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Study: Video Gamers Valuable for Advertisers

As many on Madison Avenue contemplate ways to integrate digital platforms in media allocation models, the “gamer market” is a valuable option according to BIGresearch’s Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM 10) of 15,439 consumers.

“Gamers are a diverse group of people, and 33.4% of the respondents age 14+ in our SIMM 10 play video games as a leisure time activity,” said Gary Drenik, president and CEO of BIGresearch. “Gamers come from all ethnic groups, with Hispanics and African Americans making up almost 30% (29.9%) of the gamer market - and 34% of gamers are female,” said Drenik.

Moreover, they’re serious media multitaskers, with some 41% also watching television while they’re online, according to SIMM 10.

Gamers are also much more attuned to cinema, entertainment, media and electronics, as is apparent in their online search behavior, BIGresearch said, finding that gamers regularly or occasionally search online for the following more than the overall market:

• Cars/trucks 12.7% (vs. 9.8% for the overall market)
• Movies 41.5% (vs. 28.6)
• Online entertainment 43.7% (vs. 25.5%)
• Product information/comparative shopping (non-auto) 38% (vs. 31.8%)

As for what triggers an online search for gamers, traditional media fare very well:

• The top five triggers are magazines, broadcast TV, cable TV, face-to-face communication and reading an article.
• The internet and email are next, followed by in-store promotions, newspaper and radio.

“The importance of traditional media in stimulating an online search underscores the need for marketers to develop holistic consumer-centric media plans that are based on the synergies of all medias,” said Drenik.

Other findings of interest from the video gamer analysis include those having to do with gamers from various ethnic groups. African Americans, Hispanics and Asians all index higher than White/Caucasians for the following:

• Video-gaming as a leisure activity
• Regularly researching products online before buying in store
• Researching online for the following types of products: apparel, cars/trucks, furniture, home improvement items, jewelry/watches, shoes and tire batteries/auto parts.