How Marketers Miss the Mark With Gamers
Four points that brands should consider before starting a conversation with gamers.
Four points that brands should consider before starting a conversation with gamers.
Most people spent the Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family doing some couch-quarterbacking. From their living rooms, they second-guessed decisions made by real-life quarterbacks on the gridiron. I, however, spent my turkey day being a couch marketer. Now that I think of it, it wasn’t that much of a stretch from my normal day, except with more turkey and stuffing than usual. One consistent theme bothered me: traditional brands marketing within videogame environments with their general market messages.
While I understand the need for holistic marketing and limited production budgets, I can’t help but wonder how many ad dollars are lost because of this generic approach forced into such a singularly focused environment. The endemic brands (e.g., actual videogames and hardware) luckily make out easy because their general message doesn’t need to be modified for the gaming target. Unfortunately, nonendemic brands looking to reach gamers following the same rules will too often end up with the wrong message in the right environment. Last I checked, consumers don’t give partial credit. They actually treat game advertising as they do traditional advertising. They skip it.
As I perused console user interfaces, magazines, Web sites, and dynamic in-game advertising in between endless rounds of leftover green beans and mac and cheese, I encountered many examples of marketers missing the mark. Surprisingly, it wasn’t limited to one category. Without picking on any particular brands, I saw representatives from categories such as male grooming, beverage, and telecommunications with irrelevant messaging. A lot of brands aren’t taking advantage of the opportunity to begin a unique conversation with gamers.
With increased pressure on smaller budgets to work harder in today’s economy, these executions must not only show up in the intended consumer’s buffet of media choices but also break through the obvious clutter. The following lists a few recommendations to lift a brand message in the videogame space:
No doubt you will come up with a few examples that go against the idea of customizing a specific message for videogame environments. As I wrote this column, some came to mind; for example, as console providers move their devices to more of a media center, general messages may actually make sense depending on the context.
However, I challenge all marketers hoping to reach the gamer to consider these four tips in their next execution.
Wondering where the CMO column went? It’s been updated and reborn as Digital Marketing Trends by Gary Stein and Matt Story. Tell us what you think!
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