Gamers and Brands is a new report that has emerged from the new Gameloft for Brands section of Gameloft (owned by Vivendi), and it sheds light on how gamers interact with brands. Taking information from three studies, and over 80k gamers and a number of brands and businesses, it wants to address some misconceptions as well as discuss what gamers expect from companies.
Some of those misconceptions are ones you may have heard getting addressed in recent years. It states that one in two people worldwide play video games at least once a month, with one in four doing so every day, and that over half of the gaming population is over 36. Anyone can be a gamer, further emphasized by the fact that women make up over half of the gaming population. For brands, this may mean (depending on product and what games you're talking on) changing how you address the audience away from the traditional method of aiming messages at young men that many do when targetting gamers, and going with a more inclusive approach.
Beyond addressing those though, they share some insights about what gamers expect from companies. Gamers expect more from brands generally - 58% of gamers say they prefer to buy from brands that are doing more than just seeking profit, compared to 51% of gamers. They expect companies to be socially responsible, and provide helpful and rewarding content, something that isn't always lived up to by brands according to the study. Gamers said that 44% of the content provided by brands wasn't meaningful to them - and while there's going to some cases of what is meaningful to me isn't meaningful to you, that is a lot of content that is missing the mark.
That said, gamers are generally more engaged consumers apparently, and are more trusting of companies and brands. 56% of gamers say they trust brands, which is more than the general populace, and may be related to the fact that gamers engage more heavily with those that are socially responsible.
You can find out more about the newly titled Gameloft for Brands over on their website.
