A new study by Comscore will be released on Wednesday that may give hope to social gaming startups trying to monetize users. 35% of the survey respondents said that they engage in “marketing actions” to earn virtual currency (such as watching a video, filling out a survey, etc.), and 53% said they be willing to consider marketing action for currency if given the choice.
The study was conducted by Comscore, sponsored by Offerpal, and included responses from 799 Comscore panelists who play games on social networks at least once per month. 54% of panelists play games at least daily.
This is good news for game developers who’ve had their monetization choices somewhat fenced in over the last few months. Gamers 25-34 are the most likely to earn virtual currency for marketing actions, according to the study – 71% of panelists in that age group said they are “very likely” to consider this.
The study also showed that about 30% of panelists don’t have the ability to pay cash for virtual currency. But more than half of all panelists, including a majority of those that can pay cash and a majority of those that cannot pay cash, were willing to consider marketing actions.
The bottom line of the study is that even users who have the ability to pull out their wallet want options when it comes to social games. And as long as they don’t get scammed along the way, we’re just fine with it. Watch a video in exchange for Zynga points? That’s a better deal than the credit card.
I recently read about Second Life gamers willing to translate articles in exchange for the game’s Linden Dollars.
Sponsored by Offerpal? Seriously?
offer pal who/whatever I don’t care who they are – but “keeping it fair in revenue share” should apply not just to these “super affiliates” which is what offerpal essentially are – they should think of their customers in the system – or is this report meant to mean customers are HAPPY to be ripped off by SMS and scammy offers like acai berry / dazzle teeth ? – if consumers are happy to be ripped off – I will don a black hat and become unethical – I could do with some cash – maybe my ethics are wrong and these people are right all along, would I have done better to have joined as a gator affiliate after all ?
Very informative post. but i don’t play
the marketing methods have not been “fenced”. Au contraire, after scamville, new and innovative options have been added including shopping , surveys and mechanical turk tasks.
Virtual currency is the future of economy :-)
I hate hate hate hate hate studies like this because they imply value where there isn’t.
On the surface: Yes, gamers will get points for performing marketing activities.
But: Actual engagement levels with that marketing activity? Low to non-existent.
The video is better than the credit card, but it doesn’t mean gamers will watch the video, or give a real email address.
The model is fundamentally flawed.
Good luck game guys, get what you can out of it before marketing buyers realize the roi is what it typically has been… terrible.
Of course social gaming fanatics want this, they see it as free “money”.
The real question is whether or not companies can garner any real information from these “marketing” initiatives. If it’s just a bunch of people randomly clicking survey buttons, or playing a video in another window, is there any value?
This is how bubbles form; there’s some illusion of value created at some point (to the marketeers), but not necessarily created further up the chain (to the companies paying for the marketing).
I don’t see this kind of system working in the long run. Someone, at some point has to start dropping cold, hard cash for products. And if that’s the case, why not just collect money for your game directly?
“The study also showed that about 30% of panelists don’t have the ability to pay cash for virtual currency.”
Also, not to sound harsh, but if this sample is composed of a bunch of people who can’t afford to spend a few dollars on games they love to play, how valuable is their marketing data?
In other words, if these people have no money, how are marketers going to sell them anything?
Timely findings. Atlanta-based virtual currency startup, Zeevex, was just acquired by prepaid card giant, InComm http://tinyurl.com/yhmlu26
Social Gaming is the next big thing! It all depends on how those are marketed!