Gamers aren’t Gamers?
The Ask
Microsoft came to us with a desire to revamp their social media strategy for Xbox Game Pass. They knew they were a millennial social team who struggled to understand where Gen-Z was, how they valued social, what made them want to subscribe to a platform and how to not turn them off from a brand.
The Work
My partner and I utilized Global Web Index (GWI) a syndicated research tool to learn everything we could about Gen-Z, uncover unique audiences to target and then developed a wholistic marketing strategy on how to reach these gamers and be sure that their content was effective.
The Results
We spent 8 weeks developed this brief that shows some amazing tidbits:
Girls are gaming - For the first time in the history of gaming, more gamers are female than male. The stereotypes of what being a gamer used to mean have gone away. Almost all of Gen-Z is a gamer in some fashion (mobile, PC, handheld, etc.)
Gen-Z aren’t “gamers” - They don’t refer to themselves as gamers. They don’t play games because they love games, they play games to pass the time, to socialize, to meet other people, because they love puzzling, any number of reasons. Gaming is a vehicle for them to accomplish larger goals in their lives.
Gen-Z can’t be bought - When it comes to content, Gen-Z has a higher threashold than any other generation for wanting to feel seen, validated and understood before they’ll engage with your business goals. They want to form community and that community will enact business goals, but they shun brands who are transactional in nature.