The presentation deck from my recent talk at Game Connection Paris. This deck focuses on the practice of marketing videogames in the new era of digital distribution and the changes that marketers face. Primary focus is payed to the difference in marketing games as a service vs. games as a product.

2. How to market Digital Games
What we will cover
• The shift in game marketing from games as a “product” to
games as a “service”
• How you can prepare for your game marketing
campaign, budgeting, forecasting, positioning and target
market definition
• Definition of the three major areas of customer acquisition
• Paid Media
• Owned Media
• Earned Media
• Strategies to employ in each of the media types to
maximize your budget
• Case study of an integrated marketing campaign for the
launch of APB Reloaded F2P

3. How to market Digital Games
What we WON’T cover
• Marketing strategies for packaged games
• Marketing strategies for single SKU pay to download
games
• Monetization strategies
• Digital game operations
• Game design strategies
• Unique strategies per platform
(iOS, F2P, Browser, Facebook etc.)

4. How to market digital games
“AT AN END YOUR RULE IS… AND
NOT SHORTIS SIMPLE IT WAS.”
OUR GOAL ENOUGH
Stop marketing a product launch and instead start
YODA TO PALPATINE, STAR WARS: REVENGE
connecting consumers to the ultimate portable OF THE SITH
gaming platform.

5. The emergence of digital games
“62% of all global games revenue forecast to be from the
digital sector by 2014”

6. The problem

7. The problem
 There is a paradigm shift in our
industry now
 Emerging platforms are creating a
huge opportunity for independent
developers to go direct to
consumers
 Early on these platforms were
uncluttered so if you had a good
game it sold
 Now the platforms are jam packed
with content and discoverability is
difficult to garner
 Marketing is essential to success
but traditional methods are not
effective in this new era

8. How to market digital games
“HALF OF THE MONEY I SPEND
ON MARKETING IS WASTED- THE
PROBLEM IS I SIMPLEKNOW
OUR GOAL IS DON’T
WHICHa product the ultimateinstead start
Stop marketing
HALF.” portable
connecting consumers to
launch and
gaming platform.
JOHN WANAMAKER - 1838-1922

9. Games as a service
The vast majority of digital
games will be run and
marketed as “services”
Traditional packaged product
marketing tactics will not work vs.
Marketing services requires
analytics and optimization

10. Games as a service
• “Performance-based”
marketing is a laborious but
Performance Marketing
rewarding process if done
right
 Huge efficiencies can be
realized through performance
marketing
 Analytics are integrated into
game design decisions
 KPI’s - decide what to track
and then act on the data

11. Games as a service
Advantages marketing games as a service
• Slower spend
 Tests and Optimization
 Community building
 Direct dialogue with the consumer
 RESPONSIBLE SPENDING

12. Games as a service – Spend Cycle

13. Games as a service – Marketing Cycle
Packaged Game Marketing Beats
• Game as Product
• Dominated by publishers/retailers
• Launch spend concentration
• Blockbuster-driven
Price Inventory Deassortment
Previews Launch Decline Management
Announce Pre Order Accolades DLC
Push Reviews
Months
Closed Open Beta Paid Content Paid Content Pack Paid Cash Shop Content Pack PR Milestone Cash Shop
Beta Launched acquisition Pack 1 acquisition 2 Announced acquisition Sale 3 Released Push Sale
marketing Announced 2nd spend 3rd spend
Open Beta Monetization Open Beta Content Pack In Game Content Pack In Game Content Pack Paid In Game
Announced Begins no Lifted 1 Released Event 2 Released Event 3 Announced acquisition Event
more wipes 4th spend
Service Game Marketing Beats
• Game as Service
• Direct to consumer
• Indie friendly
• Long term sustained spend
• Niche categories

14. Games as a service - KPI’s
1. Brand Awareness 9. Payback –
“Breakeven Time”
2. Test-Drive – “Try
before you buy” 10. Lifetime Value
3. Churn 11. CPC – “Cost per
Click”
4. Customer
Satisfaction 12. Transaction
Conversion Rate –
5. Take Rate – “Cost “Click to
per Acquisition” convert/percent
that pay”
6. Profit – “Rev –
Cost” 13. Return on Ad
Dollars Spent
7. Net Present Value-
“PV – Cost” 14. Bounce Rate –
“Funnel
Optimization”
8. Internal Rate of
Return – “Speed of
return” 15. Word of Mouth

15. Games as a service – Conversion Funnel
CPM Banner Impression
CPC Banner Click
Click to Register
Single Opt In Registration Complete
Customer loss
Registration Confirmation
Double Opt In
Download Client
Patch/Update
FTL First Time Login
Time Spent
Prior to
Purchase
First
CPS/Rev Share Purchase

16. Games as a service
 Forecasting and budgeting

17. Games as a service – Planning
 Forecasting and budgeting
KPI’s Spend Cycles
Marketing Budget
Categories
Source of
Acquisition

18. Games as a service – Consumer Targets

19. Games as a service – Consumer Targets
 Target market evolution
Console
Shooter
MMO
Gamer
F2P Gamer
F2P
Shooter

20. Games as a service - Messaging
Feature Affinity

21. Games as a service – Competitive SWOT
 Competitive SWOT analysis

22. Games as a service – Positioning
Great positioning statements deliver three core
elements:
1.Uniqueness factor
2.Compelling and exciting promise
3.Delivers on an unmet need

23. How to market digital games
“ADVERTISING IS LEGALIZED
LYING.”
OUR GOAL IS SIMPLE
Stop marketing a product launch and instead start
connecting consumers to the ultimate portable
H. G. WELLS
gaming platform.

24. Acquisition Sources
It attracts
OWNED
MEDIA CUSTOMERS
Media Consists of
Website, Trailers, Facebook
page, Blog, Twitter
It attracts page, Art Assets, Email list… It attracts
NEW USERS FANS
IDEA
Media Consists of Media Consists of
PAID Online ads, Print
ads, TV, Outdoor…
PR, Word of
mouth, Viral, Buzz, Incentiv
EARNED
MEDIA e Sharing… MEDIA

25. Paid vs. Owned vs. Earned Media

26. How to market digital games
“BY CREATING COMPELLING
CONTENT, YOU CAN BECOME A
OUR GOAL IS SIMPLE
CELEBRITY.”and instead start
Stop marketing a product launch
connecting consumers to the ultimate portable
gaming platform.
– PAUL GILLIN

27. Owned Media - Overview
Your Game! Trailers
Email
Game Art Assets
Apps Promotions
Facebook
SEO Website

28. Owned Media - Overview
Trailers
• Build a Youtube brand
channel.. THEY’RE FREE
 Put a clear call to action in
your trailer. What do you
want your viewer to do after
watching?
 Leverage and repurpose the
assets generated from your
trailer production

29. Owned Media - Overview
Game Art Assets
• Use your concept art as
marketing content
 Consider mapping art
releases to PR beats
 Use the best assets as
leverage to get better
editorial coverage

30. Owned Media - Overview
Social Sites
• Engage with your community,
be a participant in the
communication
 Provide them assets and
content to share with their
friends
 Reward and recognize your
evangelists

31. Owned Media - Overview
• Build separate sites that are
Website focused on the goal
(conversion, community,
information)
• Build your website in HTML
and make it mobile friendly
 If you are a conversion based
game (F2P) simplify your call
SEO to action
 Pay careful attention to how
you word your nav, headers,
buttons as they all play into
your searchability
 Frequently update your
content

32. How to market digital games
“THE REPORTS OF THE DEATH
OF ADVERTISING HAVE BEEN
OUR GOAL IS SIMPLE
GREATLYtoEXAGGERATED.”
Stop marketing a product launch and instead start
connecting consumers the ultimate portable
gaming platform.
FORRESTER RESEARCH

33. Paid Media

34. Paid Media - TV
 Advantages
 Sight, sound, motion
 95% reach - including upscale demographics
 Frequency opportunity
 High potential impact – intrusiveness & message communication
 Geographic flexibility
 Targeting via DMAs, dayparts, programs, cable systems
 Disadvantages
 High cost to achieve effective reach / frequency
 DVR skipping
 High clutter & competitive activity
 Declining broadcast & commercial audiences
 Production costs can be very high
 NOT ACCOUNTABLE

35. Paid Media - PRINT
Advantages
• Choice of broad or selective reach
• Flexibility – creative & geographic – demographic editions
• Potentially relevant editorial context
• Good for considered purchases
• Coupon & promotional applications
• Low relative cost
• Incremental impact
Disadvantages
• Selective perception / less intrusive (easy to skip ads)
• Build reach/brand slowly
• Lack of immediacy
• NOT ACCOUNTABLE

36. Paid Media - ONLINE
Advantages
• Targets interested, engaged prospects seeking what you are selling
or saying (epitome of engagement / consumer in control)
• Growing number of creative options
• High reach potential if investment sufficiently high
• Flexible rate options, e.g., CPM, CPA, CPS impressions vs. pay per
click vs. hybrid pricing model
• HIGHLY ACCOUNTABLE
Disadvantages
• Limited creative flexibility vs. other media
• High cost potential
• Email spam / new spam laws
• Complexity to plan, buy, track and optimize

37. Paid Media - ONLINE
Creative Options
• Search – largest segment of internet advertising, text based
• Display – includes display ads (flash, gif), banners, sponsorships,
popups, rich media opportunities, roadblocks
• Video– fastest growing, including commercials and preroll
• Email - customer lists & opt-in lists of different target audiences
Buying Parameters
• CPM–
– Most common payment type
– Not accountable
• CPC–
– Typical way search is sold
– Somewhat accountable
• CPA–
– Typically only offered through Ad Networks
– Highly accountable
• CPS/Rev Share-
– Mostly found in Affiliate networks
– Extremely accountable

38. Paid Media – ALTERNATIVE MEDIA
Advertorials/Cover Wraps
• Advertorials are advertising-sponsored sections in magazines or on
the web which deal with a specific editorial theme
• As we move from reach and frequency to “engagement,” advertorials
may be increasingly important channels
• If relevant to consumers, can be an effective way to engage a group
of interested consumers with advertiser
Barter
• Companies with excess inventories may find it advantageous to trade
those inventories for media time and / or space
• Media is one of the most bartered commodities
• May work directly with media (e.g. radio station may trade excess
commercial inventory for airline tickets or other things needed for
promoting or running business)
• Or through a reputable barter house which will charge a commission
based on the exchange
• Barter can also be used with non traditional sources ex.YouTube
celebrities!

39. Paid Media – ALTERNATIVE MEDIA
Buzz / Advocacy Marketing
• Based on principle of “word of mouth”
• Recruit people to use & promote product
• Social media seeding companies
Event Marketing & Sponsorships
• Growing faster than advertising, events create brand experiences and
/ or product trial (experiential marketing)
• Gamescom, PAX, TGS, E3
• Assets may include rights, media and on-site activities
• Opportunity for on site registration/acquisition
• Costs usually include: space, staffing, sponsor fees, activation &
media costs

40. Paid Media – ALTERNATIVE MEDIA
Mobile Ads
• Text Messaging (SMS), Picture Messaging (MMS) and Mobile Internet
Advertising (WAP), Referral (Tapjoy, Flurry)
• Mobile ad networks can arrange in app and display ads
Product Placement
• Used by major corporations as well as smaller companies
• Goes both ways ads in game in exchange for external exposure
• Product placement firms can arrange exposure in movies, TV programs,
magazines, etc.
Theater Screen Advertising / Cinema
• Available on national, regional and local bases
• Offerings include cinema spot advertising, slides, lobby & concession
promotions, product sampling
• Targeting by geography & selection of film types
• Special large-format commercial production may be necessary to
ensure quality

41. How to market digital games
“IF YOU MAKE CUSTOMERS
UNHAPPY IN THE PHYSICAL
WORLD, THEY TELL 6 FRIENDS.
OUR GOAL IS CUSTOMERS SIMPLE
IF YOUa product launch and instead start
MAKE
UNHAPPY the ultimate THE INTERNET,
connecting consumers to ON portable
Stop marketing
gaming platform.
THEY TELL 6,000 FRIENDS.”
- JEFF BEZOS, CEO AT AMAZON.COM

42. Earned Media

43. Earned Media – Tactics
PR
• MARKETING IS NOT PR, but PR is a part of marketing
• VOLUME – Maximize awareness with coordinated PR efforts around
beats in the Marketing and Development cycles
• CONSISTENCY – Create ways to maintain visibility between beats with
key sites that cater to your audience, such as giveaways, in-game
events, exclusive assets, even branded items
• PR for digital games is less about preview/review cycle and more about
filling content/marketing beat gaps
Community Engagement, not Management
• Incite passion in your fanbase and get them to care about the game and
its progress, and you have the most powerful form of marketing
communications: Buzz generated by genuine fans
• Participate in the conversation
• Digital games have the potential to empower the community much more
than packaged games. Embrace this and implement changes and
content based on fan sentiment

44. Earned Media – Tactics
Incentive Sharing Programs
• Also known as “Gamification”
• Engage and mobilize your core community to draw in the masses
• Incentives play on a range of desires – Access (identity), community
(belonging), heirarchy (leading), free stuff (winning)
• ISP programs work in layers
– Develop compelling content to draw in users
– Use gamification tactics to engage them
– Harness achievement and desires to drive sharing and continued involvement
• Digital games have a great advantage with ISP’s as they can use in
game items as rewards

45. Earned Media – Tactics

46. How to market digital games
OUR GOAL IS SIMPLE
APB CASE STUDY
Stop marketing a product launch and instead start
connecting consumers to the ultimate portable
gaming platform.

47. APB Case Study

48. APB Case Study - Positioning
APB Reloaded Positioning:
1.Uniqueness factor
“Deepest Customization Engine Ever”
2.Compelling and exciting promise
“Open world Cops vs. Robbers”
3.Delivers on an unmet need
“Persistent Online F2P Action game”

49. APB Case Study - Positioning
APB Reloaded Positioning:
“With the deepest customization engine ever created, APB Reloaded
delivers persistent online open world cops vs. robbers mayhem in the
first true action F2P game.”

50. APB Case Study - Positioning
APB Consumer Messaging
Key Unique Feature = Unlimited Customization
Benefit = Self Expression

51. APB Case Study - Positioning

52. Owned Media – APB Case Study

53. Paid Media – APB Case Study

54. Paid Media – APB Case Study

55. Owned Media – APB Case Study

56. Owned Media – APB Case Study

57. Earned Media – APB Case Study

58. Earned Media – APB Case Study

59. Paid Media – APB Case Study
 Multi-variant Online Creative
 Testing the following variables:
 Look and Feel (Branding)
 Urgency Message
 Virtual Goods Offer

60. Paid Media – APB Case Study
Landing Pages

61. Paid Media – APB Case Study
Creative Performance Multivariant Conversion Funnel Pacing Budget
Performance Decay
Performance by Media Vendor

62. Paid Media – APB Case Study
Transaction Data
by Vendor
Funnel Decay and Other Activity Performance by multivariant

63. Paid Media – APB Case Study
Results
1,000,000 Registered Users (200,000 since campaign)
15% increase in core KPI’s (ARPPU, % that pay)
Overall Campaign CPA sub $1

64. Steve Fowler
GM [a] list games
www.alistgames.com
sfowler@alistgames.com
626-584-4070x25