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Recently several of my clients have been very focused on short term ROI. I can understand, especially with our current industry stagnation.I blame Mobile gaming! The rise of short-term metrics, particularly in mobile game marketing, has become a dominant focus and was the only way it worked up until Apple changed the IDFA access. Metrics like return on advertising spend (ROAS) and user acquisition (UA) ROI have taken precedence, overshadowing traditional brand-building efforts.While short-term metrics provide immediate feedback and guide decision-making, they often neglect the long-term sustainability of games-as-a-service and free-to-play models. Brands risk overlooking the value of brand affinity, impressions, community and share of voice, crucial for establishing a lasting presence in the industry.The reliance on purely attributable marketing spend, common in mobile gaming, has its limitations. While it offers precise measurement of ROI (sometimes), it fails to account for the broader impact of marketing activities.This myopic focus on short-term ROI can lead to detrimental consequences in the long run. By neglecting brand-building efforts, companies miss out on opportunities to cultivate player loyalty and differentiate themselves in saturated markets. A prime example is the mobile gaming sector, where mimicking successful titles without establishing brand identity often results in short-lived success and vulnerability to competitors with established brands.Short-term ROI-driven strategies undermine brand perception and price sensitivity. Brands that prioritize immediate returns over long-term value struggle to command premium pricin. Apple's success with the iPhone, despite premium pricing, exemplifies the power of brand equity in mitigating price sensitivity and sustaining profitability.So, how can marketers strike a balance between short-term metrics and long-term success? It requires a shift towards evidence-driven marketing strategies that acknowledge the value of brand spending. Rather than dismissing brand-building efforts due to their non-attributable nature, marketers should leverage data to establish correlations between marketing activities and desired outcomes.While attributing direct ROI to brand spend may seem challenging, adopting a breadcrumb approach can provide valuable insights. By identifying correlated metrics and isolating variables with significant effects, marketers can build a full funnel approach. Show your performance at each step your consumer goes through and optimize them.While short-term metrics offer immediate gratification, they must be complemented by long-term brand-building efforts to ensure sustained success particularly for F2P and GaaS. Marketers must embrace data-driven strategies that strike a balance between short-term ROI and long-term brand equity, ultimately driving profitability and sustained healthy game communities.

Short term ROI

Let’s talk about video game subscription services.Ok let me see if I can count them all.. we have:Playstation Plus Xbox Game Pass Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Apple Arcade Google Play Pass Netflix Games GeForce Now Amazon Luna Stadia… now defunct Humble Choice EA Play Ubisoft +&nbsp; What did I forget? That is exhausting. Sounds similar to Television subscription services. Is this good for consumers? Is it good for developers? I can see how it could be good for the sub companies if they get enough subscribers.&nbsp;At least it doesn’t seem to be going the way of music subscriptions where really there is almost a monopoly with Spotify. With no choice both artist and consumers eventually lose.I’m conflicted as to whether these subscription services are good for consumers and developers. I can see obvious gamer benefits like: affordability, choice and exposure to new games. While the downsides, at least initially are low: lack of ownership, re-occurring subscription fees, too many services to subscribe to.&nbsp;For developers I think the upside is limited. With control comes power. These services, as they get more powerful will gate revenue. The ugly comparison is what Spotify has done to the music industry’s artists ability to directly monetize their content. Effectively now artists are forced to put their content on Spotify for extremely low revenue mostly just as a marketing tool to get fans and then try and monetize through live shows.Small development teams need funding to build their games and if they make a deal with one the of subscription services to fund development costs I assure you they are doing at the expense of potential upside if they make a hit.&nbsp;So where is the win win? Xbox Game Pass has been a success for Microsoft. They have announced over 25 million subs so gamers see the value. Do most of the developers on Game Pass feel like it was a good choice?&nbsp;#XboxGamePass #Subscriptions CHAT GPT VERSION What is the future of Game Subscription Services and are they ultimately good or bad for devs and players? It's hard to ignore the proliferation of gaming subscription services. The list seems never-ending: from established players like PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass to newcomers such as Netflix Games and Apple Arcade. Don’t forget: Nintendo Switch Online, Google Play Pass, GeForce Now, Amazon Luna, Humble Choice, EA Play and Ubisoft +. With the ever-expanding array of choices, we need to consider whether this is a boon or bane for both consumers and developers. I think gamers are have mixed feelings. On the one hand, these subscription services bring affordability and a buffet of gaming choices, introducing them to new experiences they might have never encountered otherwise. However, they also usher in some disconcerting aspects, such as the lack of ownership, the constant drain of recurring subscription fees, and the seemingly endless number of services to keep track of. Much like the music subscription industry, the gaming landscape could be heading down a path where consumers have fewer and fewer options. With all the M&amp;A and consolidation recently, the risk lies in letting a single company dominate the scene. Take Spotify and what it has done in music, where both artists and consumers end up with a raw deal. While we've yet to reach that point in the gaming sphere, it's crucial to see how game companies keep gobbling each other up. For developers, the outlook is somewhat bleak. With control comes power, and as these subscription services gain more clout, they are likely to dictate revenue terms. A concerning analogy can be drawn with what Spotify has done to musicians' ability to monetize their content directly. Artists are now compelled to use Spotify primarily as a marketing tool to gather fans and then attempt to make money through live shows. If the only viable channel to gamers is through a subscription service will all game devs be forced to inject massive MTX systems into their games to survive or be content with the up front guarantees from the sub operators? For smaller game development teams, securing funding for their projects is paramount. While making a deal with a subscription service might be a lifeline for development costs, it comes at the expense of potential windfall gains if their game turns into a blockbuster. So where does the balance lie? Take Xbox Game Pass, for instance, which has seen immense success for Microsoft, amassing over 25 million subscribers. Gamers evidently see the value in it. But what about the developers? Do they feel it was a wise choice? The truth is that the gaming world is still navigating through the uncharted waters of these subscription services, and the scales have yet to settle. It's a complex equation with no definitive answer. What do you all think? Will we become similar to TV or even worse, the music industry? Or will sub-services remain a minor part of the game pie? #XboxGamePass #Subscriptions #GamingIndustry

Gaming Subscrition Services

How do you decide which game features to include in your communication strategy? Well, I’m a huge Baseball fan so you sort it out on the TURF of course. Inevitably every time I ask a dev team to tell me about their game, I get a laundry list of features. Of course, they love the game they are making and could not imagine other people not wanting to hear all about it. But when it comes to having the right message at the right time to convert that potential player into buying or installing you only have a short amount of time to convince them and thus only a couple of the features you can communicate. The TURF at Dodger Stadium (my favorite team) is immaculate! Meticulously manicured and cared for. The grounds crew have painstakingly worked to keep that “surface-layer” of the field so beautiful it’s hard to take your eyes off it even though there is so much more beyond that first couple of inches of grass. Yes, your game is deep and can satisfy players of multiple levels but just like the TURF at Dodger stadium we marketers (your grounds-crew) need to manicure it and focus on that “surface-layer” to maximize player conversion. Well maybe that analogy didn’t work exactly how I wanted it to. &nbsp; TURF in this instance stands for = TOTAL UNDUPLICATED REACH and FREQUENCY analysis. It is the potential impact that determines the right combination of game features communicated in a marketing message to maximize a player action (conversion). It simply tests a list of features to show how combinations of each feature lift purchase/install percentage. People can only take in so much information about your game before there is diminishing returns, so the TURF study usually provides the 2-4 most important messages to combine in your marketing to maximize results. This quantitative analysis helps provide focus to your marketing creative teams when determining image and copy for your ads. It also helps provide non-biased data to share with the development team to help them understand what is most important to communicate about their game to maximize conversion. Below you will see an example of a TURF study my team did for a Mobile game that never came out of soft launch based on the Avatar license. From that analysis we had 4 features we could test in our UA to maximize conversion. This was immensely important to our soft launch UA campaign and greatly reduced our CPI in key territories.

Turf Analysis

Your Community Engagement Strategy Centers Around Providing ValueIn my conversations with various partners, predominantly game developers, a common sentiment emerges: the challenges of building, growing, and effectively engaging with a community can often feel overwhelming. Many developers express concerns that community engagement detracts from their core focus on game development.This opinion comes from a belief that every interaction with the community must involve groundbreaking content or exclusive announcements. However, I have found that most of these teams are overthinking it.Engaging with your community doesn't always necessitate unveiling new features or trailers. While fresh announcements undoubtedly generate excitement, basic interactions can yield significant results, measured by impressions, engagement, and retention. Your community is made up of individuals who share common interests and passions; simple engagements can foster strong connections and loyalty.Content marketing can be a powerful tool for community engagement. I teach my students at USC that there is a lot to learn from studying Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Look people need to feel like they are getting value from the time they spend in your communities. But value can come from lots of places. Just look at the middle of Maslow’s pyramid and you will see there are all sorts of low lift content that can be created to foster engagement like:&nbsp;1. Recognition and Appreciation: Regularly acknowledge and celebrate your community's contributions, whether through shoutouts, spotlight features, or fan art showcases. Recognizing their efforts fosters a sense of belonging and encourages further engagement.2. Respect and Inclusion: Cultivate an inclusive environment where all community members feel valued and respected. Encourage diverse perspectives and ensure that everyone's voice is heard, fostering a sense of belonging and mutual respect.3. Information Sharing: Keep your community informed about the latest developments, but also provide educational content, behind-the-scenes insights, and developer profiles. Transparency breeds trust and enhances community investment in your project.4. Drama and Engagement: While drama should be approached cautiously, fostering healthy discussions and debates can energize your community. Encourage constructive feedback and facilitate meaningful interactions to keep the community engaged and invested in your project's success.By incorporating these principles into your content marketing strategy, you can create meaningful and sustainable engagement with your community. Remember, value can manifest in various forms, from exclusive announcements to genuine interactions and everything in between.

Re-evaluating your community strategy

So you have a game you want to launch. Your dev team has been working hard on an interactive entertainment masterpiece (at least that is what the EP is telling you). It's your job, as Publishing/Marketing lead, to define who is in your competitive set. But how many competitors should you choose and what should you research on each?You can quickly go overboard with too many competitors being analyzed if you don’t have a structure to follow. Here is a method I have used with my publishing teams to help focus. We try and define competitors in buckets based on how similar they are to our game. We usually define 3 buckets and limit each to three games (nine total analyzed). Think of them as concentric circles (as illustrated in the picture below for Marvel Strike Force) where the core is your most similar competitors and each ring out is less similar but relevant. As you move out from the center the level of research and analysis is less.Here are the categories we have defined:1. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Primary Core Competitors – These three games are the most similar to yours. In most instances, they will share genre, platform, business model, and most importantly – target audience definition. For your primary core competitors, you will want to be exhaustive in your research. You need to know everything about these games in order to properly differentiate and market to their player base2. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Product Category Competitors – Normally there are a few games that are in your genre that didn’t make it into the primary core three. For these, put them into this bucket. For this bucket, you are looking for games that suck the wind out of the genre as a whole but are markedly different than yours on multiple levels. Research macro trends for these games. When do they come out, what are their main marketing strategies and messages? Don’t need to drill as far down into these three3. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Platform Category Competitors – Typically these are big games that are “events” on the platform you will launch on. You may be launching a FPS on PlayStation but if the next GTA is also launching on PlayStation near your launch you need to be prepared. Make sure your team is tracking the essentials on these games – dates, marketing tactics, co-op details etc.&nbsp;For the Primary Core Competitors I like to have my team think deeply about how we compare on multiple fronts. Usually doing a SWOT analysis for each of the three is a good way to understand where you can differentiate. Knowing your strengths compared to their weaknesses is helpful when constructing your GTM plan. Taking it one step further is doing a TOWS strategic exercise which turns a SWOT into actionable strategies against each competitor!

How to Define a Competitive Set

So I hear these two terms used interchangeably quite often and think we need to be clear on the differences , While they share many similarities one is usually a sub-component of the other. The best way to think of it is time window. A launch plan is focused on a shorter time frame where you are focused on all of the marketing elements around the game going live. A Go-to-Market (GTM) plan usually provides strategy for a much longer time period. Usually, a Launch Plan is a part of a GTM plan. 1. Go-to-Market (GTM) PlansThink of your GTM Plan as your gaming strategy guide. It's your roadmap to enter and sustain in the market. We're talking about identifying your target gamers, finding the perfect battlegrounds (platforms), and gearing up with the right weapons (marketing tactics). Market analysis, check. Value proposition, double-check. It's your big-picture strategy to conquer the gaming realm. 2. Key GTM ComponentsMarket Analysis: Scope out the competition and understand your players' needs. SWOT/TOWS Target Audience: Know your gamers, slice and dice them into segments. DEMO/GEO/BEHAVORIAL Value Proposition: Shout out loud why your game is the ultimate gaming quest. BRAND DNA/POSITIONING/USP’s Pricing Strategy: Price it right – whether you're the loot crate king or the free-to-play wizard. MONETIZATION STRATEGY Distribution/Marketing Channels: Choose your portals wisely; where your gamers hang out. STEAM/XBOX GAMEPASS/TWITTER/TIKTOC Marketing and Sales Strategy: Get ready to shout your game's name from the mountaintops. COMMUNICATION STRATEGY 3. Launch Plans UnleashedNow, let's talk about the Launch Plan – your game's grand entrance. This is where you go all-in, unleashing the hype and excitement. Think of it as the detailed battle plan leading up to D-day (or Launch Day). From timelines to promotions, it's the nitty-gritty tactical maneuvers to make your game a sensation. 4. Elements of a Launch PlanTimeline: Plot your journey from teaser trailers to the big reveal. Consumer Facing Communication Strategy: Craft messages that'll make your gamers hit the "Play Now" button. Tactical Plans: What your making and where your spending and&nbsp; Monitoring and Feedback: Keep an eye on the scoreboard – player feedback is your XP.While GTM Plans and Launch Plans have their unique roles, they're like the ultimate co-op combo. Your Launch Plan is your character in action, executing the broader GTM strategy seamlessly. It's the synergy that turns your game from just another title to the next gaming legend. GTM and Launch Plans are different but complementary. Know which one you are building🎮✨