Things are heating up for the gaming industry.
A recent report from Mordor Intelligence found that video gaming trends have seen a massive surge in players and revenue recently, spurred by advanced technology adoption around the world and more time spent at home due to pandemic concerns.
Valued at $173.7 billion in 2021, the gaming market is only going up from here, with predictions expecting its value to reach a whopping $314.4 billion by 2027. However, this growth isn’t without its challenges. The video game market is highly fragmented. Competition is high as demanding consumers and new entrants fuel an intense rivalry within the industry.
For gaming brands, being able to stand out from the crowd of industry players is imperative for future success. How you communicate with your audience — from prospects to current users to lapsed players — needs to be as immersive and engaging as the game they signed up for. So why not leverage a medium they already enjoy?
In this post, we’ll break down why video marketing is the ideal approach for video game brands and dive into some examples for inspiration. Ready? Set. Let’s go.
The Power of “Video” in Video Games
On an intuitive level, it’s easy to see that the video aspect of gaming — with its engaging visuals and experience-enhancing sounds — is a huge part of what makes the activity so enticing.
As it turns out, several studies have linked video games and positive changes in vision, including greater sensitivity to contrasts, faster information processing abilities and improved temporal visual selective attention. Expert gamers are also able to allocate more cognitive power to individual visual stimuli. It’s science.
In short, those who play video games tend to develop improved visual attention abilities. That means that gaming brands who leverage video as a marketing tool are quite literally “speaking the language” of their players and using a medium that they’re inclined to pay attention to.
Video is about storytelling. Gaming is about storytelling too. The two are a natural fit. As an example, watch the (first-person) story captured in the video below.
Even beyond the gaming industry, video marketing has proven to be a valuable tactic for all kinds of businesses. According to a recent survey:
- 93% of marketers say video has helped them increase brand awareness.
- 81% of marketers say video has helped them directly increase sales.
- 87% of marketers say video has helped them generate positive ROI.
Arguably a “must-have” for all businesses, video marketing is especially indispensable for video game brands. Here’s how it can help you achieve your business goals.
4 Ways Gaming Brands Can Leverage Video
As a versatile tool that transforms communications at countless customer stages, video marketing can be used throughout the customer journey for video games.
Here are 4 key moments we’ve found video to be especially effective.
1. Attract New Players
Video advertisements are nothing new, but the rise of social media and improved customer data have revolutionised how gaming companies can approach video to bring in new players.
Gone are the days of static advertisements. Instead, create Dynamic Video Ads that are hyper-targeted to different kinds of people in your audience. Use customer demographics and behavioral data provided by Facebook or Instagram to present each segment with an advertisement that’s tailored to them.
For companies with a diverse roster of games, dynamic video ads are a great way to expose potential players to the game that best fits their interests. You could also create various ads that highlight a game’s different aspects, with each one made to appeal to a certain type of gamer.
See how dynamic video advertising works (and the results it can get) with this short explainer.
2. Boost Engagement
With a focus on challenges and accomplishments, a game is in and of itself a natural driver of engagement. This fact is a key reason why gamification has been so widely adopted as a marketing strategy in other industries.
But while a retail or fitness brand may have to creatively add challenges and prizes to everyday tasks, video game brands have the upper hand in that their customer experience is already gamified. To boost engagement, you just have to incorporate those gaming elements into your marketing communications.
How do you do it? There are so many options.
Send a progress update video to players who may be at risk of quitting. Including personalised stats (like recent streaks and wins) alongside a motivational message could be the kick they need to keep on trying.
Let your players brag on their achievements with a personalised year-in-review video. These video game marketing videos compile insights about a player’s activity in a fun, shareable video. Including stats like hours played or their top records, these kinds of campaigns have been a hit with millions of players for Epic Games, Ubisoft, EA and more.
Recaps have gotten so popular, we’ve used them to create data-driven videos covering everything from a short gaming season to a 15-year anniversary.
If you’re still thinking, “what is a personalised recap?” then read our year-in-review video blog post. Or just watch the video below. (It’s OK. I know — the video’s better. Video is almost always better.)
Tip: Get your players involved in the creation of their own recap videos by letting them select which stats they want to be included. With Living Video, you can let them choose stats right in the video and then have the video generated in real time, right before their eyes.
3. Encourage Social Sharing
Did you know? People are twice as likely to share video content with their friends than any other type of content, including social media posts, blogs or articles and product pages.
Videos — especially ones that feature everyone’s favourite topic (themselves) — are one of the best forms of content for social sharing. When a gamer shares personalised videos that spotlight their top plays, they go from being an engaged player to a brand ambassador.
And that, my friends, is the ultimate goal.
So to accompany those shareable reels, try creating personalised landing pages that make it easy for friends to sign up.
To boost acquisition even more, add a referral offer that rewards both the seasoned player and new recruit with rewards. A campaign launched by EVE Online took this approach and saw a 66% uplift in visits to the recruitment page.
Another approach is making Personalised GIFs. The animated image could easily be created by converting a particular scene from a video into a “personal brag badge” that players can share with their friends.
These can be distributed along with a Personalised Video or be standalone badges that players receive and share when they score a new achievement.
4. Reactivate Lapsed Players
For players who haven’t been active in a while, entice them back with a taste of what they’re missing. Remind them of the good times with a Personalised Video that highlights their top moments and shows them (visually — this part is key) what they loved about playing.
Better yet, throw in a personalised offer to get them back in the game. Make it easy for them to redeem with a click by including interactive elements in the video.
See how Unibet did it below.
Don’t underestimate the moving effect that personalisation can have on your players. Treating them like the unique individuals they are and delivering relevant content is key to building the kind of trust that has people wanting to come back.
Power Up With Personalised Video
Data-driven video marketing is a killer strategy that video game companies can use to position themselves as leaders of the booming gaming market. But with millions of players to reach, it’s also important to be able to launch video campaigns efficiently and at scale.
That’s where Idomoo comes in. Our Next Generation Video Platform is designed to handle the creation of millions of dynamic videos without breaking a sweat. Plus, with an intuitive platform, automation tools, and robust integrations and APIs, campaigns can go live in a matter of days. (Really. Our Fortnite campaign launched in 2 weeks.)
Browse more video marketing campaigns for gaming brands like yours. Or better yet, experience the Idomoo magic yourself. Request a demo from our experts by scheduling a call below.
