Notable Points in Vietnam Gaming Market in 2021

Notable Points in Vietnam Gaming Market in 2021

Gaming in Vietnam is a growing phenomenon, as demonstrated by the large playtime increases in the past 18 months, the high expectation for future growth, and the young average age of gamers.

Meanwhile, The pandemic has negatively impacted certain industries but benefited gaming and created huge opportunities for brands to tap into the consumer experience, and marketers in Vietnam should support tactics and use it to build a lasting relationship with consumers.

This blog summarizes some key insights about the game industry in the Vietnam market in 2021, thereby opening up opportunities for businesses.

Understanding the change in the consumer profile

Vietnamese gamers are diversified in terms of demographics. According to Lan Nguyen, senior director of Content from Mindshare Vietnam, there are approximately 36.5 million gamers in Vietnam, accounting for 37% of the population with a split of 52% male and 48% female.

Vietnam’s gamers skew very young. The average age of respondents is 30.1 years old, with just over 70% falling into the 18-35 group, making the country a viable choice for brands looking to target young professionals. However, the country also has the lowest share of gamers over the age of 45 (just 8%), meaning there are fewer opportunities among older groups.

However, there is a difference between males and females. While males tend to be serious gamers with a high rate of ultimate, all-around enthusiasts and cloud gamers, there is a higher rate of females as popcorn gamers who usually play a little to pass the time.

By understanding the gamer demographics, marketers can target the right audience for their campaigns. For example, in 2021, Free Fire Vietnam collaborated with Son Tung MT-P, a V-pop star, to introduce the first Vietnamese in-game character. Free Fire is one of the most popular game titles among 15-34 gamers.

Free Fire Vietnam collaborated with Son Tung MT-P

Vietnam’s gaming market across platforms

Gaming engagement in Vietnam has increased across the board, and further growth is expected on all platforms.

Mobile, Console, Cloud experienced significant growth. PCs show slower growth than other segments. One possibility here is that some PC engagement growth was offset by the closure of cybercafes (which some PC gamers in Vietnam frequented).

How marketers can catch up with change

Although there was some effort by Vietnam’s marketers to utilize mobile games through digital campaigns, these were one-off or support tactics that caused a disconnect between the brands and the consumers’ experience.

Marketers need to consider mobile games as a long-term brand-building strategy by going through to the end of the digital funnel rather than for short-term conversion.

The pandemic was an opportunity for brands to connect with consumers. But by the end of the lockdown, keeping that connection with the consumer turned out to be uncertain. It was hard to predict how habits would be transformed and marketers faced the problem of trying to understand consumers’ needs so as to catch up with the changes and foster authentic brand relationships.

There are three key considerations for marketers when using mobile games to build long-term relationships with consumers.

1. Follow your consumers

Mobile games offer a useful consumer database to marketers to understand the behaviors, emotions, and thinking behind the gaming experience. Looking at the data, marketers can discover consumers’ daily activities and the games played, which can be broken down into the most popular parts of the gaming day.

By doing so, marketers can justify which promotion and communication formats are suitable at which specific moment.

2. Mobile games are part of social media platform integration 

MOMO’s Lac Xi success was based on the integration of platforms, which allowed the players to easily generate the content across social media platforms. Most game-related activities were the streaming and sharing of photos or videos of one’s own gameplay on social media.

The game, therefore, connects consumers beyond the in-game experience to the bigger community. Nowadays, brands need to create an innovative and natural way to facilitate in-game socialization.

3. Focus on the lower digital funnel to create regularity 

Marketers can build bespoke games for the brands or partner with existing games. After that, marketers can optimize the platform by using the integration of different platforms to build consumer engagement in playing games.

Ultimately, marketers need to provide a reason for consumers to keep playing games. Therefore, the game is not just a game but can become a value proposition for the brand.

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