Advertisers have seen digital gaming replace four hours of TV viewership from 2004 to 2005.
They represent a coveted demographic, and probably didn’t see a lot of the television advertising aimed their way last year anyway. Now, they watch even less, four hours less, according to an AdAge report.
The article discusses a Ziff Davis survey called “Digital Gaming in America” and note how the number of game-playing households grew to 76.2 million in 2005. The hard-core gamers, those who buy four or more games in a year and play 10 or more hours per week, occupy 19.8 million of those households.
In the $10 billion digital game industry, the hard-core group represents 56 percent of its revenue. And they are the ones who have ratcheted down their exposure to TV advertising by four hours a week. The more general gamer has dropped two hours from weekly TV watching from last year to 2005.
For advertisers in the markets that appeal to the two-thirds male demographic represented here, consideration should be given to placements on sites and portals feeding the gamer interest. The study notes this group doesn’t just live in the basement, though; gamers enjoy family time, going out to dine or see a movie, and seeing friends.
Television certainly isn’t going anywhere, and naysayers will point to the study’s sample of 1,500 people as being far too small to be truly representative. But for businesses that have either dismissed the Internet’s potential for their market, or haven’t spent a lot of time tweaking SEO campaigns, the holiday shopping season is fast approaching. This might be the time to explore the online world.
Potential customers already seem to be doing that.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
