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Advantage, Advergaming: Why Online Gaming is Outplaying its Offline Rivals

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June 28th 2006

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by lynndalessandro  |

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Young people are off the couch and onto the console
The 18-24 crowd is the only age group — or demographic slice of any sort — to shun board games as the preferred way of playing. The generation that grew up with computers and game boxes finds software games most rewarding (30 percent), with traditional board games (27 percent) and online games (27 percent) following close behind.

By contrast, seniors over age 65 are nearly twice as likely to prefer board games and more than twice as likely to enjoy TV games shows as these youngest respondents.

These findings suggest that advertisers can catch young people at online gaming sites — as long as they don’t expect to find them playing the same JEOPARDY! game that mom so dearly enjoys. By that same token, packaged-game advertising may prove effective for under-25 hipsters, but not so much for the age 35 and older crowd.

Technology adoption drives gaming preferences — making mobile the next big thing
Only 3 percent of Americans in our survey listed mobile games as their favorite way to play. But that’s more a reflection of current technology awareness than a referendum on mobile gaming’s appeal.

Gaming habits correlate strongly to the technology a person uses most. Online gaming has taken off because 170 million Internet users spend more and more of their day connected to the Web. By that same token, the ubiquity of cell phones, PDAs and other mobile devices are setting the stage for near-term adoption of mobile games.

There are already early indications of the market growth that is sure to come. According to market research firm Telephia, the number of mobile-game buyers jumped from nearly 3.5 million in January to 5 million in March. Sales of casual games like Tetris and Bejeweled surged 53 percent in this same time period.

So who are the early adopters in our survey — the ones who have already figured out how to turn their communication tools into gaming toys?
• Men are nearly twice as likely as women to find mobile gaming most rewarding (4 percent vs. 2 percent)
• Ages 18-24 are more than twice as likely as ages 35-54 (5 percent vs. 2 percent)
• Full-time workers are four times as likely as the self-employed (4 percent vs. 1 percent).

(*graph based on Vendare case study)

Bottom Line: How advertisers can beat the high score and win gamers over
In brand-impact study after brand-impact study, associating a brand with the fun of gaming is known to lift brand metrics such as brand awareness, message association and purchase intent. After playing a game, consumers are more likely to remember not just the brand or product itself, but to associate specific brand attributes with it.

The key to scoring with gamers is to match your message not just with the type of game, but with its method of delivery. Overall, gamers are moving out of the box and onto the Web — especially educated, middle-class women. If you’re after males and the under-25 crowd, packaged software is still in play.