Gaming’s cultural significance is being overlooked by Australian marketers targeting the next generation of consumers
A massive opportunity left waning. Misfits Management Group chief commercial officer Brad Manuel examines the importance of video games in marketing strategy.
While my parents grew up talking about black and white TV changing to colour, the birth of vinyl records and their favourite movies, gamers fondly remember playing Halo, Mario, Pokemon and Sonic the Hedgehog.
Gaming has evolved significantly from these early memories. As a global income stream, the industry generated $120 billion in 2019, more than film, TV and digital music, with Australia’s 4.6 million plus gamers scoring an average daily play time of 89 minutes for males and 71 minutes for females. Its role in popular culture is apparent, from Fortnite’s Travis Scott in-game concert that drew 12.3 million simultaneous global players, to Keanu Reeves featuring as a lead character in the newly released Cyberpunk 2077 game. Gaming has well and truly become a key medium to reach the next generation of consumers.
