Company Profile - KidsKnowBest

How toy companies can navigate the gaming space

Ed Hallinan Rhodes, strategy director at KidsKnowBest, discusses how gaming is fundamental when it comes to reaching kids, as the category outstrips any other interest category for the demographic.

Six years ago, 47% of 8-11 year olds could be found playing games online, a figure which rose to 78% at the height of the pandemic before settling at 72% in the most recent study. On YouTube - the prevailing platform for this audience - gaming outstripped any other interest category twofold.

As lead strategist at a specialist kids’ and family marketing agency, I hear from children of all ages on a daily basis, and their feedback forms the basis of all our thinking. Notwithstanding the passion they have for gaming, it’s the sheer accessibility and versatility of the medium - whether participating or watching gaming-related content - that has embedded it as a daily touchpoint for the majority.

Consequently, it can be no exaggeration to suggest that, for most brands in the youth marketing realm, gaming should be considered fundamental to the marketing mix. Yet successfully navigating this virtual landscape and the wider Metaverse is not without its challenges; especially picking the right moment to start. perspective.

Speaking about Gucci Town on Roblox, one girl, aged 15, pointed out: “Most of the people that are playing Roblox can’t afford Gucci; most of them are my age or younger, so it doesn’t make sense. Roblox and Gucci just doesn’t mix.” Meanwhile, a boy, aged 10½, gave his thoughts on Nickverse on Roblox: “It has many different games. There's this game where you can go into the Nickelodeon world, make characters, there's a lot of different things to do.”

We’re beginning to see a move away from experimentation in favour of pragmatism and realism, whether toward tangible revenue opportunities or sustainable audience growth. Yet, while the idea of mass adoption of the wider Metaverse remains somewhat cagey, the virtual gaming subsect is on the rise.

Platforms such as Fortnite, Minecraft and the ubiquitous Roblox are seeing unparalleled growth, and while the platforms themselves will tout the cultivation of a 13+ and Gen Z audience, the truth is that kids have been - and continue to be - the driving force of this corner of the Metaverse. It’s clear that brands are on the right path. It’s rare that gaming - more specifically, Roblox - doesn’t find its way into a client brief or chemistry session.

The number of kids playing Roblox daily recently hit over 60m; as a tool to reach them, no-one else can match it. But herein lies the second challenge; determining the level of investment (both time and money) required to make an impact.

Diversifying into new territories can seem daunting, exacerbated by calls to act fast and go long. So does that mean it’s time to rip up the YouTube rulebook and start investing in a complex network of branded Roblox Worlds? Not for most brands making their foray into the virtual world. Because while gaming is crucial to the media mix, there are multiple ways to navigate the space, across myriad platforms. While I’d usually be the first to hang my hat on the proverbial ‘long term strategy’ coat hook, this is the one time I’d encourage brands to employ more ‘of-the-moment tactics’; campaign by campaign, testing and learning as they go.

As ever, this argument is best articulated through the voices of the kids we speak to every week, who are wily to brands vying for their attention. One boy, 12, observed: ““I have seen a lot of companies creating games. There was an H&M one and one for a shaving company. That was weird… it gives me the idea that Roblox is desperate for money.”

Yet, get it right and the engagement potential is huge; in fact, 60% of kids would like more companies to get involved. So the appetite for collaborations is there, though with a heavy caveat: this is the kids’ space, and brands have a responsibility to respect that.

“They have made a game called Sonic Speed Simulator but now it feels like every update is something to make you get a new skin [or] spend more money,” explained another boy, aged 12. As encouraging as that majority statistic may be, it would be wise to keep one eye firmly on the 40% who want brands to leave them alone, because at its heart, gaming is an experience, a way to play, relax and connect with mates. To resonate effectively, brands need to ensure they are adding to that experience.

Advertising on Roblox is a new frontier where you can interact with consumers live, in game, unlike pausing halfway through a podcast to hear 30 seconds of ad content or impatiently waiting to skip through the unskippable. Brands can enhance the experience, rather than disrupt it: perhaps some new skins for your avatar? Immersive concert experiences? Opportunities to interact with your favourite YouTuber in-game? Or earning your spot on the catwalk?

From this we can learn two prerequisites for the creation of Roblox worlds: one, if you create something, it had better be good. Two, it should be made to last.

This is where the preference for a tactical approach over the long term becomes clear. To explain why, we first need to understand how games are discovered, played and shared. Children tell us they visit the platform casually if they and their friends are bored, as they know there are many different games to choose from. The Roblox games library is rapidly and continually expanding. Although brands can pay-to-play through sponsorship and promotion, realistically, kids are flicking through games as quickly as they scroll their TikTok feed. This in itself presents a problem. New games need staying power - can your brand afford to be dropped as easily as it is found? To have a fighting chance means constantly evolving in-game features and innovations, a huge investment of time and expertise.

In some circumstances this will make sense, especially for lifestyle-oriented brands where there’s a natural synergy between real life and in-game. The idea of kitting out your avatar with on-trend brand skins has its own appeal, sustaining momentum through a series of drops, each one a mini-PR moment in itself. But this is trickier for toy companies, than say a brand like Nike that kids see around them all the time. While the appeal for brand collabs sits at 60%, we see lower numbers when looking specifically at toy companies. [Nougat (KidsKnowBest); ITM Buzzpolls; 323 respondents; UK kids 6-13; Feb 2023]. Without the lifestyle appeal, the emphasis on gameplay is crucial. It becomes essential to keep games fresh and constantly refreshed, or risk shedding players.

When it comes to development, a helpful exercise might be to ruminate over the following:

• E xpertise: Can you make it? Can you evolve it over time?

• Goal: Do you have a vision for in three months, one year, even two years from now? How will your game shift current brand perceptions?

• Mitigation: Do you have a solid launch plan?

What’s the cut off if the game doesn’t land?

Assessing risk is crucial to establishing the viability of such significant investment, despite the potential rewards. But this doesn’t mean it’s Game Over for your gaming plan. There are numerous ways to engage in this arena without the need to build a world at all.

Alternate routes include:

• Integrated: working with platforms and developers to build in-game experiences. Brands have garnered impressive reach by leveraging existing Worlds, without the need to invest in origination and development - e.g. Minions integrated within Adopt Me! at 16m visits/day. This is a clear way to guarantee a brilliant experience, without the development risk and hassle.

• In-game: advertising within gaming environments through digital OOH and 3D character ads. In-game innovations are now

en vogue, a case-in-point being a Lego Group integration within the Sims FreePlay App, which enabled gamers to unlock Lego Dots merchandise within their Sims universe - a natural fit that didn’t require a brand-new game. DOOH is evolving at an exciting pace. What started with in-game billboards has now morphed into interactive character ads: what better way to enhance the audience experience than interacting, in real time, via digital, walking, talking 3D characters?

• Talent: partnering with leading video creators in the gaming space. With YouTube being the most watched social platform across all ages, and talent-led content driving the majority of views, brands can have a hand in kids’ online gaming interactions without the need for any development at all. An added benefit here is that you avoid the risk of promoting bespoke experiences that feel disingenuous to the subscriber base. At KidsKnowBest, we’ve seen great success through the selection of YouTube gamers who we know resonate with our audience, working with them to introduce subscribers to toys and franchises, in a way that extends the experience. Instead of simply inserting ads, introducing characters to the games can make them fun to play and help get the message across. ‘Build Your World’ is a case in point, a campaign in which popular Minecraft creators demonstrated how real-life Minecraft Lego bricks could be used to perfect in-game Minecraft builds.

Implementing a gaming strategy needn’t cost the earth: choose a path that suits you, led by audience and set against realistic and tangible objectives. The success lies in listening, testing the approach and enhancing a kid’s experience with memorable moments of delight, building rapport one step at a time