Game Marketing and Advertising - Weekly Journal - Week 2

The Game Market

Data spoils quickly!

The game industry changes quickly. Any data collected can go out of date very quickly. It is very important to factor in the age of data when collecting data about the games industry. A genre that sells well today, may not be selling well by the time you can release your own game and the platform you are targeting may not be the right platform next month. It is imperative to do quality research and try to anticipate trends rather than following the current trend.

Platform

A platform can refer to many things in the context of marketing video games. It could refer to a store or marketplace where the games are sold, like Wal-Mart or Steam. It could refer to the device that plays the game, like an Xbox or Apple Pippin. It can also refer to the vendor that supplies the advertising used in game, like Google AdWords or Unity Ads.

Basically, a platform is any third party between the maker of the game and the end user of the game.

Revenue Streams

Revenue Streams are the way that the developer gets paid for their creation. There are many types of revenue streams, a few of which are:

• Pay-to-Play: This is how people normally think of buying a game. Customers pay money, then get the game.
• Free-to-Play or Freemium: The customer does not pay for the game initially but do pay to unlock extra features or to remove annoying features.
• Ad-Supported: The customer does not typically pay for the game advertisers pay the developer to include advertising that the customers are forced to watch.
• Software as a Service / Subscriptions: Customers pay to access the game over a given period of time. Think World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV.
• Combinations: These models can be combined in some cases. Take games like World of Warcraft, where you buy the initial game, then pay monthly for access.

Ad Networks

This is the middleman between the game developer and the customer that provides the advertising for the game. They make it possible to have advertising from multiple partners within a game without needing to negotiate with each advertiser individually. They come in many types:

• Blind Ad Networks: "Blind" refers to not using information about the users to decide which ad to show.
• Targeted Ad Networks: The opposite of "blind", a targeted ad network targets specific audiences to show the ad to.
• Premium Ad Networks: Well-known or popular ad networks. These are generally popular because they are not blind and pay well.
• Local Ad Networks: As the name implies, these networks target users in specific geographical regions.

Segmentation refers to dividing your audience into smaller, more defined groups.

Cost Per Click (CPC) refers to when an ad network pays only when an ad is clicked on.

Cost Per Mille (CPM) refers to the amount paid per 1000 ad impressions. These generally cost less since there is no guarantee a user has interacted with the ad.

Cost Per Install (CPI) refers to the amount paid when a user follows the ad all the way and installs the product.

Cost Per Action (CPA) refers to the amount paid when a user completes a specific action. Like getting to a specific level after installing a game, for instance.

Impression refers to each time an ad is delivered. There is no proof that a user will see it.

Below the Fold (BTF) refers to when a user has to scroll down to see the ad. This can sometimes still be an impression.

Click-Through Rate (CTR) refers to the percentage of users that click on an ad per impression. This can be found by dividing clicks by impressions.

Engagement Rate refers to more than just a click or impression, but counts things like comments, shares, likes, subscriptions, etc.

View-Through Rate (VTR) refers to the percentage of users that watch a video "to the end" for each impression. An impression is generally measured as having watched at least 4 seconds. This can be found by dividing those that watch to the end by total impressions.

Allied Markets

These are markets that are similar or connected to video games.

Merchandising covers things like t-shirts, posters, and toys. This can be an additional revenue stream for a video game.

Hardware Sales can be allied with to increase sales of both the hardware and the game itself. Usually seen as platform exclusives or pack-in games.

The Future

Globalization

This is happening now. The text and vocal tracks need to be translated (or subtitled), but that is the easy part. Different countries have different cultures that may require you to edit the clothing, names, or even the User Interface to suit their needs. This can also come in the form of censorship, requiring you to remove certain content to sell in a specific region like having add additional clothing to characters or removing references to specific ideas.

Different cultures may have different preferences as well that you may need to cater to in order to achieve success in those countries.

Different parts of the world can even have differences in available technology. There are places in the world that have access to a cell phone but have never seen broadcast television. This can make dramatic differences in how they view and use technology.

What's Next?

The Next Generation

Over time, consumers change. The current consumers will age and their perspective on the world will change and they will seek out products that match how their lives have changed. Someone born today may see the best technology we have as the worst they have ever seen.

Channel Surfing to Game Surfing?

Consumers today want more choices. We can see how this evolved by looking at the history of television. At one point, there was nothing and people presumably played outside and had friends. Then television was invented and the number of channels grew from 1 to 3 to several dozen. At one point there was a ton of channels to choose from, but you could not choose when to watch specific shows. Then "on-demand" was created and people could watch the show they wanted, when they wanted.

We are starting to see the same thing in video games. Previous consoles had less games, and we've now reached a point where services exist that allow a consumer to play the game they want, when they want, without needing to wait for a download or individual purchase. This takes the form of platforms like Xbox Game Pass and Playstation Plus.

Everywhere, all the time

Gaming has become ubiquitous. Most people have a cell phone or other mobile device with them nearly all the time. Because of this, people can play a game nearly anywhere they are, at any time they want.

This created an influx of new games in a more casual style that can be picked up and put down at a moment's notice.

New Technology

New and cool technology is coming out all the time, and some are becoming more common. Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, smart appliances, and many other technologies are being improved, getting less expensive, becoming more pervasive, and could soon become additional ways to play games or improve the intractability of current games.

Gartner Research maintains a "hype cycle chart" to track where current technologies are on their hype timeline. This is a good resource for determining how much time to invest into a new technology and whether to adopt it at all.