Mary Meeker flags games as new social media
Mary Meeker’s 2019 internet trends report highlights the rise of mobile, visual communications, encryption and the emergence of online gaming as a true social platform. Meanwhile privacy headwinds loom (Bond Capital).
Key points
- More people than ever are online and spending more time online, but digital ad revenue growth is slowing for major US ad platforms, with privacy headwinds expected to bite
- Faster growth for Amazon, Pinterest, Twitter
- Warnings that customer acquisition costs could become ‘unsustainable’ in some areas
- Percentage of encrypted web traffic rising, and use of encrypted messaging apps growing faster than non-encrypted
- In the US adults spending more time on mobiles than with TV
- E-commerce now at 15% of all retail
- Freemium models delivering results and ‘are just getting started’
- Multiplayer gaming platforms such as Fortnite (250m users) are starting to look like social platforms
Among 333 slides, games as the new social media is a standout. The suggestion that a third of the world’s population are interactive games players (slide 89) is questionable. But the rise of multiplayer platforms such as Epic Game’s Fortnite has unquestionably opened a massive new marketing front – which will enlarge as 5G rolls out. Brands such as Nike are already tapping the platform.
Some may argue teaming up to fight everybody else to the death is a particularly pure form of social media. Either way, Fortnite also underlines Meeker’s points around freemium models delivering results. The game is free to play, but using V Bucks, players can buy add-ons for their characters. Players can earn V Bucks, but it is faster to buy them from Epic, using normal bucks. That earned Epic an estimated $2.4bn last year, with revenue increasing about 16X YoY according to Meeker's report. Little wonder her funds are keen investors.
