By Pamela García
Community, interaction and engagement are three key words to define the communication phenomenon around video games, an industry which has experienced incredible growth in recent years, only to be further spurred by the pandemic. In Latin America, 66% of users play games on their devices on a daily basis.
Some audience behavior insights for brands to take into consideration:
● Top reasons Latin American users play mobile games include fun/enjoyment, and relaxation.
● 87% of users in the region prefer to watch video ads for extra lives, rather than paying money
● Typical gaming sessions occur during the early evening (5 pm – 8 pm) and 41% of both males and females are spending one hour or more per day playing mobile games.
Latin America is a US$5 billion gaming market where mobile has already cornered a majority share of the market representing 41% of the total. By the end of 2021, it is expected that mobile will become the predominant force in the gaming market with 51% of the market share. The LATAM region is actually the second fastest growing region for gaming worldwide after Southeast Asia, and since the pandemic, entertainment at home has only benefited in comparison to other industries. That said, countries such as Brazil and Mexico represent a wide range of opportunities for brands and advertisers to reach their target audiences both on mobile and on live streamingplatforms.
Examples such as 'Bandersnatch' from the Netflix series Black Mirror –its first ever interactive content–, or the opening of Super Nintendo World’s attractions at Universal Studios Japan can be seen as a new window for gaming to reach target audiences on a large scale, along with driving cultural awareness of its products and characters. Luxury car brand BMW sponsoring Club Infinity Esports –the most relevant esports organization in Mexico and Spanish-speaking Americas, and the collaboration with major fashion brands like the Louis Vuitton x League of Legends campaign are just a few examples of brands entering this new arena.
Enter esports, video games that are played in a highly organized competitive environment ranging from popular, team-oriented multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBAs), to single player first person shooters, to survival battle royales, to virtual reconstructions of physical sports. Esports arise at the point where passions for interactive and sports industries intersect. Mass championships and competitions can be compared to world soccer matches, with team sponsorships and media alliances as common practices. But it can also be compared to a Super Bowl with more than 200 million spectators.
From a content perspective, the possibilities are endless. Prominent figures such as Elded, Pokimane, and Gauleshave signed exclusive contracts with platforms such as Twitch, to share their passion and talent with communities. In this context, these partnership programs enhance monetization, embedding advertising and sponsorships, while consolidating the development of the industry through these personalities. Traditional sports companies such as the NBA are reaching new audiences through these personalities and, the first half of 2021, it was co-streamed live in Portuguese by Gaules, a Brazilian Twitch partner and considered as one of the biggest content creators in the world, for hundreds of thousands in that market.
Brazil has not only adopted esports as one of the most relevant markets globally but also because of its estimated audience of 81.2 million players, a population that last year generated revenues of $1.6 billion. Furthermore, Brazilians are more into mobile gaming since 70% of the online population in Brazil plays on mobile devices vs. 61% of the total online population in the U.S. Also, Brazilian mobile gamers are more likely to identify themselves as core gamers since they’re more likely to play competitive mobile games, including the strategy and shooting genre.
Events such as the Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLOL) have been thriving in the local esports industry in Latin America for several years, and turning into new opportunities for brands to reach cord-cutters and cord-nevers audiences, who reject traditional media and advertising.
In this context, Nestlé’s KitKat was announced as CBLOL’s latest sponsor for the 2021 season of the championship, joining global brands such as Gillette, Red Bull, and Mastercard in an effort to get closer to Gen-Z. Even traditional banking companies have joined these efforts, with local banks such as Itaú Unibanco becoming one of the main sponsors for LOUD, the leading esports organization in this market –and the most prominent globally in terms of conversation during the first half of 2021, according to Twitter. LOUD players are getting attention on national campaigns such as soccer players.
As a result of traditional industries improving how they reach new audiences, media outlets in Latin America are also joining in, creating more sophisticated esports and gaming culture websites covering investments in the market, advertising campaigns, and best practices.
The question of how and when the huge wave of gaming and esports content will overtake traditional ads depends on how quickly brands and advertisers are willing to explore the possibilities. It’s clear that Latin America is at an important moment of development and, while there are global strategies that are being reflected locally, there are also regional opportunities for brands and advertisers to use the business potential and support the ecosystem, opening a new generation of creative communications resources. Dialogue is here to help brands take advantage of this very virtual, very real new world.