The eSports generation
Egaming consultant Mark McGuinness discusses the digital marketing implications behind the rise of eSports
Everywhere you look the word âeSportsâ is grabbing the headlines in the mainstream media. But could the eSports industry become a pot of gold for egaming operators and marketers? Letâs look at the demographics.
Firstly, the eSports fan base is predominately male. A recent study by online news site VideoInk reported that the official sites of League of Legends, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto and EA Sports FIFA all had male viewership rates of over 90%. Studies from gaming researcher Newzoo in March 2014 on eSports video game competitions, in which players face off against each other in live venues, stated that most respondents who frequently watched or participated in eSports were male, compared with 31% female. Furthermore the report concurred that of the respondents in both genders, the biggest percentage was in the 21-35 age group, followed by the 36-50 group.
Empirical data sources on the eSports demographic does vary, but if you consider that the popular games in eSports competitions are ï¬rst-person shooters, war simulation, fantasy sci-ï¬ and sports, itâs a safe bet to say the category is a mostly male audience aged 18-34. Therefore it’s one of the most sought-after demographic segments for any major brand of the egaming industry.
Marketing considerations
So if you are considering marketing to this affluent, young male group what do you need to consider in your marketing toolkit? Firstly you need to get past the perceived stereotypes of nerds and hackers. ESports fans and players are from the millennial generation; they understand instant gratiï¬cation, and are mobile-ï¬rst. They are non-conformist, embrace change, challenge the status quo and are immersed in the social experience and social economy.
In terms of buying behaviour, they have high purchase intent for goods such as quality gaming peripherals and anything associated with improving performance and health to win tournaments. Furthermore they embrace digital crypto-currencies: huge amounts of money changes hands to buy virtual goods such as virtual gun designs, also known as skins, found in the ï¬rst-person shooter video game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
At last count, the Electronic Sports League (ESL) the largest league for gamers in Europe, has more than 3m registered members and more than 740,000 registered teams. Similar to how egaming brands and Asian sportsbooks have pervaded the English Premier league with shirt sponsorship, the potential to sponsor eSports teams exists along with potential naming rights of tournaments and professional leagues.
Booming industry
The number of eSports tournaments worldwide has more than tripled from 430 in 2013 to 1,485 in 2014. However, many of the eSports professional ruling bodies have policies which restrict gambling-related endorsements.
The other big-access channel is video broadcasts of the sports. Twitch, the worldâs largest video game streaming platform for eSports, reported that the average user spends around two hours a day on the site. The Twitch app has been downloaded more than 23 million times since its launch in 2011.
The marketing approach certainly has to be more subtle given the audience, but at a high level the market entry isnât too far removed from how gaming brands have aligned themselves to other male-dominated sports such as football and golf and the explosive growth in sports marketing sponsorship in the US by the big daily fantasy sports operators. Who shall win this land-grab? The eSports betting product has to be right, but it could be those operators with big brand marketing budgets that could create the ï¬rst mover advantage with the eSports audience.