Researching gaming and streaming for Mind

Can we use gaming and streaming to grow fundraising and help reach our strategic audiences?

We are at the early stages of this research project for Mind but it is proving really interesting. Working with Emily Hayes from Semiotics for Brands, we have gone from curious but confused to engaged and excited in a very short space of time.

It is the first time we have looked into how charities are using gaming and streaming. I’ve been having fascinating conversations with other charities who are experimenting and successfully fundraising in this space. Here are a few of the headlines I have learnt so far:

1. The gaming and streaming industry is worth more than the film, TV and music industries combined. I’ll leave that to sink in for a bit.
2. The average age of people gaming is 31. The gender split is pretty even. We are not talking about teenage boys isolated in their bedrooms.
3. Many charity audiences are already on the platforms. You can go to where they are rather than investing in acquisition promotions to get them to come to you.

Basic fundraising 101 works

A clear emerging theme is that successful engagement and fundraising using gaming and streaming strongly aligns with fundraising on other channels and with other audiences. There is nothing special or mysterious about using these channels to raise money and talk about your cause. The principles of fundraising work.

If you want people to fundraise while gaming then you need to provide them with guidelines and branded assets which they can share with family and friends to support their fundraising.

If you run a mass participation event like a timed stream or a virtual run, then you need to use the same approaches to attracting supporters and stewarding them.

If you want to work with an existing streamer who has a connection to your cause then influencer marketing and major donor stewardship principles apply.

Getting started in gaming and streaming

My 16-year-old son, Gus, earned his first Red Pencil freelance fee by writing 2 pages on the difference between gaming and streaming with links to the content I should view. It was jolly useful.

In the absence of a Gus, here are a couple of links that helped take me from curious and confused to excited and engaged.

Charity Digital podcast on gaming and streaming

Giant Digital event on gaming and streaming

If you’d like to stay in touch or have ideas and insights to share on this topic then I would love to hear from you. Please reach out and get in touch.