Despite the growth of esports in the UK, recent figures highlight that only 37 percent of the country’s consumers are familiar with what the term means, according to YouGov’s ‘Gaming and Esports: The next generation’ whitepaper.
In comparison, YouGov has revealed that China’s ‘esports familiarity’ percentage is 72 percent and that 67 percent of Danish consumers can correctly describe the industry.
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The data analytics company’s esports familiarity percentage was recorded by providing a variety of consumers, across 24 markets, with a multiple-choice question asking ‘which of the following best describes esports?’
Out of the 24 markets, Iraq and the UAE scored the lowest percentage recording a familiarity score of 26 percent, meanwhile the US tallied 34 percent, which slightly lower than the UK.
The firm’s report especially focuses on how how much consumers know, interpret, and engage with esports, whilst also highlighting the ‘untapped opportunity’ for global marketers and gaming companies.
YouGov looked at esports’ familiarity within the gaming community, with less than half of the UK’s gamers (44 percent) familiar with the industry. Alternatively, Danish gamers scored 75 percent on the same question, showcasing the Nordic country’s strong esports landscape.
Esports engagement was also recorded by the data analytics firm, as figures show that less than half of Chinese consumers (47 percent) are engaged in the industry, according to the whitepaper.
Whilst Denmark and Sweden have scored highly in previous questions, the country’s esports engagement drops significantly to 10 percent and eight percent respectively. The firm suggests that this means that the regions have only penetrated a small section of its potential audience so far.
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Speaking to Esports Insider, Nicole Pike, Global Sector Head of Esports & Gaming at YouGov discussed the findings: “My conversations with brands in recent months have highlighted two key insights. Firstly, there is more interest in activating within esports and gaming than ever before. Secondly, 2020’s proliferation of new event formats, titles, and platforms still have many potential sponsors confused – and they’re holding back their investments.
“YouGov is primed to play an important role in demystifying this industry for brands through data, which is why our first large-scale, global whitepaper on esports and gaming comes at the perfect time. Our breadth and depth of global profiling data is industry-leading, and something esports sponsors and rights holders should be leveraging to understand who their properties, streams, and activations are reaching, and why those consumers matter moving into 2021 and beyond.”
Esports Insider says: The figures of the UK’s esports familiarity do highlight that while the industry has grown in recent years, it still has a lot to do in order to crack into a mainstream consumer base. However, providing analytical reports, such as what YouGov have published, will help develop the industry as it offers an insight into what other projects should be worked on to increase these figures.