Understanding the Challenges of Marketing to Gamers
The gaming industry has finally reached its apex, with revenues surpassing the combined sales of movies and music. While the growth is promising for marketers, reaching gamers is far from straightforward. Traditional marketing techniques often alienate this savvy audience, who are quick to identify and dismiss inauthentic efforts.
To successfully tap into this diverse and ever-expanding market, brands must understand the unique dynamics at play within the gaming community. This blog explores effective strategies for marketing to gamers, from influencer collaborations to in-game advertising and community engagement.
Let's dive in.
Target Audience Breakdown: Understanding Gamer Demographics
To market effectively to gamers, it's essential to comprehend the multifaceted nature of the gaming demographic. Primarily comprising Gen Z and millennials, gamers today include varying segments and interests. Research indicates a surge in female gamers, who now account for nearly half of the gaming population, demanding a shift in traditional gender-targeted strategies. Understanding the geographic spread of gamers—whether in North America, Europe, or Asia—and their specific cultural inclinations is equally critical.
Beyond these demographics, distinctions between PC, console, and mobile gamers need attention. PC and console gamers often engage in more immersive, competitive experiences, whereas mobile gamers might lean towards casual gameplay during breaks. Recognizing the difference between casual and competitive gamers is crucial for delivering tailored marketing messages that resonate on an individual level. Understanding these dynamics arms brands with the tools needed to tailor their marketing strategies accordingly, ensuring relevance and impact.
Marketing Channels to Cover for Esports Marketers
Advertising on Gaming Content
Advertising on gaming content has become the most obvious strategy for marketers, allowing brands to reach highly engaged audiences in their natural environment. This approach closely mirrors the traditional advertising method, integrating the brand message seamlessly into the gaming environment. In this method, sports marketers utilize pre-roll, mid-roll, and banner ads on popular streaming platforms like YouTube, or specialist platforms like Roblox.
They also collaborate with gaming content creators to produce sponsored videos, streams, or series that showcase brands or product in an authentic, engaging manner. Sponsoring broadcast or streams of major esports tournaments are also a good channel, ensuring brands is visible during high-viewership moments.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has become a cornerstone of gaming marketing strategies, with influencer marketing in the gaming industry projected to reach $4.6 billion in 2025. However, ensuring authenticity is key when collaborating with gaming influencers. Gamers value creative and genuine partnerships over polished sales pitches. Brands need to select influencers whose values and interests align with their own.
Different types of partnerships can be explored, from sponsored content to long-term ambassador roles. Platform selection also plays a significant role. YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and even platforms like Rooter provide diverse opportunities for influencer collaboration, with each platform offering unique engagement metrics. A successful example is this campaign to promote the game Raid: Shadow Legends, which used 28 influencers to deliver almost 2 million views.
In-Game Advertising
In-game advertising offers brands the opportunity to integrate their messages within the gaming environment, capturing players’ attention where they spend countless hours. Native integration ensures brand presence feels natural rather than intrusive. The worldwide appeal of gaming platforms—such as Xbox, PlayStation, and mobile games—provides ample opportunities for advertisers. Success metrics in in-game advertising may include time spent engaging with ads, brand recall, and the associated uplift in sales.
Take for example this campaign by Activision Blizzard for Prada’s Candy fragrance. By advertising this product in the hit mobile game Candy Crush Saga, the product was uniquely positioned to resonate with the gamers. It also resulted in over 40,000 samples requested and a 1,813% increase in web traffic.
Community Building
Building a strong community is vital for brands eager to resonate within the gaming space. Platforms like Discord and Reddit enable brands to engage directly with gamers, fostering loyal tribes of advocates and ambassadors. Community-driven platforms thrive on authentic engagement, where discussions and user-generated content form the backbone of interaction.
Games themselves often have buzzing communities filled with engaged users eager to share their experiences, so tapping into these spaces can be highly beneficial. There’s an inherent expectation of value and contribution. A game called Helldivers 2 has been highly successful in using community building events to sustain interest in their game, with frequent community events and interaction with members on their subreddit. A long-term community-building approach enhances brand visibility and cultivates enduring relationships with gamers.
Event Marketing
Event marketing can leverage the excitement and passion of esports events, gaming conventions, and online tournaments to create meaningful connections with gamers. These events provide unique opportunities to engage users through sponsorship, exclusive content, and product launches.
Notable examples include ESL and DreamHack, which partner with various brands to reach a global gaming audience. Brands can also create bespoke events, offering gamers experiences that resonate on a personal level while spreading word-of-mouth marketing. By embracing the live and interactive nature of these events, marketers can build an emotional rapport with gamers, enhancing credibility and trust.
Customised IPs
Creating customized intellectual properties (IPs) in the esports realm offers unique opportunities for brands to deeply integrate with gaming culture and create memorable experiences for fans. Take for example Intel Extreme Masters CS:GO tournament, which has cemented Intel as a go-to for high performance gaming as well as high-stakes esports actions.
When developing customized IPs, it's crucial for sports marketers to work closely with game developers and esports organizations to ensure that marketers’ branded elements enhance rather than disrupt the gaming experience. Authenticity is key to a good customized IP – the integration should feel natural and add value to the players' experience.
Embracing Authenticity in Gaming Marketing
Marketing to gamers requires a nuanced approach that respects the community's unique characteristics and preferences. Strategies emphasizing long-term community building, influencer partnerships, and platform-specific content are essential for creating meaningful connections. Brands are encouraged to view marketing as an evolving dialogue, where authenticity and engagement drive successful campaigns.
For professionals seeking to expand their reach within the gaming market, embracing these strategies can significantly enhance brand visibility and establish genuine relationships with the gaming audience. To make an impact in this emerging market, reach out to Zupotsu.
Zupotsu is a martech platform on a mission to ‘digitise’ sports marketing. Zupotsu enables the discovery, engagement and evaluation (the ‘DEE’ framework) for every sports and esports marketing asset. Please sign up at www.zupotsu.com. Follow us on Linkedin and Instagram. Reach out at ‘marketing@zupotsu.com’ for any queries.
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