Social media is changing everything. More than just a way in which connected friends can stay in touch, ‘Facebook’, has come to epitomise a revolution in mass communication. It has become a platform where games players can not only share familiar experiences with one another, but experience new ones too. These include ’social games’ which are proving to be a shot in the arm for the creative health of the games industry. But not just because it is providing developers with a new platform to create games for – their success is playing a pivotal role in widening the popularity of gaming. They have found new audiences that extend beyond the traditional gaming demographic defined by consoles.
As these gaming experiences are the polar opposite of ‘AAA’ content rich blockbuster console titles, there has been much talk of ’social games’ becoming a disruption to the mainstream console industry. Indeed, as is evident from the huge sums of money (and people from startups here at E3 2011 !) that are investing into the segment, you’d be forgiven for thinking that they represent a threat to the traditional console-centric approach to the video games industry.
But both of these different approaches to creative development have one thing in common – connectivity. Apart from highlighting the obvious security issues, the recent hacking of the Playstation network showed just how important online connectivity is in 21st Century Video Gaming. With Facebook having over 500 million active users globally (and counting!), the clear synergy that exists between social networks and gaming is proving to be an atrractive proposition to the smarter developers and publishers.
And not just as a gaming platform, but as a marketing channel.
Whilst it is no longer a secret that Facebook can be used as an effective gaming plaform, some of the smarter developers and publishers are using it as an effective marketing tool. They are using services such as “sharethrough” to run social video advertising campaigns that build brand awareness for it’s products. Whereas traditional advertising can be regarded as being a paid push towards drawing attention to a product, Social video Advertising specifically leverages Facebook’s ability to successfully engage with audiences in a new and social way, enlisting Facebook’s gamers and sharers of its content to help drive brand awareness.
For the first time, companies like ‘Sharethrough’ are offering its clients the ability to create campaigns that centre around the sharing of video and content through games played on social networks that can be effectively measured using its own proprietary tools. Sharethrough’s research suggests that users are more engaged with friend endorsed content and that people who watch a video are more likely to purchase what is being offered than something without any video. Whilst they don’t actually create the content, their platform offers the means to distribute video that guarantees reach and maximizes shared engagement. Gamers on Facebook can even earn credits by watching the videos that Sharethrough distributes. Their more forward thinking clients include Activision and Ubisoft who used their services to great effect on their respective ‘Transformers’ and ‘Shaun White Skateboarding’ campaigns.
Regardless of which platform a game is developed for, the synergy that exists between gamers and social networks is clearly a compelling one for advertisers. It provides games makers with an opportunity to re-evaluate the value that trailers and video content can bring to the marketing of a new product. The value of these trailers can now be extended, allowing developers to reach potentially huge audiences on a platform where there is a clear love for video games.
Never before has the games trailer been more pertinent or effective in the marketing of a video game, regardless of what kind of game or which platform it is played on.
Dave Cullinane, MBA
Account Director
entirely about RealtimeUK!
