High street and online video game retailer Game has signed a partnership with LiveRamp to deploy the company’s Safe Haven platform, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that enables companies to connect their own to create data partnerships.
Through LiveRamp Safe Haven, it is claimed that Game will be able to unlock unique consumer insights, such as precise in-store and ecommerce data, across its digital platforms and stores, and make it available to gaming and console brands.
In turn, these brands will have better visibility into their customer journeys and be able to fine-tune their digital marketing strategies, to optimise campaign results and outcomes, without Game or its partners relinquishing control of their first party data.
The partnership will pave the way for gaming brands sold in-store to combine digital and CRM data with transactional datasets to measure conversion rates and sales lift, and generate other customer insights to reach in-market consumers. LiveRamp insists this can be carried out in a safe and secure way and without the partners ever losing control of their proprietary data assets.
The partnership comes at a pivotal time for the gaming sector, which has seen a major rise due to the coronavirus lockdown, with official figures from GFK Chart-Track recording an 87% increase YoY from the middle of March to the last week of May.
Moreover, the UK game industry’s combined sales across game culture, software and hardware in 2019 generated £5.35bn. The global video game market is forecast to be worth $159bn (£126bn) in 2020, around four times box office revenues and almost three times music industry revenues.
Meanwhile, both Microsoft and Sony have announced the release of new consoles, with Microsoft’s fourth generation XBox Series X and the Sony PlayStation 5 both scheduled to launch in late 2020.
Game Digital head of customer and cultural marketing Siobhan King said: “This year has been one of significant growth for the gaming industry and Game, with our website acquiring almost a quarter of a million new customers over the lockdown period. And with the launch of the next generation of gaming consoles in November onwards, we expect this growth to continue.
“LiveRamp’s Safe Haven provides us with dual benefits, allowing us to securely collaborate with partners to extract meaningful data that will enhance the customer experience, and allowing our partners to tap into our first party data to better inform their marketing strategies and performance. As more customers join gaming platforms, this dual approach becomes even more crucial for us and our partners.”
LiveRamp European managing director Vihan Sharma added: “Accurate data analysis and campaign measurement is a critical enabler for the success of any brand. Through this partnership, Game will be able to generate invaluable insights into customer behaviour, strengthening its relationship with brands and gaming companies and allowing the sector to thrive.”
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