This document discusses the importance of player-centered market research and analytics for game developers. It recommends gathering both qualitative and quantitative data from early concepts through launch in order to understand the target audience, validate assumptions about player segments, and identify opportunities and risks. Key steps include collecting feedback from panels, focus groups, and soft launches to analyze results; then using analytics from MVP releases and beyond to monitor funnel performance, identify the target market, and inform marketing strategy and asset creation prior to full launch. The main takeaway is the importance of building plans based on user data rather than demographics in order to find players and focus on what really engages them.

2. Who plays your game?
Player centric market research and marketing
Sylvain Noblet
Senior Brand Manager, Flaregames
sylvainnoblet@flaregames.com

3. Target audience
vs.
Who plays your game

4. Early market research matters!
Gathering Data Understand audience Plan strategy Create right content

5. Collect feedback Present early
concept
Analyze results
Qualitative data based on early concept

6. Qualitative data - When to use those tools?
Panels -
Focus
Group
Soft LaunchMVP Release Hard Launch
Concept
Card
(Nielsen)
Facebook
Analytics
First
Reviews
Playtest
Cloud
(Video
recording)
Fake App
store
Facebook
Insights

7. Validate Assumptions on segments
Get indication on Marketability
Build your UA case
Quantitative data - MVP Release
First insights on your funnel
performance
Build your Benchmark
Potential or Warning signs ?

8. Post MVP - Analysing the data
Identify market
opportunities & risks
Gathering Learnings
Improve the Acquisition
funnels
Create your marketing
assets
Competitors and
industry benchmarks
ASO (App Store
Optimization)
Collected data suggests NEXT STEPS
before Soft Launch

9. “The drivers of segment differences are not
demographics”
(Google Play study) Who plays mobile games?
Player insights to help developers win. Google Play, July 2017.
https://medium.com/googleplaydev/who-plays-mobile-games-
8b33f76bb6d8

10. Go find your users
Create your strategy
Focus on actions that Matters
Pick the right communication
channels
Plan your budget and spend
accordingly
Build the right wording
Users
Users

11. Key takeaways
Find where your players are
Build your plans on USER DATA
Demographics are B******T
Identify WHAT your players DO

12. Thanks for taking part
in our meetup