Targeting “Gamer” Audiences Might be More Complex Than You Think

A 2019 study found 87% of U.S. consumers identify as gamers. For marketers, this broader definition of “gamers” requires expanding targeting strategies and advertising across multiple media channels. This article outlines tips for building a “gamer” audience targeting strategy, says, 

Alex Fu, Director of Audience Insights at Eyeota.

When you hear the term “gamer” you may instinctively start to visualize a male teenager in near zombie state anchored to a couch, hands glued to a remote with a fixed gaze on a computer or TV screen. However, with the rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets, increased processing power on those devices and near-ubiquitous access to high-speed internet connectivity, the term “gamers” has grown to represent a much broader set of U.S. consumers who play games often and for long sessions at a time.

A 2019 U.S consumer research studyOpens a new window , commissioned by Eyeota in partnership with Ziff Davis, found that 87% of U.S. consumers identify themselves as gamers (i.e. anyone who plays games on a smartphone, tablet, PC or gaming console). The majority of those gamers (65%) play smartphone games, while 42% play computer games, and roughly a third play PS4 and Xbox One. Time spent gaming is significant, as the majority of gamers (57%) indicate that they play games between one and four hours per day during the week, and 27% of gamers indicate that they spend more than four hours per day playing games during the weekend. 

Learn More: How In-Game Advertisements Are Benefitting Brands as Well as GamersOpens a new window

The study also found that 80% of gamers indicate that they watch others play games online (e.g. tutorials, competition, etc.). As far as where they watch, 70% of gamers watch on YouTube, while 36% watch on Facebook, 28% watch on Instagram and 20% watch on Twitch. With the e-sports (i.e. live competitive gaming) industry on the rise, it’s no surprise that many gamers watch others play, but these numbers indicate that watching gaming is becoming more mainstream.

While this research shows that gaming behavior in the U.S. is considerable, taking a step back, a broader context can help us understand why regular people are gaming so much more, especially on their mobile devices. A Think With Google research study found that 90% of mobile users “work towards a long-term goal on the go.”Opens a new window  While a “long-term goal” can include saving for retirement, looking for a job, learning a language or getting in shape, it can also mean completing levels in a game or beating opponents when playing socially. Couple that behavior with the fact that 28% of U.S. consumers are “almost constantly onlineOpens a new window ,” according to Pew Research Center, and we start to see how smartphone gamers are constantly connected and potentially deeply dedicated to their gaming apps.

What This Means for Marketers

This new definition of “gamers” means that reaching these audiences not only requires expanding your targeting strategiesOpens a new window to a much wider population but also including multiple media channels, including computers, smartphones, tablets and connected TVs. While increased reach is helpful for large-scale marketing campaigns, this also creates more sub-segments within a gaming audience, such as new moms who are gaming during naptime, part-time employees who are gaming between working hours, business travelers who are gaming on route to the airport or while waiting for a flight. 

For advertisers planning campaigns that target gamersOpens a new window , it’s important to layer in adjacent audience segments to reach the different types of gamers. Those different types of gamers may have varying partialities when receiving a marketing message, related day-part, format (e.g. videos require more patience than display), message copy and call-to-action. For example, a new mom gaming during naptime might only have the patience for display ads in the morning but also be strong candidates to convert (i.e. click-through and make a purchase) after that first-morning coffee.

Building a “Gamer” Audience Targeting Strategy

• Complement gaming audiences with device and interest segments
• While a number of data marketplaces and data suppliers offer off-the-shelf gaming audience segments, it’s important to also supplement these segments with device-related segments (e.g. tablet owners, smartphone owners, video game console owners, etc.) and interest categories that might allude to the types of games a user plays (e.g. sports, puzzles, movies, etc.).
• Utilize analytics to uncover adjacent audiences that may overlap with “gamers”.
   

One major benefit of working with audience data is the ability to analyze how audience segments are similar (i.e. have a large percentage of overlapping characteristics or IDs) and different (i.e. have a low percentage of overlapping characteristics or IDs). This type of analysis allows a marketer to broaden the scope of a target audience to adjacent audiences, such as “parents” or “business travelers” if there is a high similarity to a “selected audience” from step one.

• Implement audience learnings to broader marketing strategies, objectives and creative. 
• For example, if analytics uncovers that gamers who are sports fans performed well for a given campaign, the next iteration of creative can focus on sports-specific messaging and imagery.
   

Learn More: Hyper-Casual Games: What Advertisers Need to Know About This Growing Opportunity

Bottom Line

Successful marketing campaignsOpens a new window should account for the impact on sales and also provide insights to help brands better understand and communicate to their consumers.