Over the past decade, many video games have moved toward a pay-to-play ‘freemium’ model. That is, users can download a playable version of the game for free, and then pay for incremental enhancements or additional levels. This has changed the way games are made and the way game publishers advertise to their audience. Nevertheless, only a small percentage of free players convert to paying customers. The question remains how to turn these casual players into devoted gamers.
One data-driven marketing agency, Rosetta, set out to find the answer. In the process, it built its own cross-channel platform aimed at keeping gamers engaged—and paying—from the moment they press start. “By aggregating data across multiple sources—including in-game, online and social channels—video game makers can develop a comprehensive player profile that allows them to understand not only how someone plays, but why they play,” says Katherine Battle, SVP Strategic Planning at Rosetta. “From this, developers can create predictive interactions to influence future game behavior and in-game actions, drive revenue inside and outside of the game and amplify advocacy and social influencers.”
Earlier this year, Rosetta integrated Adobe Marketing Cloud into its Nexus Engine, a platform designed to drive engagement by analyzing data across major channels—commerce, direct, media, in-store, online, customer relationship management programs, etc. This combined marketing ‘Mega-Man’ platform analyzes trillions of data points per day, using the findings to personalize advertising, rather than blasting the same messages to a diversity of players.
The player data captured during gaming sessions—typically players progressing at a normal rate—dictates when the video game publisher advertises to players when they’re idle, which reduces the risk of marketing overkill. A 2014 Adobe Benchmark Study found that while most marketers are serving personalized content, only 23 percent have a strategy to prevent burning out customers with message bombardment. This is particularly important when advertising to gamers, who don’t want their gaming experience being constantly interrupted by ads.
The profiles built by insights from both in-game actions and cross-channel data allow marketers to be more aggressive—and more relevant—with players who are at-risk of unplugging for good. A complaint on Twitter or the video game streaming platform Twitch can lead to a helpful in-game hint delivered at a make-or-break moment, or a push notification with a discounted offer to buy a shortcut for a nominal fee. Interestingly, using this in-game, cross-channel data applies to more than just the individual. “We don’t think we need to interact with this advanced player at all; however, we might see through social this player is an aggregator and influencer that is driving engagement of other gamers,” says Battle. “In this case, we’d use that data and insights to offer incentives to keep building the community.
Successfully convincing a a player to make their first in-game purchase is pivotal, even if it’s just spending a dollar for a new mustache for their avatar. While most players are reluctant to pay anything beyond the initial cost of the game, those who do spend are likely to keep spending, and this adds up. For example, King’s megahit Candy Crush had only 2.3 percent paying customers in 2014. Fortunately for King, that works out to about $1.3 billion in gross bookings. The end game: Getting players to play more and, in turn, pay more.
The video game industry continues to evolve. Virtual reality is on the horizon, and live game-viewing events may soon be a billion-dollar industry. In this environment, the steady accumulation of cross-channel data will help savvy marketers find the best path forward.
