With the number of gamers in MENA’s three largest markets – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt – expected to reach 86 million by 2025, top global brands are looking for innovative and creative concepts to reach this wide audience.
The month of Ramadan brings added opportunity for brands to target the gaming community as past research shows audiences turn to their mobiles, and specifically gaming, for entertainment during the holy month.
With working hours cut and schools on vacation, people find themselves with double the amount of free time, a recent report stated.
Research conducted by AdColony and GWI during Ramadan found that 50 percent of respondents in Saudi Arabia spend one to three hours online on their smartphones and 48 percent of them indicated they spend 30 minutes to two hours playing mobile games daily during the holy month, with the most preferred time to play mobile games being between 12pm to 6pm.
Over the holy month this equates to individuals spending 15 to 60 hours playing mobile games.
“For brands across industries, Ramadan is one of the most important periods of the year to reach consumers and our clients are now turning to gaming as an effective tool for doing so,” said Matt Pickering Power League Gaming CEO.
“The gaming and e-sports sectors, which have shown further sustained YoY growth, with estimates on the past 12 months at CGAR 13.8 percent, annually peak during the holy month of Ramadan, creating an optimal ecosystem for brands to reach customers, the majority of this audience being Gen Z, a notoriously tough demographic resonate with,” he continued.
One of the brands which has activated over Ramadan is STC Bahrain, exclusively targeting the Bahraini gaming audience. Bahrain has been one of the most significant players emerging as a regional gaming hub.
The country has recognised the potential of the gaming industry and have built an ecosystem with ambitious companies ready to take full advantage of the MENA’s $5.9bn gaming market.
The MENA region has an impressive female gaming population, with many female Arab gamers proving they are more-than-a-match for their male counterparts in the industry.
With 44 percent of the MENA market identifying as females, they are an essential demographic to uniquely target, which PLG activates through its ‘Miss Esports’ and ‘Saudi Girl Gamer’ platforms.
“This Ramadan we have also worked with a leading beauty brand to connect them with the impressive regional female gaming demographic. We directly targeted them by launching a tournament – ‘Show Your Spark Challenge featuring Fortnite’ and content platform, promoted across the MENA region, exclusively for females with a $12,000 prize pool, furthering opportunities for the female gaming segment to present their skills on the regional stage,” said Pickering.
“It’s essential for brands to still target the right demographic within the gaming community, depending on who their target audience is will influence the platforms, games and promotions utilised,” he added.
