- A study conducted by YouGov found that esports fans are twice as trusting to outdoor ads
- The research was held online, and the statistics are based on 2000 interviewed gamers
- Most of them consider products advertised on TV to be unreliable
According to research by YouGov, esports enthusiasts are twice as likely to trust an outdoor advertisement rather than TV ads.
Gamers Have a Keen Eye for Outdoor Ads
According to recent research by online market research and data analytics firm YouGov, fans of esports tend to be much more trusting and aware of outdoor advertisements. The latter includes all kinds of billboards, posters, and ads on public transport.
The research lasted a year, from May 2020 to May 2021. YouGov interviewed 2000 adult fans of competitive gaming in the United States and 1000 more in Britain. The results of the study yielded some curious statistics.
Apparently, 67% of American esports fans are trusting of out-of-home ads compared to 27% of the general public. In Britain, on the other hand, 40% of competitive gaming enthusiasts tend to believe in outdoors marketing compared to 20% of the general public.
Everyone interviewed was over 18-years old and considered esports as either a prime interest or a hobby.
Outdoor Ads: An Advantageous Choice for Targeting the Youth
According to YouGov’s study, 68% of the interviewed American esports enthusiasts browse the internet for outdoor-advertised products that grab their attention, compared to 23% of the non-gamers. American fans are also very likely to share their experience with their close people.
Even though British fans seemed to be overall a bit less trusting than those in the United States, their likelihood of noticing advertisement is comparable. From YouGov’s data, it becomes clear that British gamers are just as aware of ads in public transportation as they are of ads on the web: 65% of the people are likely to notice train ads, compared to 67% for online marketing.
As the research continued, another interesting came into the light – it turns out 58% of American fans and 50% of those in Britain take TV advertisements with a grain of salt. Therefore Hoang Nguyen, data journalists from YouGov, advised that brands who wish to grab young people’s attention should consider getting their marketing outdoors.
“YouGov’s audience research reveals that avid esports fans not only tend to notice and pay attention to OOH advertising at a higher rate than consumers overall, they are also more likely to take action on advertisements and talk about a brand after seeing an ad outdoors,” Nguyen emphasized.
It seems like fans of competitive gaming have a keen eye for outdoor ads and are much more likely to trust them. This may sound a bit counter-intuitive at first, as esports is a hobby that is much closer to the internet than to the outdoors. However, considering the precision and skill taught by playing and watching games, it becomes logical that esports fans are aware of their surroundings and tend to notice outdoor ads a lot.
Esports isn’t a stranger to marketing, and all kinds of tactics are used to gain leverage, including signing good partnerships and advantageous acquisition deals. As companies have to try their best to become noticed on the saturated market, it may prove lucrative to consider exploring the options of out-of-home ads.
