Here is a number to ponder about – 3 to 4 hours a day. That is the duration the average under 35-year-old in Southeast Asia and Bangladesh spends daily on their mobile device or a computer playing games. Think about that for a minute.
Mobile gaming and e-sports are now THE biggest mediums that people pay attention to, participate in, and enjoy, more than they watch movies, listen to music, or spend time on social media (well there is an overlap but we will come back to that).
So you must ask yourself, “Why am I not using it as my no. 1 marketing communication tool?” Recently we hosted one of our ‘Lead Talk’ webinars where we discussed what is happening in the gaming world and how marketers could and should be involved with a couple of experts; Amit Richard, Senior Vice President of the Bangladesh Youth Development and Electronic Sports Association, and Paul Spencer, a veteran Asia media consultant, who has been partnering with Southeast Asia’s leading e-sports management group, Ampverse.
Now let’s be clear – we are talking about a broad range of activities here. From mobile games like ‘Tetris’ (yes, people still play that) to global interactive role-playing like ‘Call of Duty’, you will see people playing these everywhere – on their mobile phones on the bus, to sitting in front of a bigger screen during overnight sessions, to professional e-sportspeople competing in highly prized live events.
Not been to a live e-sports event yet? Well, we suggest you get to one fast because that is where you will see the passion. This is not just from the now highly rewarded professional team members who, at the top end, are playing for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but also the massive and excited live and online crowds.
The thing that marketers have to get their heads around is this diverse and deep culture. Again, think about that statistic: the average under-35-year-old plays 3-4 hours a day. Well, not just play; they could be watching others play, both at tournaments being ‘broadcast’ or ‘in-play’ while they themselves are playing a game with others.
It also involves all aspects of social media, but increasingly on globally huge social platforms that don’t appear on regular media plans, for example, on in-game social platforms like Discord, where gamers message, talk to, and swap tips about games, fashion, food and everything in life. Often these platforms are, or, have replaced ‘mainstream’ social platforms like Facebook as gamers’ primary messaging and lifestyle medium.
Brands all over the world are taking advantage of all this. Brands like Pepsi and Adidas, of course, but KFC has been very active and run campaigns that have, for instance, resulted in their ‘Popcorn Chicken’ becoming the unofficial ‘gamers’ preferred snack.
In Thailand, one of Dave’s clients, Naraya, a bag maker known mostly for selling handmade, fashionable cloth bags to tourists, looking to become more relevant to young Thais has undertaken tie-ups with the number one professional e-sports team, Bacon Time, to create exclusive backpacks that are only sold at live game championships, and tie-ups with gamers through in-game mediums.
In India, DMI Finance has done some smart thinking. They realised that in a very competitive marketplace, getting to smart young people studying at some of the country’s top universities and building relationships with them would pay off as they entered their professional lives. But how do you do that with impact and not just through usual college pop-ups? They sponsored ‘College Rivals’ a program where competitions are held in leading campuses to find the best student gamers, form them into teams, and then build to a national championship.
Look around and you will find dozens of examples. In our Lead Talk podcast, Amit mentions many others happening in Bangladesh.
What we have found strange is that to nearly all the senior marketers we spoke to, ‘gaming’ does not appear on their annual marketing comms plan. It is seen as a minor tactic or a trial promotion. This reminds older guys like Dave of those days in the very early 2000s when marketers thought ‘social media’ was just another passing fad.
Come on marketers… get in the game!
For more ideas take the time to watch our Lead Talk episodes.
