The War for the Living Room

Video games have come a long way and so have video game consoles.  Consoles are changing the way people consume media worldwide.  “Consoles are no longer about gaming, they’re about content,” said Brad Mann, Senior Business Development Manager for XBox Advertising.  Mann explained how the console space is changing the way people consume media in his talk “War for the Living Room,” at LA2M.

Brad Mann

Based on the XBox system Mann said, “Entertainment has now surpassed gaming, but gaming hasn’t gone down, entertainment has doubled.”  Xbox now has an app based dashboard allowing frictionless access to a host of entertainment options.  Some content sources require subscriptions, but others offer free media.

Xbox content is available for use on smart phones, Ipads and PC’s.  “This enables consistent use of Xbox content on the best screen available,” said Mann.  Mann explained that primarily content consumption occurs during the day on PC’s and mobile and in the evening through the console.

The Xbox system requires a self identifying log in, so demographic information for 40 million international and 20 million US users is available.  Mann described Xbox users based on this information.  62% male, 46% married, 58% HH income above $60K, average age is 35.  The figures can vary depending on the activity.

Mann said that about 60% of Xbox users are between 18 and 34 years old.  He said that around 40% of this audience consumes little or no standard television.  “Digital and broadcast lines are blurring,” said Mann.

A newer feature of Xbox and Microsoft based PC’s is Kinect.  Kinect allows users to interact with Xbox and PC’s based on a component housed camera and movement of the user.  “The 18 button controller is a non starter with people who didn’t grow up with the technology.  Kinect makes it easier to interact for everyone,” said Mann.

Kinect is used for content access for academic use as well as gaming and media.  “People use it for things Microsoft didn’t think of,” said Mann.

Part of the content that is interactive within the console is advertising.  Interaction with ads averages around 3 minutes.  Ads can include puzzles, trivia, location or product searches.  “Since the log in is the same across all platforms, behavior can be used to generate targeted advertising information contextual for each user.  Relevancy increases interaction,” said Mann.

Ad campaigns are scalable to a DMA and targetable based on demographics and behavior.  Content from other sources can be used to generate advertising messages for Xbox.  Xbox advertising is not pop up based and can be turned off by the user. 

Xbox can also be a social media experience.  “4 million messages per day are sent between gamers, making it the largest TV based social network,” said Mann.  Additional interactions and partner apps are expected in the near future for Xbox.