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“Games are really socialMarketers should go explore

Get your ads in games”Haiku by David BenBassett

Social Gaming: Farmville is for n00bs

August 19, 2010

David BenBassett, Intern,

Interactive Strategy

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Abandoning Stereotypes

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Multiplayer Timeline

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The Players

169.9 million gamers

Mainly males, age 13-34

Males and females

Avg. 13 hours of gaming in a week

Sources: www.gamespot.com, www.gamespy.com

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Hardcore Gamers

Sources: http://blog.nielsen.com, www.huffingtonpost.com, www2.mcdowellnews.com

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Gamer Clans

Sources: www.wikipedia.com

Gamers often join together to form teams in games

Xbox/PS3/PC: Clans

WoW: Guilds

Earn a clan tag next to name

Seek belonging, status, competition

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n00b

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Pwnd u lolz

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Phj33r m4h 1337 $k!11z !!!

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L3@rn j00r l33t $pk

Gamers speak to each other online via message or voice-chat using computer language l33t

L33t vs. n00b: hardcore or inexperienced

Woot!: expression of joy or excitement

Ownd: beating another player with the intention of stripping them of their dignity

Sources: www.computerhope.com

Where the action goes down

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There’s nothing more fun than killing your friends

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Who the hell is on my team?!

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OMG POKEMON!!!

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WoW, it’s an MMORPG

Sources: www.walyou.com, www.fortunetech.com

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People like this….

Can become this…

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Second Life, for when one life just isn’t enough

Sources: www.secondlife.com, www.forbes.com

Huge online world with social and business aspects

Real life groups, businesses, and causes

Parties, concerts, seminars, webcasts

$567 million economy based on Linden Dollar

Thriving virtual goods market

What does it all mean?

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Players pick up on subtleties in the game world

Move real-life ads into games

Ensure the ad matches the game atmosphere

Decals/cars for auto Jumbotron for sports Damaged billboards

for war

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Gamers rep themselves through their avatars

Create branded, virtual goods or gifts to pass between avatars

Make realistic representations of actual product

Sell at a competitive price, low enough for people to want to spend actual money on virtual goods

Tie in with coupons or discounts for repping the brand through an avatar

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Virtual campaigns cost less than real ones

Second life presents a great opportunity for healthcare initiatives

Constructing events/displays/fundraisers is relatively inexpensive and can net real profit

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Milo: advertising opportunity or friendship downfall?

Virtual friends reduce social communication?

Or, a friend who learns and informs about new products based on user information?

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Takeaways

Opportunities exist to advertise within video games

Create virtual gifts and avatar items to satisfy gamers’ appetite for realism

Virtual events are a creative way to access consumers and can net real profit

Staying up to date on the technology employed in games and other media is essential to using it as a competitive advantage

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