Online games on any type of device have more and more users, of different ages and realities, in a very diverse ecosystem in which brands can find multiple opportunities, he says. Comscore.
Gaming advertising is becoming increasingly relevant, which is why we see it as convenient for brands to participate in this universe as soon as possible. It is one of the qualitative insights that Comscore Latin America analyzed in a study on gaming as a communications and marketing ecosystem, which is sponsored by ANDA (National Association of Advertisers) and will be launched soon.
“What we observe and part of why we decided to launch this study, has to do with the fact that the phenomenon of gaming, although not new, has been liquefying in terms of demographic layers, penetrating different groups and occupying spaces and time of people’s lives in a significant way. It has even entered work spheres with gamification elements,” he says. Leonidas Rojas, commercial director of Comscore South America.
Beyond the recurring caricature of the young man playing many hours on a console, the world of gaming – conceptually included by Comscore as online games – is much more diverse.
“Gaming is growing exponentially in terms of users in Latin America because, to the extent that you have access to the Internet, the game becomes much more democratized, changing “the old” perception of a console plugged directly into a television offline, to entering today. day to consoles connected to the Internet and mobile devices that become the new game consoles,” explains Rojas. Thus, gaming is not just about ultra-sophisticated games: “Playing Candy Crush online on your mobile device is gaming too. Everything that has to do with any game development on any platform or device is within this,” he says.
Hence, the gaming universe represents a unique opportunity for brands, offering access to people of all ages and exploring previously inaccessible markets. “Any advertiser can participate with their marketing communications in gaming since in terms of possibilities it is vast. Investment in advertising in gaming can range from discreet investments in game publishers to large investments in “in-game ads”, all based on the brands’ objectives,” he emphasizes.
Gaming is entertainment
“Brands must remember that gaming is, above all, entertainment, which favors the reception of advertising. Telling stories and providing meaningful experiences is essential to build a narrative beyond the product,” says the Comscore executive.
How would you describe the recent evolution of the gaming industry and its relationship with the consumer market?
What we have observed for a long time is that brands see an interesting target audience in the gaming ecosystem, however, for years there was reluctance to invest in marketing there, on the one hand perhaps with the poor conceptualization that they are only young people playing without purchasing power or simply because they have not known how to connect with these audiences by understanding what advertising really is or would be for them.
But, in reality, the world of gaming is much more diverse than a handful of connected young people staying up late. In fact, the most consistent gaming that speaks of a level of professionalism in terms of gaming devices occurs in the medium-high socioeconomic strata and in populations that are even over 30 years old, because they have the capacity for that type of gaming. bills. It’s not just a boy’s game.
Later, what we began to see is that brands know that this world exists, they know that it is growing enormously, that it is diversifying into eSports, that live broadcasts with celebrities are beginning to appear on platforms like Twitch or other streaming for video games, they appear kids at an early age who don’t play, but watch others play.
Then the phenomenon changes. That is where advertisers see that there is a space to communicate, especially in early brand stages, but they do not know very well how to reach them, what habits they have, what message they have to do it with, on what platforms, with what creativity, how do it in a new and playful way.
There is a space that we as Comscore have wanted to illuminate in a certain way, which is the world of gaming and the world of advertising, and connect those points to understand how to enrich that space in ways that advertisers have the possibility of reaching those audiences. with the right message, in the right way, and that helps them build their brand or supports them with that specific audience in that format.
Is it about incorporating advertising or brand messages into the game environment?
Within the gaming environment in general, which is much broader than the game itself. It is a space where things can be developed within the game, around the game in streaming spaces or live broadcasts. There is also the generation of content dedicated to games at an editorial level, and also the phenomenon of eSports or eGames, which are very large and attract a good number of audiences, but it is not very well known what conversion capacity they have for the brand. what brands have to be there or how to be there properly.
So the issue for brands is much more than saying that they are going to appear with a message while a boy is playing; It is a broad and diverse ecosystem and that is what we ultimately seek to illuminate.
How can brands advance, as they do in more developed markets?
The Asian market, the countries in Europe, the United States, are much more developed markets, but Latin America has a very large critical mass of players.
It will be for some niche audience, it will be for some type of specific consumption or some pattern of consumption behavior, but what we are doing is showing that it is a phenomenon of broad and heterogeneous audiences in terms of the type of player. Ergo, brands have to understand very well where their target group is and their ability to communicate. The most professional gaming is already developed at the cloud level in the cloud in the world, especially in more developed countries that have more disposable income for this, but in Latin America it is becoming very widespread and quickly. To give a concrete example, today it is very common to find parents of 12 or 13 year old boys who, instead of giving them “allowance” as was the case before, give them credits to play. The change is radical, kids want that to be able to consume an entire experience within the games.
This change means that it is no longer the old console from 30 years ago, but rather a much deeper gaming world. Understanding it, taking risks, means that brands can have access to audiences very early and that would allow them to have very interesting brand recognition.
The other important thing to mention is that measurement in gaming is constantly evolving. Brands have the possibility of developing and integrating metrics from various sources to evaluate results and define the evolution of their participation in the gaming universe.
The idea of the study we developed is that the gaming industry can demonstrate to advertisers and media agencies why, when a brand makes its communication planning for the year, gaming should be a media pillar in itself to impact those audiences.
What is the critical mass involved?
We are talking about about 10 billion players globally, people who play, in one way or another. Don’t get confused thinking that they are professionals or people who are always connected. We’re talking about them using some kind of game. The gaming ecosystem in particular has that potential to reach different levels of consumption; There is going to be a small strip at the top of the pyramid, which is the professionals. The question is why there are kids who, instead of going to practice sports, decide to go to a streaming platform and watch the final of an eGames championship. They are not playing, it is a disruption regarding the consumption of that type of very interesting content. It is a super involved and very engaged community, which is very interesting.
What are we going to know with the study?
With the study we are going to know what we call the state of the art of gaming as a pillar of advertising investment. How Latin America has been moving in recent years at a communication and advertising level towards gaming, what are the latest findings, what things are working, what are not and what are still the apprehensions regarding the purchase side in terms of gaming, what The entire offer is so rich to generate a brand experience in the gaming ecosystem. That is from the most qualitative point of view.
On the other hand, the quantitative thing that has to do with the players, their favorite platforms, their gaming habits, what reach countries have on the digital population, how many people we are talking about, what type of games they consume, from what platform they do it, What interests them most, what is their propensity for advertising, how advertising relates to their game, how much reality advertising is capable of creating, how they perceive it and how interesting it is for them to leverage it. in advertising within the game itself, and, eventually, how advertising can take them from the gaming ecosystem to other types of consumption patterns.
Leonidas Rojas Commercial Director of Comscore South America
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