Dear Consumer Brands: Here’s how to Play a Role All Day in Your Customer’s Lives with Mobile Games

Watching TV shows and movies at home is no longer the preferred form of entertainment, as a study from Deloitte reveals - especially with younger generations. Today's digital consumers are increasingly gravitating towards video games and user-generated content (UGC), alongside traditional entertainment forms. This trend underscores an urgent need for brands to reconsider their advertising strategies. The traditional channels that once captured audience attention are losing their luster, making it imperative for marketing and branding professionals to explore new avenues of engagement. 

One such avenue is mobile gaming. With two billion mobile gamers globally, including nearly 200 million in the U.S. alone, the scope for brand engagement in this domain is immense. These gamers are not just playing occasionally; they're dedicating significant portions of their day to mobile games. On average, U.S. adults spend over 20 minutes daily on mobile games, with casual games like puzzles, word, and card games drawing the most engagement due to their suitability for short, frequent play sessions throughout the day. In fact, women spend an average of 26 minutes per day on casual games, rivaling the 29 minutes spent on popular platforms like Instagram. 

This highlights the substantial opportunity for brands to embed themselves into the daily lives of consumers, connecting with them during moments of enjoyment and relaxation.

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Mobile Games are an All-Day Companion

With an average session length of 4-5 minutes, mobile games provide numerous touchpoints throughout the day. This frequent, yet brief engagement allows brands to continuously interact with their audience in a non-intrusive manner. Those brands that understand the playing behaviors of their desired consumer segments can strategically choose their mobile games presence. 

While exact numbers vary slightly across studies, there are some noticeable patterns in mobile gaming behaviors. For instance, one of the most popular times to play is while watching TV. Wealthier gamers, particularly those with household incomes above $100,000, are more likely to multitask, often playing games while watching TV, a trend seen in 75% of this demographic. In contrast, only 64% of gamers with a household income below $25,000 exhibit this behavior.

Mobile gamers are also more than twice as likely to indulge in their gaming habit at night, just before bed, rather than in the morning. This insight offers a prime window for brands to capture attention when consumers are most relaxed and receptive. Additionally, mobile gaming is more prevalent when consumers are unwinding at home, with 70% of women and 62% of men likely to play in this setting. Conversely, men are more inclined to play during work hours (21%) compared to women (15%). Break times at work or school also emerge as popular gaming intervals.

Understanding these nuances in mobile gaming behaviors empowers brands to position their marketing efforts at the most effective times and within the most appropriate gaming contexts. This strategic alignment ensures that brands can seamlessly integrate into the daily routines of their target audiences, enhancing brand recall and engagement in a way that traditional advertising channels may not.

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Leverage Mobile Games for Your Marketing Outcomes

Consumer Brands across sectors like Quick Service Restaurants (QSR), Food & Beverage, Retail, and e-commerce, can ingeniously leverage mobile gaming touchpoints throughout their target audience’s days to drive real-world outcomes. Here are five real-world examples illustrating how consumer brands can leverage casual mobile games to achieve their marketing and branding goals:

1. Work Break Gaming leads to a QSR visit: Imagine a player engaged in a puzzle game on a work break shortly before lunchtime. A QSR brand can integrate into this mobile gaming time and offer a limited-time lunch offer. The player, influenced by this timely and contextually relevant promotion, decides to visit the nearby outlet or place an online order, effectively converting game time into a dining decision.
2. Morning Beverage Boost with Food & Beverage Brands: A player start their day with a casual word game alongside their morning coffee. A coffee brand appears in the game, offering a virtual voucher for a discount on their next purchase. This not only reinforces the brand’s association with morning routines but also encourages a purchase, aligning the player's gaming experience with their real-world coffee enjoyment.
3. Newsletter Sign-ups with In-Game Rewards while watching TV: An eCommerce brand can incentivize players to sign up for their newsletter by offering in-game bonuses or exclusive content. For instance, while playing a casual game while watching TV, a prompt appears encouraging sign-up in exchange for a special in-game item or a discount on their next purchase. This not only helps in building a mailing list but also strengthens customer-brand engagement.
4. eCommerce Incentives During Evening Relaxation: As players unwind in the evening with a casual game, they can experience new items from their favorite eCommerce brand in the game. This encourages them to complete the purchase in a relaxed state of mind, seamlessly blending gaming with shopping. Presenting exclusive in-game offers or discount codes, maybe for a product that the player has recently viewed or added to their wishlist, can further incentivize purchases.
5. Referral Rewards During Commute: For players engaged in mobile games during their commute, a consumer brand might introduce a feature where players can earn in-game rewards or real-world discounts by referring friends to the brand. This peer-to-peer marketing tactic effectively broadens the brand's reach, turning gaming time into a productive referral opportunity.

In each of these scenarios, the key is the seamless integration of brand messaging into the mobile gaming experience, ensuring that the promotion feels natural and adds value to the player's day. By tapping into these specific moments, brands can drive meaningful engagement and achieve tangible outcomes, from boosting sales to expanding their customer base.

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Get the Timing Right with Your Own Mobile Game

Having a bespoke mobile game offers consumer brands an unparalleled opportunity to integrate themselves into the daily lives of their customers. Unlike other forms of in-game advertising, which can feel like an unwelcome interruption, a fully branded mobile game allows brands to position themselves precisely as they wish, creating a seamless and enjoyable part of the player's day. This approach transforms brand engagement from a disruptive element into an intrinsic part of the entertainment, enhancing the user experience while simultaneously achieving marketing objectives.

With Tabbler, we’ve created the ideal offering for brands looking to harness the power of mobile gaming. Our All-in-One Service Solution enables brands to confidently tap into the global gaming phenomenon, ensuring their message reaches the right audiences in a way that is engaging, relevant, and genuinely entertaining. 

Tabbler's expertise includes:

• Detailed Data on Gamer Segments and Habits: Tabbler's access to comprehensive insights on various gamer segments, blending proprietary data with a wealth of external sources, enables precise targeting. This ensures that your brand's game will captivate the exact audience you aim to engage, at the right time to unlock your branding and marketing goals.
• Custom Game Concept Creation: Our service begins with crafting a game concept that resonates with your audience's preferences and your branding and marketing goals. This ensures that your mobile game is not just a game, but uses the right gaming mechanisms to enable real-world outcomes.
• End-to-End Service Package: Tabbler offers a comprehensive package covering everything from game development to launch and scaling. This end-to-end service is designed to be accessible and impactful, even for brands with no prior experience in gaming. Our pay-per-install model is what we call fair pricing: You only pay when consumers download and play your game.

Choosing Tabbler means not just entering the gaming space, but doing so with a strategy that is tailored, data-driven, and focused on creating meaningful connections with your audience. Let’s create a game-changing brand adventure for your audience, together!

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Further Resources:

• Sorry, TV: Video games and user-generated content are now the top forms of entertainment by Fast Company
• Mobile Gaming: Just A Quick Fix? by Statista

Leveling Up Your Holiday Strategy: Gaming’s Role in Reaching and Engaging Audiences by Advertising Week