POPS’ COO: Winning strategies with the Gen Zs

This post is sponsored by Storms.

What is the first word that comes to your mind when you hear the word “gaming”?

For Southeast Asian digital entertainment firm POPS Worldwide, it is an aspect of entertainment the firm had to embrace to stay relevant with the Gen Zs in its key markets.

Fabien Lotz, COO of POPS Worldwide, said: “The majority of POPS app users are Gen Zs. Realising this generation loves games more than the others, we decided to bring instant games to the POPS universe.”

Instant games explained

In simple terms, instant games is a game format that allows users to play on web browsers or their existing mobile app without having to download a separate game app to run it.

For digital entertainment brands such as POPS Worldwide, integrating instant games into its app ecosystem gives it a competitive edge compared with other OTT streaming services as users can access a wider variety of entertainment content within their existing POPS app.

“Adding quality instant games that can run seamlessly on the POPS app was a strategy for us to increase engagement levels and time spent on our platform,” Lotz said.

“However, POPS Worldwide is not a gaming company so trying to develop our own instant games would require a much bigger investment in dedicated gaming talents. 

Fabien Lotz, COO of POPS, talked about how embarking on the instant gaming scene reinforced
POPS Worldwide’s brand positioning among the Thai and Vietnamese Gen Zs. (Credit: POPS Worldwide).

“We then decided that partnering with an expert in the gaming scene with a vast existing portfolio such as Storms was the most ideal solution to address that challenge. Storms’ portfolio is very attractive as it combines simple and engaging game concepts that resonate with different types of gamers.”

A curated game library

In just four months upon launching the games feature within its app, POPS Worldwide has already seen 44% of its app users in Thailand and Vietnam actively playing the instant games.

Commenting on the successful launch, David Yin, CEO of Storms, said: “We identified that casual, sports, action, and edutainment are among the top 10 most favourite online game genres in POPS Worldwide’s key markets, and the outcome that we have jointly achieved is the testament of how our strategic choices of games, as well as our strong IPs and talents, have enabled POPS Worldwide to unlock its objectives.”

David Yin, CEO of Storms, shared how Storms curated the game library for POPS Worldwide. (Credit: Storms).

Adding to Yin’s comment, Lotz said: “Bringing instant games to the POPS app was a big step for us, as gaming was a new domain for us and we had limited knowledge about instant games. The journey, however, went smoothly as the Storms team worked hand-in-hand with us from the ideation, technical integration, to the game-live operation stages.” 

“Our existing users were not affected by the move, and now they can enjoy 35 games on our app without even exiting it. That was a very important aspect that we were trying to achieve, a seamless POPS experience that would not take our users to some other places they may not want to go.”

Gaming trends to look out for

With social interactions happening at the ease of a tap, Yin highlighted that players should expect more social elements to be introduced in games in the near future.

Sharing his insights on the gaming trends that brands and marketers should keep a tab on, he said: “Social elements such as player-versus-player option, in-game sharing button, and game leader boards, will be key for brands that want to tap on the gaming scene to thrive this year – whether it is by introducing a dedicated games section like what POPS has done or by adopting some game elements and mechanics through gamification.

“Modern marketers are no strangers to gamification, as leading brands around the world have tapped some forms of gamification to acquire, engage, and retain customers and app users.

“As customers engage with the gamified elements provided through the brand’s ecosystem, they are more likely to respond to the brand’s call-to-action, as compared to any other traditional marketing methods to win the rewards attached to the interactive experience. This is crucial for creating memorable moments which in turn generates proactive user engagements and improves conversion rates.”

Marketers can find out more information about Storms’ gaming solutions on its website, and get in touch with its partnerships team to discuss how these solutions can be tailored to empower their businesses at partnerships@storms.com.