Funda Yakin

1

You have been in the games industry for some time. And you have seen many trends come and go. From the beginning of your career to today: What has changed most positively in the industry, and what bothers you about the current situation?

Trends come and go, but I really wish for a true turnaround and advance in the matter of diversity in gaming. Although things have become better over the course of the past few years. Companies are paying more attention to a more inclusive tonality, for example, and commit to diversity and so forth. But the figures in the industry still speak for themselves: We need far more women in gaming. Especially in leadership positions, to stop sexism in chats and forums, to develop more games for women und to formatively improve the perception of the industry.

What bothers me is that many people just accept the situation and think that women have no interest in gaming anyway. That is too much of a flimsy excuse and, above all, untrue, since Germany alone has 34 million gamers with an almost balanced gender ratio (48% being female) (source: Statista 2021). We will have to make several changes in the areas of education, recruiting and in the mindset of the management floor to visualize true and lasting progress.

2

Which key learnings in marketing can other industries draw from the games industry?

First off, you must differentiate between AAA titles, which heavily rely on branding, and my realm of free-to-play games, where we pursue user acquisition by strongly engaging with performance channels. Here, you’ll learn how data based and ROAS (Return On Advertising Spend) optimized marketing works. Luckily, we at InnoGames work with purely digital products and don’t use any channels that we can’t quantifiably break down into the LTV (Life Time Value) of players.

Another thing you can learn from the area of gaming is this: You need to be quick and have the nerve to test. We test a lot until we can sustainably scale a channel or a technology. That’s why big partners like Google and Facebook gladly approach us whenever they search beta-testers for their new products.

3

Who are your role models in the industry?

I have been lucky enough to meet and interchange with Emily Greet during her time at Kongregate. She is a gaming veteran and such a strong personage that made a lasting impression on me. Apart from our industry I also follow Inge Bell, a true fighter and activists for women’s rights, and Janina Kugel, for inspiration in the workplace.

4

How did the marketing & promotion of games change in recent years? Where are we headed in games marketing in the next years to come?

What seemed like the pie in the sky a few years ago is now reality. Algorithm-based marketing is trending. The Big Five are already using it, like with Google AC (app campaigns) or Facebooks AAA (automated app ads). Its only a matter of time until all performance channels will be based on that technology. Internally, we have already relied on automatization for quite some time now and recently even started to use AI on a step-by-step basis, especially in the area of asset production.

Wherever there is a considerable flow of analysis, evaluation and creation, the use of AI tools becomes a huge time-saver. I see that as very positive. Let the machines do the “monkey work” while marketers, creatives and account managers focus on the strategy and look for the next big thing.

5

Which social media channels do you see as key for the games industry?

The clear focus remains Facebook for quite some time now, combined with Instagram and FAN as extensions. There, we achieve the highest reach in the core target audience of InnoGames and fans of the simulation genre in general due to the age distribution (mainly ages 30+). Of course, Facebooks features like traffic quality or algorithm accuracy as well as targeting options and so forth are also quite helpful. But we are also always testing other channels like TikTok, Snapchat and the OK/VK to explore the potential of these channels for us.

6

About the current trend on creators- and influencer marketing: The trend towards more micro and macro influencers with a smaller reach and less fans, but more authenticity and engagement: How can the games industry leverage that trend in your opinion?

As already mentioned, performance marketing is very important in the realm of free-to-play. The majority of predominantly big influencers work on a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) basis or lump sums that are difficult to depict for us. We’ve backed away from that after a few tests and instead worked out affiliate deals with several micro influencers that are turn out to be very successful.

We’ve seen that these micro influencers are actually making an effort and engage with our games, which in turn attracts more, ongoing gamers. Hence, we went one step further and optimized our partner tool for influencers, so they themselves could register and directly participate in successful campaigns.

7

The media landscape has changed massively in the last ten years. However, PR is still one of the most important communications tools in the games sector. Where do you see PR in the next five years, what will the challenges be?

In the years ahead we still have to face the same challenge of achieving relevant reach with one’s own core message while simultaneously being authentic and believable. The competition in gaming will increase overall and that’s why PR will also have to compete more heavily for players but also for their own visibility as an employer, for example.