THUNDER – Throne Wars

* 1) Video Game Markets

* 2) Global Advertising Markets

* 3) Social Networking

* Exposed as booming viable markets all in growth currently!

“A triple-braided rope is not easily broken.”

Video Games = Swift Arrows on Target to a positive profitable Future

Video Game Sales for October, November, & December 2008

$           Video game sales soar upward 18% in October 2008

$           Game sales up 10% in November 2008

$           November Video Game Sales near $3 Billion

$           Video game software sales grew 11%

$           Video game business grows 9% in December 2008

2008 Video Game Annual Sales

$        Strong annual sales were up 19 % for 2008

$        Video game sales top $21.33 billion in 2008

+        Online Video Game Subscriptions generate additional $1 billion annually

+        Annual Sales figures do not include        a) micro-transactions     or     b) digital distribution

Video Game Markets Expanding with Confidence

UK video games market to grow 42% in 2008

Video Game sales in the UK has hit an all time record high of 82.8 million units

Canadians spent record $2.09 billion on video games, year/year growth was 23%

65% of US households play video games, 38% have consoles, & 40% are female

63% of parents believe games are a positive part of their children’s lives

The fastest growing demographic is the 50-plus crowd

Virtual economies employ 400,000 people in 2008

The average game player is 35 years old

Historic Record Breaking Game Sales

2008 Grand Theft Auto IV, recorded sales of $310 Million… on its first Day

2008 The video game industry surpassed the movie industry in gross sales

2007 Halo 3 records more than $ 300 Million in first week Sales

2006  EA sells $ 100 Million (2 Million copies) of Madden NFL 07 over 10 Days

Social Networks coming to a Game near you

Social Networking has over 530 million people and grew 64 million (12%) during the last 6 months…over twice as fast as the total Internet.

Social network advertising spending is expected to grow by 81%, to $2.2 billion in 2008 up from $1.2 billion in 2007

MySpace is estimated to have generated $755 million in revenue over the last year.

The (now) larger Facebook, with a far higher percentage of users in less lucrative markets, will generate just $255 million

MySpace worth $ 20 Billion (was bought in 2005 for $ 580 Million)

Facebook worth $ 15 Billion

LinkedIn worth $ 1 Billion (Current valuation prices market)

In Game Ads

In-game advertising is an effective spot for ad dollars at a time when budgets are getting alarmingly tight. Exposure to a brand via in-game advertising improves its perception by 31 percent, and that 60 % of gamers remember ads that they see.

50 % of advertising Markets are in Video Games

30 Billion Hours watching TV

30 Billion Hours playing Video games

Top Ad Markets

U.S., the total 2008 estimated Internet advertising spend is $25.2 billion

Average Internet spend per person

UK $ 213

Australia $ 148

Denmark $ 144

USA $132

Global Ad Market accelerates in 2008 despite credit squeeze

ZenithOptimedia predicts global ad expenditure to grow 6.7% in 2008, up from 5.3% this year, thanks to the Olympic Games, elections in the US, and European football.

Between 2007 and 2010 internet adspend will grow 69% and raise its market share from 8.1% to 11.5%

Global Advertising Industry

2007 $ 455 Billion dollar

2008 $ 485 Billion dollar

2009 $ 512 Billion dollar (Projected)

2010 $ 542 Billion dollar total global advertising industry

ZenithOptimedia forecasts global ad expenditure to grow 6.7% in 2008, up from 5.3% in 2007.

Between 2007 and 2010 developing markets are forecast to add an extra US$ 49.5 billion to the world ad market, while the developed markets add US$ 37.5 billion. Developing markets are expected to contribute 26 % of global adspend in 2007, and 31 % in 2010.

Estimates Put Internet Advertising at $ 21 Billion in U.S., $ 45 Billion Globally

Internet Advertising Market Share nearly doubles

2006 6.4 %

2007 8.1 % $ 36 Billion ($ 5 Billion more than predicted)

2008 9.4 % Market Share (forecast to grow 24%)

2009 10.4 % (projected)

2010 11.5 % (projected)

Television, Cinema, and Outdoor ads maintain 37.9 %, 0.5 % 5.7 % respectively

While Newspaper, Magazines, Radio are all in decline: 26.8 %, 11.9 %, & 7.9 %

Internet adverting to achieve 3-Milestones over 3-years

1)      Internet adverting overtakes radio advertising in 2008

2)      Attain double-digit share of global adverting in 2009

3)      Overtake magazine advertising in 2010

Outstanding PC realizations & predictions + Exercise!  Via consoles

PC Population reach, One Billion Globally in 2008, Two Billion predicted by 2015

Wii console has ended the era of sitting around playing games, Wii Fit provides exercise, movement and interactivity, and is the fastest selling console in the world.

2009+ market predictions by Executive Director Robert Strutin of imuStudios.com

1.     People will be online more

2.     People will stay home more a) save more money b) realising it saves the planet

3.     Social Networks, fast becoming the vehicle for world-wide communication, entertainment, and social engagement, will diversify into 3D games

4.     TV content weakens as smaller budgets shrink

5.     People don’t watch TV commercials – advertisers migrate to what works

6.     More Advertisers will realize that meaningful in-context ads; create direct to customer sales via Video games as the shortest route to the greatest revenues

7.     More people will reach for Video Games for fun, business & profit

8.     Powerful computers bring emerging 3D Web 3.0 to life within Video Game Engines

9.     Why drive to the store when you can have goods delivered for less from your game?

10.  As people gain and realize more value for their money, online purchase will increase

Online Business Stats

The 2nd Quarter of 2008 saw $ 34.6 billion in sales which was a 2.9 % increase from the 1st quarter and a 9.5% increase from the second quarter of 2007.

“Cyber Monday” (the Online world’s “black Friday”) saw another positive sign; consumers spent $ 846 billion, an increase of 15 % over 2007’s cyber Monday.

A Personal Question:

Do you have all your eggs in the wrong economic basket at this time?

A Solution:

Carefully research, and diversify your Investments into the powerful, direct, online markets that video games + online advertising + social networking can offer you.

Research Sources

This is an iMU Studios Year in Review Market Report

“Precise market measurements = realistic target assumptions”

About iMU Networks: Blending multiplayer video games, in-game advertising and social networking, imuStudios.com compiles iPlayMore.com video game market stats and facts for IMU CAN directives, guiding TEAMimu.com Members to make the THUNDER Video Game series.

Relative in-context advertising the wave of the future

As technological innovations fuel demand, the digital advertising industry is experiencing remarkable growth.  Moreover, the costs associated with digital advertising are recognized to be much lower than the costs associated with traditional type of advertising. Both benefits 1) less cost 2) enhanced effectiveness – translate into higher returns on investment for digital marketing in comparison with advertising through traditional media.

With increasing entertainment, communication, and media options added on top of a proliferation of devices that allow consumers to tune out advertising, marketers are expected to rely more on creative messaging that consumers will not want to skip, as well as advice on the best way to reach an increasingly more fragmented target audience.

Old ad models of expensive ad campaigns spamming widely, repeatedly without options for direct interaction miss the mark.  Digital marketing allows for two-way and more so direct one-on-one communication with consumers, potentially providing them with a very personalized experience.