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An Endemic Problem

There are, however, some problems with the premise that gamers make good trendsetters. Particularly surprising are some of ATTIK Creative Director Simon Needham's observations about what has happened to gaming in the past decade, and what they imply for how advertisers currently perceive that audience. ATTIK is an international marketing firm best known for its work on the Scion automobile brand, particularly the "Love it/hate it" themed ads.

"If you're targeting trendsetters, and gamers were trendsetters, gaming has become a little more difficult because, well, everyone is a gamer now. It doesn't mean the same thing as it used to," Needham said during a phone interview. "Especially with the Wii ... that really undercuts the credibility of gaming as a cool activity for the people we want to reach, because you've got moms using the Wii Fit and exercise videos on the internet. It's just not as cool to be a gamer nowadays as it was when I first got into computer games."

The industry's reliance on expensive blockbusters is a further turn-off to trendsetters, according to Needham, because it makes gaming a bit too shallow. "With music, there's always the search for the next great band, and they can come from anywhere. A few guys in a garage could be the next cool thing that people are going to pick up. That element of discovery that is so important to trendsetting is not there."

Needham's comments suggest that for advertisers, gaming currently lies in a no man's land between niche appeal and mainstream acceptance. It's become too prevalent to court the interest of the early-adopters and trendsetters that are so important to advertisers, but it's still not popular enough to reap the benefits of widespread penetration.

What we're left with is a catch-22. Editors say, "Our audience is desirable, therefore we should get more advertising." But advertisers still wonder, "How are you going to connect us with that audience?" A desirable audience isn't enough anymore. Until advertisers and content producers bridge this divide, they will be unable to solve each other's problems.

Rob Zacny is a freelance writer. When not focused on gaming, he pursues his interests in Classics, the World Wars, cooking and film. He can be reached at zacnyr[at]gmail[dot]com.