Why People Do What They Do to Earn Social Game Points

Research released by Offerpal Media offers some insight into why so many social gamers are willing to complete marketing actions in order to obtain virtual currency.

The comScore-conducted study among 799 panelists reported that 53.3 percent of respondents would be “very likely” to take part in a marketing action in order to receive social game points or currency, while only 22.8 percent would be willing (and able) to pony up cold hard cash for the same rewards.

A “marketing action” could include taking part in a survey, viewing a video, shopping at selected online retailers or signing up for a subscription of some kind.

29.7 percent of those polled indicated that did not have the ability or means to pay for virtual points or currency. Of those who did posses the means and ability, 34.9 percent said they would be “very unlikely” to spend cash on points.

The favored marketing methods to obtain points among respondents were (in order): completing a free survey, watching a video, completing tasks such as tagging a photo or proofreading a document, shopping for clothes or other goods online, subscribing to a magazine and subscribing to a movie rental program.

Offerpal didn’t conduct the research just out of the kindness of their heart; the company is a player in the virtual currency monetization field itself. Offerpal says it has launched a new video viewing for virtual points campaign which is finding success—75% of those who watched a video in exchange for currency had never completed a similar action in the past.


|Image from DevianArt|