gaming the social: community, measurement & monetization

Gaming the SocialCommunity, Measurement & Monetization

February 9, 2011

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Hellooverview

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Joost

Introductionswhat we do

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SuperData Researchindependent research providerspecialized in digital goods measurementmulti-year seed funding in 2010syndicated reportingconsulting servicesclient base: brand owners, developers, retailers, publishers, VCs, and payment providers

Methodologyhow we do it

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Community

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Online Dynamics different online communities show similar behaviors

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User-Generated Content

maps created by unique user

Online Discussion

share of posts by unique user (%) avg. $ spent per transaction

Virtual Goods Spending

Three different studies,...

...same community dynamics

EVE Onlineapprox. 360,000 users20K have been a subscriber for 8 years (!)Estimated annual revenue: $25-$35MM

Skype560 MM users124 MM monthly actives (6.5%)8.1 MM paying (1.45%)$100 MM IPO filing (Aug 2010)

Successful Examplescommence emulation!

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Similarities help people help you

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Reward “Viral Whales”• Community leaders • Product evangelist• Noob trainer• Largest share of audience passive, reactive

Household fundamentals• Prepaid --> gifting

Measurement

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Measure Why?identify key audience segment asap

Overview

Go beyond “game development vs analytics” discussion• Not mutually exclusive

General insights are generally unhelpful• Understanding your own customer is key

Virality constantly under pressure • “rocket-ship growth is gone” (Playdom)

Internal: Optimization• Audience segmentation• Revenue drivers, KPI

External: Transparency• Funding• Age of licensing

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Measure What?both industry-wide and game-specific metrics

Overview

Traffic: Daily, Monthly UsersChannelsViralityMonetizationDemographicsAudience SegmentationEngagementROIA/B Testing

Lifetime Value ARPPUARPUPrice PointsSeasonalityTime of DayFrequencyNumber of Invites SentReceived...

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Measure What?, cont’didentify valuable differences in user behavior

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Geography Lifetime (days)

Avg. Expenditure per Purchase

Frequency (Avg. Number of Purchases)

Germany

Western Europe total

99.81 $12.51 41.18

122.38 $14.25 20.3

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By number of transactions By $ sales

Virtual Item Sales by Time of Day (hourly)

Measure How?ghost in the shell

Overview

Availability of tools• Google Analytics, Kontagent, Live Gamer, MixPanel, Omniture• Custom: e.g. Toga (Large Animal Games)

Knowledge gap: need for designated driver• Top programming talent generally assigned on front-end,

product-focused• Need to invest in, and train monetization directors & analysts• Integrate into production process, communicate with

community manager

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Monetization

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Monetizationconvincing people to pay

Tailor service to your customer• Segmentation: upgrades for

newbies, vanity for the elite• Value offering: premium

services for high rollers• Engagement: bundled

specials, seasonality • Preferences: monitor

behavior and needs

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Share by Unit SalesShare by Revenue (FB credits)

No68.6%

Yes31.4%

“Have you ever received a prepaid game card as a gift?”

“My mom would rather buy them in the store than online with a credit card.”

Payment Mixallow customers to pay the way they want

Overview

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Almost $1 billion of virtual good sales transacted via alternative payment methods

Couleur Locale (mobile)• Europe ~10%• North America: 1%

Outlook

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Outlookwhat we think 2011 will bring

Overview

Arms race

Age of Licensing

Beyond FB

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Thanks!

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@_SuperData

joost@SuperDataResearch.com