Casino Enterprise Management

Social Apps and the Gaming Industry

Commercial opportunities for 2012

Overview
Organisations operating in the Gaming Industry - look out! 2012 has some surprises in store for you! With different policies and legal opinion affecting all geographical market’s social media opportunities – plus the now ever-increasing competition – most organisation need to be more creative than just using Google Adwords, a ‘mouth-watering’ bonus scheme and the all too familiar accountancy led efficient tax structure.
With new markets, trends and changing consumer attitudes shaping the gaming industry in 2011, it is now possible to see how a social media strategy can work for all types of gaming organisations.

This White Paper looks at how to address Social Apps as a tool to be used by gaming organisations. We have drawn upon our own research conducted during November and December 2011, in which we gained quantitative and qualitative responses from professionals within the gaming industry. As well as this we have also used publicly available research and reliable sources of market information such as Keynote and Mintel market reports.

This Paper covers the following areas:
o Social Apps: the basics
o Consumer engagement
o Competitive Differentiation
o Retention and Life-time Value
o Return On Investment
o The Legalities and Policies relevant to the gaming sector
o Mobile Social Gaming

“…gaming has been transformed from a lonely, individually-played activity, to a universal social experience that can be shared with family and friends.” - Aliya Zaidi, ‘Social Trends for 2011’ eConsultancy

Social Apps: the basics
Social gaming results from the combination of social networks and online gaming and it refers to gaming online that involves interactive elements or content sharing between peers. Social apps are web-based games that allow social gaming to occur. In general they are features such as; profile building, making friends, exchanging messages and gifts and other player-friendly options. Texas Hold’em is a good example where if we start with traditional online poker, then add gifting, rewards, invites, profile building and an emphasis on community and friends, suddenly we have a new, exciting and interactive version.

With the recession causing many marketing budgets to be slashed, the opportunity presented by social media was compelling, mainly due to the relatively low cost of development and implementation. Another cost-efficient benefit is the ability to target a vast audience with varied demographics all under the roof of the same app…

However… the distinguishable feature of the social app industry consists of generating real money from virtual goods, services and even sometimes just to access the gameplay for enjoyment purposes. Social games within networks are free to play and rely mostly on virtual good purchases. This means that the most frequent users can potentially deposit significant amounts whilst first time users can initially discover the game for free and at some point could in the future choose to make a small payment in order to have access to a special game feature or upgrade to the next level. Many social gamers gift each other using credits they have either earned through gameplay or bought online.

Social apps have been so successful because of easy-to-use software simplicity and the viral nature of ‘friend brings friend’ within a social network environment. It is serving these specific needs that is at the core of all successful social apps. Over the course of 2011 the market has quickly become saturated with new social app developments that can satisfy needs that customers never even knew they had. This is because suddenly customers could engage with their favourite brands on a deeper level – changing the relationship permanently. The brands that have had the most success through social apps have clearly identified what customer needs they need to satisfy through the app for the future it is imperative that gaming companies start to understand their customers changing needs, gaming habits and identify the gaps, especially as the market grows.
What is it that gaming customers now demand from organisations? We know that customers now demand mobile play – mobile and tablet-browsing statistics are now finally increasing at huge rates – but what other needs could be satisfied beyond playing roulette on the bus home? As we move into a more social era the opportunities for creativity will separate the men from the boys in the gaming world.

As 97% of our respondents were already engaged with Facebook and 53% anticipating an increase in activity on this channel over the next 12 months, this White Paper will gave additional focus to the opportunities for social app development on this platform.

To view the entire whitepaper, download the PDF below. For more information, visit www.socialmediation.com.