We all know that, as a brand, understanding your audience is important. Some verticals have a better understanding of the value of audience segmentation tools than others. Do Cosmetic companies really need a study to know what gender is buying the most lipstick? Do Pharmaceutical companies really need to dive deep into what age group is buying the most medication? Does the video game entertainment industry really need to know what cities are most popular with eSports fans?
The simple answer is – yes!
Understanding even the most basic demographic information about a brand’s audience is essential to optimizing upcoming campaign material. With the right audience segmentation tools, users can gather valuable consumer audience data to drive successful marketing strategies. Even if you think you know your audience, using an audience segmentation tool to get a clearer picture of your most common consumers can sometimes yield surprising and useful insights. These insights can be what sets your brand apart from competitors and drive the highest possible return on investment.
Some verticals think they have their audience all figured out. But is it true? Let’s see what types of insights that audience segmentation tools can bring to the Gaming and eSports industry.
Age
Traditional knowledge tells us that video games are for the 13-24 year-olds of the world. But while that may remain the largest demographic group for the gaming industry, it would be a mistake to ignore the fact that as the industry matures, so does its demographic base. According to audience segmentation tools, older age groups have enjoyed the entertainment video gaming more than ever before. They are even becoming popular influencers in the space. Just look at “Gaming Grandma” Shirley Curry!
Gender
Everyone knows that gaming is a male-dominated industry. But audience segmentation can give gaming brands insight into what percentage of women are just now getting into the industry, too. This data has caused video game developers to trend toward creating inclusive content. The most popular games in existence right now – Fortnite, Overwatch, and Apex Legends – feature some of the most diverse casts ever seen in the industry. Their popularity just goes to show how invaluable this audience data was for them.
Location
These days it’s important to know where your audience is located in order to target highly-specific content geared toward them. For the video game industry, it has always been important to take the cultural background of consumers in mind before shipping local versions of their games to other countries. This is to ensure that no content is accidentally insensitive to a specific culture.
But what about location within the same country? A newly formed eSports league, the Overwatch League, selected the most popular cities for their game and created teams for them in a model that follows that of the National Football League (NFL). They then used audience segmentation data to instill a sense of loyalty to new brands like the New York Excelsior, The San Francisco Shock, and the Dallas Fuel. The Overwatch League has been largely successful in the aftermath.
Channel
It’s important to know where your audience is getting their content, too. A lot of advertising dollars are spent yearly in the gaming industry. It’s important to know the most efficient way to reach consumers of popular content.
Traditionally, most advertising for this vertical was done through television, as ads within other video games, and in gaming magazines. These days, new channels – and their influencers – have arisen. A quick look with audience segmentation tools shows that a massive block of this industry’s consumers watch content generated on YouTube and Twitch. Money well spent!
And more. There is a lot of basic and in-depth information that can be brought to the surface to give your marketing campaigns the most bang for your buck. To learn how your brand could benefit from audience segmentation tools, check out our guide: 8 Strategies for Audience Segmentation Success.
