GroupM report suggests consumer behaviour for online gaming shaped by watch time on social media platforms

Essence, global data and measurement-driven media agency, a part of GroupM, released a new report titled “Gaming in the 2020s: Reach, rewards and the new meditation” which touched various aspects of the relevance of gaming for brands.

2020 saw a huge boom in both the entertainment and gaming sector, with pandemic restricting outdoor activities. While investment has been on the rise, thus the pattern of consumer behaviour has changed drastically as well. Essence took note of that and in its report, suggested that gaming is not a 'channel' but a form of entertainment, around which a unique set of consumer behaviours are built.

The report further delved deep into the understanding of gaming interest behaviour that extends beyond just playing as gaming has been moving in the direction of a whole ecosystem of content which involves video streaming to publisher content, from subreddits to live esports events.

The exponential growth of online gaming has also much to do with the fact that increased watch times on platforms like Twitch, YouTube and even Facebook brings the whole world of content to the fore while leveraging a fine audience base - something that online gaming platforms have cashed in on quite efficiently.