To say that 2010 was a monumental year in social gaming would be casually understating the obvious. Last year alone, social gaming generated more than $850 million dollars in revenue and recorded roughly 53 million users. While these numbers are impressive, new reports indicate that social gaming is just starting to pick up steam. As we head into the New Year, social gaming is beginning to attract more attention from marketers and advertisers aching to cash in on this flourishing industry. According to a new report from eMarketer, the amount of resources advertisers will pour into social gaming is one factor that will help drive U.S. social games revenues past the $1 billion mark in 2011.

With roughly one in four Internet users engaged in social networks, this space has become a prime target for lead generation and advertising efforts. It’s not the massive amount of consumers alone drawing advertisers to this space; it’s also the demographic makeup of the audience that’s extremely desirable. On average, social gamers are typically 34-year-old women, a group widely known as the controllers of purse strings and an audience not typically engaged in traditional games.

This audience, paired with the revenue growth of the social gaming market, presents an optimal platform for marketers to promote their brands through social games. These games allow advertisers to brand virtual goods, offer custom games, create virtual environments within existing games and promote lead-generation offers. Additionally, some creative ad campaigns combine virtual and real-world items, expanding the gaming experience beyond social networks.

Although virtual goods will continue to bring in the biggest share of social gaming dollars through 2012, advertising spend will reportedly grow more rapidly in 2011 with marketers shelling out $192 million to advertise. Furthermore, eMarketer forecasts that this investment will continue to grow and projects a rise of 41 percent in ad spending in 2012.

What’s not to like about all of this? Internet users enjoy their games and advertisers are able to reach millions of consumers…seems like a win-win situation to us. For our part, Plimus will continue to offer an immersive and seamless online experience, keeping gamers entertained and allowing advertisers and other vendors to make money!

Charlie Born, Plimus Head of MarketingCharles Born,

Head and VP of Marketing

 

 

 

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/athrasher/2823255013/