Online Social Gaming, which boasts an average of 250 million users each month, is a heretofore undervalued and under appreciated medium despite its gaudy audience numbers.
This is an open letter to all marketers…
Dear Mr., Mrs., Miss & Ms. Marketer:
What if I told you I know where you can get your product, service or ware in front of 250 million potential customers and it doesn’t involve creating a TV spot or print ad or billboard or any physical collateral?
What if I also told you that 59% of the 250 million who are considered “adult” are women? The same women who…
Are involved in almost 75% of all electronics purchases
- Make 74% of NBA and NFL purchases
- Make up more than 50% of the automotive market, spending an estimated $80 billion a year on new-car sales
- Make up 85% of ALL brand purchases in the US
Without even knowing what context I am referencing these numbers in, I’m guessing I would have your undivided attention, right?
Well, apparently not… at least not those who took part in a recent Forrester report which revealed 84% have no plans to use online social games in their U.S. marketing strategies in the next year.
Did I mention the 250 million potential customers?
Furthermore, the Forrester report shows only 19% believe games will become more effecting marketing vehicles in the next three years.
What in the name of Farmville is going on here?
I had to laugh when I read one particular line from the article about this report on MediaPost.com:
“Forrester views this as a missed opportunity…”
Now, I don’t know if this is the author of the article speaking or if Forrester really did use the phrase in its report, doesn’t matter. After reading the line, I felt like screaming aloud “NO KIDDING!!!!”
Not taking advantage of an audience of 250 million is a missed opportunity? You don’t say.
Not all is lost however as some companies such as McDonald’s and Farmer’s Insurance, have in fact seen the online social gaming light and have advertised on Farmville but they appear to be in the minority.
My advice to all marketers is simple and comes down to the four-letter word every marketer learns on their first day of marketing class: Test.
Making the assumption you know who your target customer is, AKA their demo, overlay those figures onto the online social gaming space and find a game that best matches up and test, test and test!
And as for metrics… developers and third parties are already doing that, tracking such metrics as fans, click-throughs, time spent, site visits and purchase intent.
So don’t just sit there marketers of the world… get your game on, your online social game that is.
Thank you for your time.
