Game player research

New research from ICM Research into the profile of gamers in the UK has revealed some fascinating insights, including:

• Women are as likely as men to be into gaming (66% of men, 65% of women)
• 2 in 3 Facebook gamers are women, with 50% of them between 25 and 45
• 15% of people in the UK regularly play Facebook games like Cityville & Words with Friends – and 45% of those play every day, often for up to three hours at a time
• Under 45s of both genders tend to play games to pass the time
• Over 45s, particularly women, are more likely to play games to keep mentally fit
• Contrary to popular general perception, online gambling is least popular among older women

ICM’s online survey of 10,000 adults was supported with in-depth qualitative interviews with women over 45, a group recently identified in a government report from the National Centre for Social Research as one which has seen a surge in gambling. These interviews revealed:

• For older women, the social element of online gaming is really important – they go online to interact with current friends and to make new ones. While the games draw them in, they tend to make repeat visits to chat, socialize or interact with younger family members
• They are open to brand tie-ins and sponsored free games as long as commercial information is integral to the game and doesn’t interrupt them
• They worry about damaging their computers and prefer games they don’t have to download
• They prefer free games as they are concerned about getting carried away and spending too much
• Older women are gaming as an alternative to standard entertainment such as TV and puzzle books

Research Director Emily Hunt explained: “Our original focus was on female gamers but the data revealed some interesting new insights into the gaming community as a whole. Qualitatively we learned that there is a general desire to keep active through gaming with most people tending to prefer quick and easy games as opposed to longer, more mission-based games.”

The most significant highlights of the research include:
• Women are as likely as men to play on a console but for women this is driven by the Wii and DS or 3DS, whereas men prefer the Xbox 360, Kinect and PS3.
• Apps are driven by age not gender, being equally popular with younger men and women (23% of men, 25% of women under 45) but less so with older people with only 5% of over 45s expressing an interest.
• Facebook games are driven by both age and gender, with younger women being the most enthusiastic players (17% of young men, 26% of young women, 6% of older men, 13% of older women)
• All four main groups are equally likely to play games every day, but men under 45 are much more likely than any other group to be playing every couple of days.
• Under 45s of both gender are more likely to play games to pass the time (73% of men, 74% of women) but over 45s – particularly women – tend to play games to keep mentally fit (50% of women, 40% of men)
• While gaming to keep physically fit is driven by women, this is higher among the younger age groups (13% of young men, 11% of older men, 26% of young women, 21% of older women).

Emily Hunt added: “With the growing emphasis on social and digital media, this research has several implications for the marketing and media industries. Overall, it is clear that gaming is equally popular with both genders – so marketers need to take that into account when launching products and planning campaigns, while remaining conscious of the discrete motivations and preferences of different user groups.”

Social by design’ to be key feature of Facebook Developer Garage on 16th Feb

‘Social by design’ is set to be the key message that organisations and developers alike will be shouting about at this Thursday’s upcoming Facebook Developer Garage.

The concept lies in the theory that marketing professionals should stop thinking of their interactions with their customers as one-way exchanges and focus primarily on developing apps that utilise the very feature that makes Facebook such an attractive platform for friends.

Social by design dictates that organisations wanting to build successful apps on Facebook’s platform need to not only be bringing friends to the core of application ideas but making them integral to the app’s functioning.

Roshan Singh of Gamaroff Digital, who will be speaking at the Facebook Developer Garage on Thursday, says: “Facebook itself is the best example of social by design and the best apps out there should feel like a natural extension of Facebook’s own platform.”

The Facebook Developer Garage will be held on Thursday 16th February as part of Social Media Week. http://www.facebookgarage.org.uk/

Gamaroff Digital is a social experience and mobile agency and official sponsor of the Facebook Developer Garage. http://www.gamaroffdigital.co.uk

Spotify's Success Through Deep Facebook Integration Points The Way For Brands To Place The User At The Heart of The Social Media Experience, Says Punch

Brands and social media agencies should draw inspiration from the incredible success that music streaming service, Spotify has seen since partnering with Facebook 6 weeks ago - notably more than 1.5 billion song shares and 4 million new users - according to integrated PR, search and social media agency, Punch Communications. Specifically, the partnership has reiterated that success in social media marketing is based on seamlessly integrating with Facebook user's lives, not trying to subvert or divert attention towards a brand's message.

As one of a number of updates revealed at the recent F8 conference, the social networking giant's integration with Spotify is yet another indicator of Facebook's shifting focus towards the facilitation of interactive and engaging social objects that tie in with every-day lifestyle-orientated elements to enhance it's users' overall experience.

With over 800 million users, Facebook has quickly become one of the most important spaces for brands to become a part of, with those brands focusing on the creation of engaging and unique content having seen the most success so far.

Pete Goold, Managing Director at Punch Communications, which specialises in online PR, commented: "The latest figures only further confirm the opportunities that are currently out there for developers and brands that are able to become an integral part of the Facebook day-to-day user journey - which is in marked contrast to the many attempts that have been made by marketers, often at significant cost, that encourage the user to modify their behaviour in order to accommodate a brand. The growth that Spotify has seen in such a short space of time should be more than enough to encourage other brands, developers and PR companies of the merits of flexibility, and will hopefully inspire accordingly."

Spotify first launched in October 2008, securing more than 10 million users within its first two years and enabling users to stream music from a wide range of major labels including Universal, Sony and EMI.

Pete continued: "With the latest F8 announcements, Facebook presented developers and brands with a challenge to go out and create content that could become part of the everyday. Something which Spotify has done perfectly. In light of this, I would expect Spotify to see users and shares through social spaces continue to increase even further over the coming months."