Brand Dots

Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’

The obsession some people have with Facebook games amazes me. Some of my closest friends and family, work around the clock harvesting crops, shooting mafia villains and cooking up some really wacky dishes on Zynga video games.  (Mom, I’ll spare your name to save you from embarrassment.)  In case you’re wondering what Zynga is, it’s the video game company that operates games such as FarmVille, Café World, Mafia Wars and Fishville, all of which happen to be in the top ten most popular Facebook video games.

This week Gamasutra.com announced, after a very public dispute over gaming commissions, Facebook and Zynga struck a new five-year strategic partnership. Details about the agreement and how fees will be structured have not been released, but one thing was made clear; Zynga was not willing to accept the 30 percent cut of revenues that Facebook was originally demanding. And, to be honest, I can’t blame them. Even if the cut of revenues is much smaller, Facebook will end up being much better off having Zynga games on their website than not.

Here are some reasons why both parties are winners in this agreement:

• Revenue: Zynga makes money by giving players the option to buy virtual currency. Facebook provides the perfect platform for reaching the masses because it is the most popular social network on the planet. Where else can Zynga go to connect with so many potential customers? This can be mutually beneficial because the companies will share a percentage of the profits.
• Advertising: Zynga has more than 239 million active users on Facebook. These gamers check Facebook more frequently because most games are set up on a timer. This drives massive amounts of online traffic to the social network on a more frequent basis, which leads to more clicks on links throughout the site.  Consequently, this generates more advertising revenue for Facebook.
• Connecting with new markets: According to CNN, social games tend to appeal to women and other non-traditional gamers. This creates a huge opportunity for the video game market and Facebook advertisers. Marketers can reach a new segment of the market through these virtual games.

Only time will tell exactly how Facebook and Zynga will take advantage of these new opportunities. But one thing is for sure – whether you’re a lover or a hater, Zynga games are here to stay – at least the next five years – which means you can keep harvesting your pumpkins and shooting your neighbors.  Congratulations!

The dawn of social networks has undeniably created new opportunities for marketers. Consumers have an opportunity to share opinions about anything and everything they purchase. A reported 50 million Facebook users are currently sharing their thoughts about brands on a regular basis.

According to Reuters, earlier this year social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, were struggling financially. They have been trying to find a way to capitalize on their massive and rapidly growing consumer base. Like most websites, advertising revenue seemed to be the most logical way to generate a profit.

This week, the NY Times reported that Facebook is now selling advertisements that display people’s profile photos next to commercial messages that are shown to their friends about the brands that they purchase or register an opinion about. Consumers that participate will have the opportunity to share their online purchases with their friends. For example, if you buy a new CD from iTunes, you can add it to your Facebook profile and let everyone know how you feel about the new album.

From a marketing perspective, this is the perfect marriage between understanding consumer behavior and advertising. Every profile contains demographic information about each consumer. This tool could shed light on who is really purchasing products and why they make the purchase decisions that they do – marketer’s dream!

But not so fast; the Federal Trade Commission sees the risk associated with protecting the privacy of consumers. So for now, Facebook has promised to keep these details to themselves.  Oh…to be a fly on the wall at Facebook.