google claimed that 74% of YouTube Gamers are ready to pay more for top-quality media and entertainment products and services, 85% said they are glad to pay more for top-quality consumer electronics products and services. And 73% made the same declaration regarding top-quality food and beverage products and services. So we know that gamers have an income more than the average and they are open to spending more on products they like apart from gaming.
The skeptics
It has been said that gamers are skeptical, and can make it difficult for marketers to connect with them. One way that brands can solve this problem is through influencer marketing, a prominent way of using somebody else’s originality to reach the target audience, through suggestions of products. To make influencer marketing productive, brands must connect with influencers with such a social presence that shows they are interested in the gaming audience. Also, they should activate creatively with influencers. If a brand has activated adequately with the influencer, giving them something to do which reflects their gaming interests, then brands can earn a pass, or brands must be ready for audiences to take their complaints to social media and see how much the brand cares.
Influencers leading the Influencers
Influencers are actually led by their audiences. It’s totally ironic that we call them influencers when actually they themselves are influenced by their audiences. What influencers allow marketers to do is to have access to their audience data, find out their age, gender, and interests, and then come up with a creatively planned approach that will engage and convert.
Creative-Lead
It is important to know that promoting a product via influencers won’t naturally generate sales. Influencer marketing is also an excellent chance for brands to show relations with major figures in their space. Product placements, though works good for some other product categories are losing interest from the gaming community. A creatively led approach is therefore crucial for brands to stand out as getting it wrong can distance a brand completely from its audience.
The Risk
Risks are everywhere in the current scenario but mitigating the risks with a calculated approach will reduce the risk greatly and result in a calculated risk. This can be done through a higher level of detail and understanding of the audience, to confirm that anticipated outcomes are backed by insight. Though, this in itself poses a risk. As more and more agencies are entering the influencer marketing space, the barrier to entry is lowering down. Hence, it’s crucial to know how to do it correctly, be able to anticipate results, and have relationships with the influencers to ensure the protection of brands. Influencer marketing should be embedded in a creative technique and data-driven insights so that you can see the full talent of this form of marketing.
Aida Martin has diverse interests that range from writing to video games. She has always had a strong passion for writing. She likes to write about games, tech events, security, and whitepapers. Her vast and varied knowledge aided by her supreme writing skills, have made her a powerful writer at office.com/setup.
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