Month: October 2013

E-Marketer estimates that in one month, close to 126 million people will play a mobile phone game at least once. When compared to the below table, online casual games follows closely behind with 96.6 million (groups are not mutually exclusive). This demonstrates the growing importance of mobile gaming, as a different marketing platform. However the forecast for 2017 , seems almost unlikely to predict with the ever adapting technology.

For instance; Redbull recognizes the importance in creating new forms of engagement in attracting brand awareness, through mobile games. Wolfgang Schmirl, Head of Digital Media at Redbull Media House, explains the importance of expanding their platforms, by linking with smartphones and the growing industry of mobile gaming. Redbull adapts the gaming idea from their current gaming website, to the mobile gaming.

E-Marketer also states that 73% of respondents aged 17-25, play games on their smart phone. This demonstrates a possible target audience for marketers who wish to expand their forms of engagement into mobile games, such as Redbull. Even though on paper it may seem appealing for a brand to create a mobile game, the important question is; will consumer’s want to play it?

Of course creating a game that represents your brand costs money, as does all marketing. When Schmirl was deciding whether to partner with an existing mobile game or create their own, he states that ‘quality is priority and innovation is the key.’ In the business’s case it was more suitable to create a Redbull mobile game, by being able to work with professional gamers and have flexibility. However each business will differ, but it is important to recognize what is the business’s objective in creating the game, and what will the return on investment be.

Schmirl makes an important concluding statement that ‘consumers will continue to find games relevant, but as technology continues to develop, underlying platforms will change.’ Pointing out the importance in understanding the consumer trends in the world of marketing and gaming. What are your thoughts on brands creating mobile games?

Think about a local cafe you’ve ordered from, imagine you work for them; its a highly competitive industry, you have been asked to look into social media advertising, but you don’t know where to start.

Introducing Foursquare, a social media application that allows users to locate local businesses and post geographically where they are situated for their social friends to see. Foursquare announced recently that they are about to test 800 businesses with self-service paid ads. The idea is to function much like Google Adwords where the business can ‘bid’ for how much they want to spend on their ad (minimum $50 per month); which will determine where the ad will be ranked. The self-service ads target consumers through their geography settings, called geo-targeting. The app primarily assists in promoting local businesses, by creating awareness of the business and recommendations from other users. Although how does Foursquare’s ad potential compare to other social media sites?

E-Marketer estimates in the table below that Facebook will earn over $6 billion (2013) in Ad spending, compared to Twitter with close to $600 million. Foursquare unfortunately does not receive a mention in this table, although it will be interesting to see in the following years if their new paid ads will contribute on a competitive level in social media.

Secondly a survey completed by STRATA, a software company, concluded that 90% of Agency Executives were more likely to use Facebook for brand promotion. Comparing this to Foursquare, with 8% of executives stating that they would be likely to use this platform.

However the data presented does not segment what type of industries and markets are most likely to use which social media site. Even though Foursquare has only 8% interest, this could be mostly local companies that can benefit from reaching the consumer on a different level such as local restaurant promotions. The application allows local businesses to interact with consumers, without being bombarded by larger corporations. There is a local potential for this social media platform, it will be interesting to see if it can create some competitive advantage with the other social media sites. Could Foursquare be the next social media craze, your thoughts?