Students

Snapshot: Internship results in a primer on monetizing free-to-play video games

The global market for video games is forecasted to grow to $81 billion by 2016 -- good news for Alex Konda, a dual Computer Information Systems/Marketing major who wants to make a career marketing games. This summer Alex interned at the Ayzenberg Group, an advertizing agency that works in gaming and youth-oriented industries. At the end of the summer he presented a fascinating report on the monetization of Fee-to-Play games.

2012-10-08

To say that the global market for video games is in a growth spurt would be an understatement. DFC Intelligence is forecasting that the industry will expand to $81 billion by 2016, from $66 billion in 2010. That’s good news for Alex Konda, a dual Computer Information Systems/Marketing major who wants to make a career marketing games. This past summer, Alex interned at the Ayzenberg Group, a Pasadena, California advertising agency that works in gaming and youth-oriented industries — a perfect fit for a marketing major hoping to work in the interactive gaming industry. At the end of the summer he produced something remarkable, and when we saw it, we instantly wanted to share it with you — more about that later. Alex, a senior Barrett Honors student, said he cold-called Ayzenberg to ask about an internship. He was attracted to the company because of its gaming focus. “They said they would only bring me on if there was work,” he explained, and there was. He worked with Ayzenberg’s strategy and media planning teams where helped plan pitches, assisted with reports, etc. By the end of the summer, Alex had prepared a report for the agency on free-to-play (F2P) gaming. Chris Younger, who worked with Alex during his internship, called the report “extraordinary,” especially considering that he wrote it on top of working fulltime at the agency. The report will form the basis for Alex’s senior thesis, required of Barrett Honors students. Ayzenberg posted Alex’s presentation on [a]listdaily — an entertainment marketing newsletter published by Ayzenberg — where Alex defined F2P: “Free-to-Play (F2P) is more of a service than a product, with some people categorizing them as ‘games as a service.’ As a business model, free-to-play is a digital hybrid model usually consisting of freemium, microtransactions, and a virtual economy.” He goes on to discuss the psychology of F2P, elements of the game that could be marketed as a premium for free products, and strategies for monetization. “The percentage of players who become paying customers in F2P games varies but is generally below 10 percent,” Alex wrote. “Finding alternative ways to monetize the other 90 percent without the use of advertising, which is costly, is key.” Information Systems Professor Roberto Mejias, Alex’s honors contract adviser said the article “is getting close to the technical edge — it shows Alex’s perception of marketing in general and an emergent marketing niche.” “This is what’s satisfying for a professor like me,” Mejias added. “We like students to do well with the material, but we also want them to think it through and go on to the next step. Alex always does that.” Marketing professor Amy Ostrom concurs. "Alex has been incredibly proactive in building his understanding of marketing in the context of gaming in general and in F2P games more specifically," she said. "With his article and his thesis work, he is on his way to influencing thinking in the area, which is an impressive accomplishment." You’ll find Alex’s full article at [a]listdaily.

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