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First Look Games: how studios and affiliates can maximise potential

By - 22 March 2023

Studios and B2B providers are beginning to recognise the huge potential of having affiliates and publishers promote their games and products directly. But who should take ownership of this working relationship? Elliott Resnick, Managing Director of First Look Games, examines how studios can best manage their ties with affiliates.

In a world in which multi-million Euro/Sterling/Dollar deals are struck on a weekly basis between B2B providers or studios, and aggregator or operator partners, it is no surprise that, historically, studio relationships with affiliates were seen as inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

But in the same world, many studios are now beginning to see the true value of working directly with affiliates, who often act as the very first touch point between the player and the studio’s game or product, so a shift in mentality and behaviour has begun. The traditional relationship between operator and affiliate is now being bolstered with studios also interacting with affiliates to ensure their games are being promoted, both with prominence and responsibility.

All parties share the goal of leveraging the huge promotional opportunities available, however, for smaller game studios there can be a lack of resource to undertake more of the marketing responsibilities. As long as the point of responsibility is an important part of the marketing mix, then it doesn’t matter where that person, or team, is positioned in the structure.

This is where an external agency, one with its own network of great affiliate contacts, can help generate both the content and the opportunities with affiliates. Crucially, affiliates should be considered a valuable resource by those games studios that want to generate more awareness of their games, so engaging with them, through whichever means, is essential.

There are challenges to making this relationship work, of course. Studios must make sure they’re working with the right affiliates, who are on the same page and will oversee their games reaching the right audiences. Furthermore, working with regulated affiliates who are promoting the studios products to the correct audiences, is of utmost importance.

Identifying and liaising with affiliates that will bring your game studio the greatest value is also time-consuming – time is money, after all. It’s also important for the affiliate to be convinced why they should invest that time and energy into a studio with lesser known games, versus promoting the larger, more established brands.

So where is the value in studios and affiliates working directly? Firstly, it removes the latency in the sharing of information between all respected parties. Affiliates traditionally wait for new game content and data to arrive from their affiliate managers, of which they have many depending on the number of programs they work with. A direct relationship with the studio is independent of those relationships, meaning the affiliate has a true view of every game coming to market, not just the operators’ perceived favourites.

From the studio’s perspective, it also ensures that affiliates are receiving the correct, accurate information on each of their games, removing the risk of licensing issues for example. As much as operators need to ensure that affiliates are acting in a responsible fashion and promoting the correct offers, studios are responsible in ensuring that affiliates are sharing the correct information on their products.

The relationship between studios and affiliates can be bolstered further in myriad ways, including exclusive affiliate content; direct interviews between game developers, creative managers, even games musicians; early access to game previews or even visits to the studios, all add to the loyalty and trust between studio and publisher.

Studios need to consider that affiliates can choose whom they work with, so it’s important to nurture the relationship by learning what type of content affiliates want, plus any specific features such as what will improve their SEO and player engagement.

The relationship between affiliates and game studios is a partnership, where both parties are on the same team. If a studio has identified affiliates as a sector of the industry they want to build upon, then it’s important to divest time and money into making that relationship a fruitful one for everyone.

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