Why Content Marketing is important for the gaming industry

Content marketing is dedicated on creating valuable and relevant content to attract and maintain a certain audience of customers. Gaming companies usually excel in producing excellent content marketing and have mastered the ability to promote their products through the use of audio and video, using ways that are engaging with their consumers.

Examples when the gaming industry excelled in content marketing:

  1. Microsoft promoted, prior to the launch, their new videogame “Halo 4” with a small web series videos called “Forward unto Dawn” which became extremely popular within the community, and gained around 2.5 million views per episode.Halo4forwarduntodawn
  2. Ubisoft used the same strategy with the web series to promote the release of their video game “Far Cry3”. The series gained around 500,000 views per episode.
  3. The same company is currently using this method of promotion for their upcoming blockbuster release of “Tom Clancy’s: The Division”, creating a web series for fictional characters the game will have, with the intent of introducing them to the consumers prior to the game’s release on March 8th 2016. TCTD_agent-origins_235651

These series exist mainly to promote the new games, but not many consumers consider it as advertisements, as fans see it as bonus content to feed their hunger for anything related to their favourite videogames. However, content like this is often shared between gamers if it is compelling enough. This allows free promotion of gaming companies’ products in a subtle way. It is important to be subtle because as Huber (2015) states, bold advertising campaigns can make bold statements, but gamers can easily distinguish whether the campaign exploits their gaming habits since they are tech-savvy. Knowing the audience is vital in order to avoid controversies. So, what things should gaming companies consider when creating content?

Lessons to be learnt

  • Using multiple channels is essential since different people have different preferences. Just as people prefer to play games on different consoles, content marketing is similar in the sense that an individual might prefer reading blog articles instead of watching videos. Creating content across multiple channels fulfils the wants of consumers when it comes to gathering information.
  • Videogame marketing has changed over the years. Games were once restricted to traditional gaming consoles, but not anymore. The audience demographic has changed since the introduction of mobile gaming on smartphones and tablets along with gaming on social media sites. Since this expansion of the digital world has happened, gaming companies have created accounts on social channels the audience is actively using, and sharing content. So, going social and mobile is the way to go. http://www.pardot.com/content-marketing/content-marketing-lessons-learned-from-video-games-part-1/

In general, digital content marketing is appropriate in B2B contexts, as Kaplan and Sawhney (2000) state, where companies form long-term relationships with customers. In the gaming industry there are fans that have been loyal to one company’s games for decades and they have certain expectations from it.

Therefore, content marketing is imperative to maintain that relationship with gaming fans. This happens because one of the main functions of content marketing is to build a community for a brand and make fans believe that the brand represents them and that they are part of the journey the bUntitledrand will take through its market life-cycle. This is the case with videogame series that are successful, such as the Super-Mario Bros. gaming series from Nintendo. Fans that grew up playing those games will probably respond to good content marketing even when they are adults because of the long-term relationship the company has formed with them over the years.

 

References

Kaplan, S. and Sawhney, M. (2000), E-hubs: the new B2B marketplaces. Harvard Business Review.

0 comments