Live From RoadShow Hollywood: Reaching the ‘Gaming’ Consumer
The video game market is soaring in popularity, and brand marketers looking to get a piece of the $9 billion action need to understand the demographics of gamers.
Emily Della Maggiora, senior VP-Nielsen Interactive Entertainment, gave attendees an inside peek into Nielsen Entertainment’s Active Gamers Annual Report, scheduled for release next week and based on data collected in August.
The report breaks down active gamers in five categories:
- Social opinion leaders. This group, which represents 11% of active gamers, plays face-to-face and in a group setting.
- Connected networkers. This category of gamers is very engaged and likes social networking sites. They represent 21% of active gamers and keep family and friends as a priority in their lives.
- Family-focused. Once avid players, this group (23% of active gamers) has been playing video games for an average of 14 years, but now focuses on family.
- Social loners. This category balances between social activities and “alone” time with gaming; they represent about 23% of active gamers.
- Superior passionates. The most passionate of all gamers, this group dedicates 10 to 15 hours to gaming per week and lives to play video games. It represents 23% of active gamers.
“The lion share of the marketplace is vested at the PC console and Sony PlayStation consumer,” Maggiora said. Yet, she predicted future growth in the wireless and online gaming categories. According to PricewaterCoopers Entertainment and Media Outlook through 2009, the wireless category is projected to grow by 37.2% and online games 42.8% by 2009.
Of all active gamers, 56% of gamers play games online. Some 64% of gamers are women. Another 41% participate in a social networking site like MySpace or Friendster, Maggiora said. The most commonly played online game is PC Casual Games (45% of gamers). Females at 66% and consumers 45 and older at 68% drive the category, she said.
Brand marketers can continue to take advantage of the tactic by integrating their products into the games. The role of product integration will continue to play a pivotal role in video games serving dynamically placed ads (ads that can be switched out via Internet-connected games), adding an extra level of realism to the experience, Maggiora said. In order for brands to be effective, Maggiora recommend marketers latch on to games “that make sense,” she said.
“The future is very interesting from a marketing and promotions standpoint,” Maggiora said of video games.
The report also found that the popularity of video games is growing. According the report, worldwide video game revenue is projected to grow from $38 billion in 2005 to $54 billion in 2009. Last year, there were 112 million active gamers in the U.S. This year, the number has soared to nearly 117 million gamers, Maggiora said. Of that number, teens make up almost half of active gamers, and players 45 and older now make up about 15 million players, she said. Women, too, are gaining ground in the category.
RoadShow Hollywood is a four-day event on entertainment marketing featuring sessions on music, gaming, television and the film industry. The event runs through Thursday.
