Twofivesix: Gaming and Marketing

While marketers turn their heads towards high-profile partnerships in esports, Fortnite, and Twitch, it becomes easy to forget a major portion of the gaming audience: the mobile gamer. The global mobile gaming market is estimated to reach over $77 billion in revenue by the end of 2020. There are many reasons for the persistent growth and player retention in the space, and to learn more, we spoke to Sarah Chafer, EVP of global ad sales at Tapjoy.

Tapjoy connects game publishers and advertisers, enabling brands to advertise and monetize on a wide breadth of mobile platforms. “A lot of what we do is around user choice,” Sarah told us. “We offer them a wide variety of things that they can do in order to transact for currency. If you think about being a user or consumer yourself, how often is it that you get to decide which advertiser you’re going to transact with versus having some unwanted messaging that maybe doesn’t apply to you personally?”

We spoke with Sarah about monetization practices in mobile games, and learned about the special, mutually beneficial dynamic between players, games, and advertised brands.

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Our guest this episode is Doron Nir, CEO, and co-founder of StreamElements.  With over a decade of experience in the games’ world, Doron brings together his expertise in digital game design, software development, and teaching in the development of StreamElements. It’s pretty clear that a new generation of celebrities has risen from the world of game streaming and live content creation, but achieving this level of success doesn’t come without intensive work. The title “content creator” combines the roles of performer, producer, editor, marketing, and community management all at once. Doron starts us off by describing the StreamElements platform and how it enables content creators, big or small, to do the work more easily.

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Here are highlights from the conversation, lightly edited for clarity.

“Ironically, one of the challenges in social VR is actually just feeling a heightened sense of energy. And I think this is something that's a social norm that changes. So if you and I go to a concert live, everybody in the audience is going to be chatting or talking with somebody, right? If you go to it virtually, people might have more social anxiety to start talking to random people, and you don't have exactly the exact same sense of awareness.”

“Twofivesix has a great grasp on how to authentically speak to a really difficult demographic - the gamer. For Sansar, who are we appealing to? Is it a creator? Is it somebody that's really into fashion? Is that somebody that's into esports, comedy, or EDM? Because all of that is in Sansar, so how do you focus and craft the right messaging and think strategically. How do you actually position yourself for longterm success in this ever-changing landscape, which is really difficult? And I think the insights that you really brought to the table and helped us glean were invaluable.”

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We spoke to her about what kind of brands could benefit from AR technology, challenges in AR adoption, and what’s on the horizon for the beauty space.

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Here are highlights from the conversation, lightly edited for clarity.

“I think my goal is to just make things as seamless as possible. I can't give away all my secrets, but we're on the right track to making beauty more accessible and personalized for everyone. One of L'Oreal's sayings is “beauty for all,” and that really ties into what we're trying to do [with AR].”

“Beauty is inherently a very visual thing. Consumers have always been able to try a product on, see it in a mirror, and get those results. AR feels like a very natural next step for visualizing product results in a virtual mirror anytime, anywhere.”

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So we were excited to speak with Philip N. Kaplan, CEO of GameWorks. He recognizes that as an established leader in gaming and entertainment, GameWorks is well-positioned to capitalize on this burgeoning space.Like what you see? Subscribe to our newsletter and podcast.

Here are highlights from the conversation, lightly edited for clarity.

The truth behind esports current phase of growth

“It's interesting when markets have phases. And when a product is mature, everyone knows what the product is. Esports is a very early-stage market. You've got a huge audience of people that have been playing, but you've got a much larger audience that is saying, ‘What is it?’ We are at the market education phase so a lot of our approach has been to say, ‘Hey, come and play,’ and make it friendly. And as I'm out telling the company's story, I'm really trying to be inviting and tell people what esports is and really be an advocate for the category.”

“There’s this entertainment industry problem in general. You've got this model of a lot of options for how consumers can spend their time on entertainment. So when we think about marketing, we're not thinking about competing in the sports category. We're thinking about why is the consumer coming to GameWorks versus going to a movie, bowling, taking a walk in the park, or going to the beach. We tried to create events and promotions and then just make them compelling as specifically as possible around an esports event, an audience, or an arcade.”

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Danielle aka EbonixSims makes custom designs for other black gamers who don't always see themselves (or “simselves”) represented. She’s bringing more change, representation, and diversity into games through her custom content. In fact, T-Pain has actually used her content to find dreads for his Sim. But that wasn’t her most memorable moment as a content creator for Simmers of color.

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Here are highlights from the conversation, lightly edited for clarity.

“The one interaction that moved me the most was when a lady messaged me and said that her niece absolutely hated how she looked. She didn't like her hair and her skin tone, and she played The Sims but never would ever make a character that looks like her. So she asked me if I could make this particular hair that they'd seen on Tumblr. And I said, ‘Okay, that's doable.’ It was a cute little girl's hair with the bubbles, which a lot of black girls have had. So it was the perfect hair to recreate and push back into the community.

“After I made that, she messaged me and said, ‘Ebonix, I don't think you know how much you've changed my niece's life.’ She saw and made the hair [in The Sims], which was her hair at the time and absolutely fell in love with her ‘Simself.’ And since then, her self confidence and how she's seen herself has changed for the better. It hit home because there was no content for me to make a Sim of myself, and it did have an effect on how I saw myself. Other things in society also didn’t make little black girls feel loved and appreciated and feel self-conscious about how they looked. For me to be able to change how that little girl saw herself just through the Sims, that is something that will always stick with me and always keep me motivated to keep going.”

“Think ‘everyone, everywhere.’ Because everyone, everywhere, plays a game. When they create a character, people are looking to make themselves, not just trying to make a character that fits in with your game and aesthetic. If it's a game that has just a main character, you're perfectly fine to make whatever character you want. But if you're giving us the option to edit and make the character look as different as possible, then you're going to need some outside input. I'm your girl but there are also so many people that would love to get involved in those early stages of what they'd like to see within the game, especially when it comes to character creation. It's about reaching out.”

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– 2019 was a milestone year for global esports. The global esports economy surpassed $1 billion this past year, a year-over-year growth of +26.7%, notes Newzoo’s 2019 Global Esports Market Report.

– The total esports audience is staggering. Comprised of both esports enthusiasts and occasional viewers, the esports audience currently totals 454 million and is projected to grow to 645 million by 2022, according to Newzoo.

– Investment in esports is surging. According to the 2019 Esports Survey of esports and traditional sports professionals, nearly half of respondents (47%) expect an increase in esports investment over the next year.

To gain insight into the esports audience, we spoke to esports host and presenter Frankie Ward. She has hosted and covered events such as the ESL Hearthstone Premiership Final, the PC Gaming Show at E3, and the ESL Intel Extreme Masters CS:GO Major Championship. Previously, she was a producer at Twitch and now streams on the platform as a Twitch partner. But her talents don’t stop there: In her spare time, Frankie streams on her Twitch channel and produces and presents the interview podcast My Life in Pixels.

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Here are highlights from the conversation, edited for clarity.

Esports are more welcoming than you’d think

“As esports fans, we're kind of responsible for educating others and getting them involved. We should be trying to make our community bigger. There is a ring-fencing aspect to it. Sometimes it's a bit like when you have your favorite band and suddenly everyone else discovers them, and you're just like, ‘No, you're not a real fan. I am.’ There is that problem, which is why I was terrified of starting Counter-Strike in the first place. But then I got in, and it became a dream. So we do need to be more welcoming to new people and show them what it's all about, which is why I'm always trying to encourage people to go to live events.”

“The audience wants to emulate their heroes because they're the same age as them. I was interviewing a 17-year-old onstage, and he went to the same tournament in 2016 and watched in the audience. These kids actually watch these sports knowing that they could one day be up there playing alongside or against their heroes. And I don't think that's the same in football. In football, if you don't start when you're six years old and get spotted by a talent scout early, you're not going to do it. So the best you can do is eat a Pukka Pie and drink some beer on the sidelines. And there is nothing wrong with that. But with esports, there is so much aspiration and hope. You're so much closer to the players than you are in traditional sports, and that's really exciting.”

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Here are highlights from the conversation, lightly edited for clarity.

“The first is just the proportion of people who play games is increasing year over year. So it's likely that if you're a brand, that's probably where your audience is going to be found. The second reason is that video games are not like other advertising spaces—TV or the internet—and they require a lot of focus. The audience is not just possibly blowing past your ad. They're actually actively engaged...Some reports estimate that players are in-game for an average of seven to 12 hours a week. As a point of comparison, Americans age 18 to 34 they only watch an average of two and a half hours of TV [a day].”

“How brands execute and how well comes down to the match between the brand and the game itself. A lot of IP collaborations over the past year have been with Fortnite—they had Nike and the Marshmello concert. Those brands came off pretty well because they played an active part in the game.”

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In our year in review, we speak to Sarah E. Needleman, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who writes about the video game industry. Over the last few months, she has covered everything from Google Stadia to KFC’s dating sim. Needleman has been at the paper since 2001, and prior to her current beat, she covered small business and careers.

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Needleman joined the Twofivesix: Gaming and Marketing Podcast to talk about 2019’s major moments in video games, her predictions for 2020, and trends in interactive entertainment.

Here are highlights from the conversation, lightly edited for clarity.

“As far as loot boxes themselves go, I think we're going to see less of them or they won’t give you some sort of competitive advantage. It'll just be cosmetic. And then I do think that will die down. But the broader issue surrounding loot boxes also ties to this concept of game addiction. And I don't think that's going to go away.”

“What [the surprise Apex Legends launch] showed to me is that the influence streamers have on consumers is significant. But let's also keep in mind is that Apex Legends is free-to-play, just like Fortnite. And what made Fortnite so special is the fact that it is free-to-play and very easy to learn in short sessions. So, we've learned a lot about gaming behavior from Fortnite.”

“It's gonna take a while for [game] streaming to become, anywhere near mainstream. Unlike other forms of media, video games are interactive, and if you're playing competitively, even like the slightest delay is going to be a problem. And we know that online multiplayer gaming is very popular. So in the near term, I can't see people giving up dedicated land devices for gaming. Streaming will be more like a bonus option that you would consider for certain situations, like when you're out of storage or when you're traveling. I don't think it'll end up being the primary way people game anytime soon.”

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When people talk about games, video games usually get all the attention. But tabletop games shouldn’t be ignored, especially since Kickstarter game projects have brought in one billion dollars with tabletop games making up 69 percent of pledges. We speak to Luke Crane, Head of Games at Kickstarter, to discuss the appeal of tabletop gaming and the popularity of Kickstarter board games.

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Virtual influencers like Lil Miquela are here, and brands are betting big on them. We speak to Peter Rojas, co-founder of Gizmodo and Engadget and an investor in synthetic reality at Betaworks Ventures, about these virtual characters and the future of how we engage with them.

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Gamers aren’t exactly known for their style, but our guests, Rachel Feinberg and Breanne Harrison-Pollock, are looking to change that. They co-founded the esports and gaming apparel company Ateyo, the first company to offer technically designed apparel that is custom-built for gaming.

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Did you know The New York Times makes games? Our first guest is Sam Von Ehren, a game designer at The New York Times. We speak with him about why The New York Times makes games, how his game fits in with the rest of The Times’ news coverage, common misconceptions about what a New York Times game looks like, and who he’s trying to reach.

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