Gaming in Puerto Rico
(And, yes, your grandma does it too.)
The term gaming conjures up images of young children and teenagers holed up in their rooms with eyes fixed on a console. We associate it with games like Minecraft and Call of Duty, and not with middle-aged women playing Bingo. However, it’s actually the members of our community older than thirty-five years of age that make up the majority of gamers in Puerto Rico. Furthermore, in terms of a marketing plan, this group of people can be as or more valuable than their younger counterparts, especially because of their greater purchasing power. That’s why brands should be looking beyond the gamer cliché as a niche segment and become open to connecting with other target groups through gaming. Therefore, when speaking of gaming, one should keep the following three factors in mind…
First: Your grandma is a gamer
The grandmother, the mother, the father, the kids, the aunts and uncles, the cousins… we’re all hooked. According to Scarborough data from 2020, the player universe in Puerto Rico is composed of over a million people and is broken up almost equally between men (48%) and women (52%) and between socioeconomic classes. However, the numbers are surprising when it comes to age: 59% of players on the island are older than 35 years old.
Second: The mobile phone, not the console, is the star
Most gamers don’t play in front of a dedicated console. Instead, they turn to the most common screen of all: the mobile phone. This means that gaming is ubiquitous, it’s happening everywhere and at all times. In fact, almost 40% of people say that they play five times a day or more.
Third: Solitaire beats Call of Duty
There are more adults playing Solitaire and Sudoku than high school students playing NBA Jamball or Minecraft. Actually, the board game category is the most popular, surpassing the action, fantasy, and sports categories. Preferences do shift between age groups, although many games overlap.
Generation Z tends to choose more games within the action and adventure categories (ex. Zombie Catchers and Tower Fortress). They are also known for liking arcade games, among which PacMan — ironically, the same game their parents played— is at the top of the list. Millennials split their time between zombie, sports, and trivia games, while Generation X and Baby Boomers entertain themselves with board games such as Parcheesi, Bingo or Mahjong, Sudoku, word searches, and casino games.
It is essential for brands to closely follow the gaming phenomenon in Puerto Rico. It will continue growing and being culturally relevant, not only for a niche group, but for the population as a whole. Games, mostly on mobile screens, will be instrumental in reaching target audiences and some advertisers already regard these applications as yet another media outlet that delivers Puerto Rican audiences. Now, once we understand the value of gaming as a medium, how do we succeed in shifting attention from the game to the ads? How do we get those clicks? And what are the best practices?
Learn the best practices in order for players to see your message
Let’s begin with the fact that most game applications are free, at least in their most basic versions. This does not mean they are not monetized. Game creators make a lot of money by selling ads and charging players for access to added features within games, such as extra lives, access to higher levels, or boosts. In the case of selling ads, games function similarly to television channels. The difference lies in how these ads are placed within the gaming platforms.
Dynamic vs. Static Ads
Even though the term “dynamic” may sound better than “static,” it is not necessarily true. It all depends on the use you want to give each one. Dynamic ads are more common because they are more cost-efficient and faster to place. They are not tied to the game or interrupt the action. They can be switched out easily and purchased as part of a geo-targeting tactic. On the other hand, static ads, also known as contextual ads, are completely integrated within the action of the game (like an Adidas billboard in the stadium of the game FIFA Soccer). In order to place these ads, one would have to coordinate with the game developers, and these would be difficult to change out. Given logistics and the size of the market, brands in Puerto Rico are mostly limited to dynamic ads, also known as native banner ads. In developing and placing these ads, one should be careful not to interrupt the game or cover important buttons or visuals important to the gaming experience. Ads should appear around the border of the screen and preferably with a level of transparency.
Interstitial Ads
These ads work best in games that are divided in levels, given that they take advantage of the natural pauses in action, they offer greater visual impact than banners by taking over the entire screen, and can include animations, videos, and audio. Interstitials, however, have some detractors: they bother many users who at times can’t find how to close them (like when the “X” is almost invisible) in order to continue playing. It is worth noting that a player who becomes upset with your ad is a bad potential customer for your product.
Expandable Ads
This type of ad, much like the interstitial ones, appears during the game as a banner in the corner or lower part of the screen and expands when the user interacts with it (many times by accident). Upon expanding, messages can be in graphic or video format, known as in-game video ads. It’s important to ensure, as with interstitial ads, that their placements do not interfere with gameplay during crucial moments and that the player can close them and return to the game.
Advergaming
This is perhaps the sexiest of all ad types within the gaming world. In this case, the game is developed solely for a brand and is, in itself, the ad. Naturally, there are considerations involved regarding costs and distribution.
A good strategy: the ad as a reward
Given that most games on mobile phones are downloaded for free and require users to pay for upgrades or to obtain coins or extra lives, many brands opt to reward a player in exchange for them watching an ad. This type of message tends to garner good results in terms of engagement and clicks, but one should also consider the value of what is awarded to the player.
In summary, the most important thing is to always keep the player in mind. Ads should not cover the game screen while the user is in the middle of playing or interrupt during a crucial moment. One should never take a player away from the game to the brand’s page without providing the option to return to the game easily. It is important that the “X” to close an ad is visible so that the gamer doesn’t feel tricked or forced. One should also consider the use of ad blockers, which can hide banner ads but not contextual or reward ads. Now we are ready to relevantly address a growing population, anytime and anywhere. Game on.