Written by A. Karlan
As explored in Consumer Connections, gaming is experiencing an unprecedented boom in this newfound age of social distance: one that shows no signs of stopping. In fact, new research from Nielsen found that 82% of global consumers played video games and watched video game content during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, a 15% increase in gamers worldwide. People are playing, watching and blogging about games like never before, so now is a uniquely opportune time to take advantage of gaming platforms. You may personally have enjoyed playing, but now, you have the chance to create something that is not merely entertaining, but an effective marketing tool. Forging through new territory can pose an intimidating journey, but we encourage more gamers and partners to join our ranks of development, turbulent as it may be.
Make no mistake, creating a game generates tons of questions to be answered before production or full development can even begin. First and foremost of those is “What is the premise of my game?” and “Who is my main character?” As with any premise, real or fictional, the appreciation of a character depends largely on the audience’s ability to make a connection with them. You may recognize the theme of personal consumer connectivity as it appears often in my musings; this is directly because our company fully believes that same connectivity is the key that will drive e-commerce and digital culture throughout the next decade.
So in regard to character and plot creation, we say, shoot close to the heart. Who do people gravitate to in their real lives? What societal messages are people resonating with? Amongst hundreds of potential ways to answer this question, we recognize that above all, people’s hearts are tied the tightest to the ones they call family and friends, regardless of what species they may be. People love their pets. That’s actually an understatement; People are obsessed with their pets. On the surface that is an unremarkable statement, one I myself might not have paused at only a year ago, but we have uncovered just how deep the level of connection to our pets has grown in recent times.
In early March, as Americans began to accept the reality that their 2020 was going to be drastically different than the year they had imagined, 32,985 adoptable pets were welcomed into new homes during PetSmart Charities' first National Adoption Weekend event of the year, making it the most successful National Adoption Weekend since the event was initiated by PetSmart Charities and PetSmart over 25 years ago. This shows us two things: first, that demand for pet companionship is continuing to rise, likely boosted by people’s realization that their opportunities for social interaction were likely to be limited. Secondly, since these adoptions, new pet parents and their communities have night and day dedicated hundreds of thousands of social media posts raving about their cute little fur ball, cementing the concept that pet owners both new and old are crazy for their pets. This niche has grown so much in recent years that a new dating app, Tabby, is being released this fall, strictly for cat lovers. It may seem bizarrely niche, but the serious existence of such a site reveals the level to which the contemporary pet owner holds their companion in regard.
We are clearly not the only developers with an eye on pet owners’ heartstrings as other companies have begun developing pet-centric gaming. French developers, Blue Twelve Studio, are working on a PS5 launch title simply called “Stray”. As you’ve likely guessed, it stars a cat. As this and countless other examples demonstrate, the power of pets for their emotional outlet can be utilized as a key foundation for building connections in advertising or marketing design.