To many readers, video gaming may seem like pastime reserved for a small tribe of socially-awkward folk with Vitamin D deficiencies. Yet any marketer in China should be paying attention. China’s $36 billion video gaming market is four times larger than its movie industry and a driving force behind the inclusion of eSports as a medal event in the 2022 Asian Games, and even a possible demonstration sport at the 2024 Paris Olympics as the IOC wrestles between tradition and appealing to vast new audiences.
Chinese gamers have long been stereotyped as young males spending their free time in dingy internet cafes; their gaming-contorted fingers covered in a thick film of greasy food and crumbs. The People’s Liberation Army has even attributed gaming as a major reason so many young men fail its physical tests.
Nevertheless, profiles are changing. Gender fluidity is one of the big trends happening in the China market. Just look to the runaway growth of men’s makeup, a spike in males buying lacy-style and see-through fashions on Taobao, while women are buying up suits and almost half of cars from brands typically purchased by men in other markets such as Maserati and Porsches. It seems now that gaming is no longer just the realm of males, with some estimates claiming females make up almost half of China’s 530 million gamers.
Chinese consumers’ obsession with gaming should give marketers clues into how their target markets – male and female – see the world. For many, gaming is a form of escapism from boredom during long commutes and the 9am-9pm-6 days a week work schedule in many Chinese firms. But it is also a pillar in many Chinese social lives; a convenient place to meet others with shared interests, and the closest thing many have to playing team sports, brother and sisterhood, and even a place to meet love interests.
When many marketers think of utilising games in their strategies, it revolves around gamification to connect and engage with Chinese consumers. Whilst there are some success stories, most attempts simply aren’t interesting, relevant or well-integrated into other marketing initiatives, with few gamification investments attracting more than a handful of genuinely engaged participants.
The sophistication of game developers is presenting increasingly diverse opportunities to connect with the target market during an emotional moment in their day. Female-focused mobile dating game Love and Producer saw an estimated $32 million of in-app purchases after one month of being launched. High-end cosmetics brand M.A.C. released five Honour of Kings limited-edition lipsticks targeting its 100 million+ female players – 14,000 were preordered and all five lipstick styles sold out across all sales channels within 24-hours of launching.
Combined with awareness-building initiatives through placements and partnerships, gaming is also looking to become a legitimate sales channel for goods and services. The industry has even created its own sect of KOLs who are supported by millions of live streamers, all potential endorsers of products and services.
With Beijing’s new gaming approvals freeze starting to thaw, games and their players will continue to evolve into more sophisticated marketing and sales platforms to connect with the lucrative male and female millennials, and Gen-Zs. Contact China Skinny for advice on how best to do that.
With the extended May Day Holiday (in hope of stimulating spending), there’ll be no Skinny next week, but we’ll be back the following Wednesday. Go to Page 2 to see this week’s China news and highlights.
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