Target 2025: Mastering Data-Driven Content Strategies for Video Gaming & Entertainment
We talked to Simon Stokes, Head of Data and Strategy at Keywords Studios, about how you can master data-driven content strategies for the video gaming and entertainment industry. Keep reading below!

Disclaimer: All Images used in this article have been generated in NightCafe.
2025 is upon us and with it comes a new wave of AAA game titles and a slate of blockbuster movies and series, like the highly anticipated (and already record-breaking) GTA 6. To capture and engage audiences in this highly competitive landscape, marketing managers, community managers, and data & insights teams must work together to evolve smarter content strategies. 2024 ushered AI into the mainstream with many marketers beginning to explore the potential for these new technologies, but as we move into 2025, we expect to see AI become part of the ‘business as usual’ toolset community leaders use to understand their communities and create content that is relevant and personalised to their experience of the title.
Dive into Data: Understanding Your Audience
In the past, understanding players as either 'casual' or 'hardcore' was good enough. However, as games and audiences evolve, so must our content targeting strategies. Today, players personas can be 'explorers', 'creators', 'competitors', or 'collectors' and ‘VIPs’, each with unique motivations and preferences.
Insights teams can work with community managers, using advanced AI analytics and machine learning, to identify segments within your audience and to learn from them. By tracking in-game behaviours, player feedback, and social media interactions and conversations, we can build richer and more dynamic player profiles that inform more accurate, more engaging content strategies.
Understand, Personalise and Engage: Tailored Video Content
With a deep understanding of your audience segments, you can create personalised, stage-based content that drives engagement. Consumers are more likely to buy from brands that recognise them, recommend options based on previous purchases and interactions, or understand their brand history and empathy.
For example, an 'explorers' persona might prefer trailers emphasizing vast in-game worlds and hidden secrets, while 'competitors' may engage more with content showcasing PvP action and leaderboard rankings. By tailoring content to these segments, we can foster deeper engagement and build stronger content engagement and sharing hooks.
Predict and Adapt: Advanced Community Sentiment Analysis
The media landscape is fracturing, with micro-content, streaming platforms, and social media all vying for audience attention. To stay ahead, marketing managers and community teams must proactively adapt their content strategies based on community feedback.
Sentiment analysis tools monitor fans’ conversations across platforms, providing real-time insights into trends, preferences, and pain points. By predicting what will resonate with audiences (and sub-segments), we can create content that capitalises on hot topics and trends and steers clear of fatigued do-overs.
With advanced AI-powered sentiment analysis, we can interpret hot topics and fuel community expectations. For example, if data indicates growing interest with a particular game mechanic, we can address it proactively with a developer update or patch notes video, demonstrating that we're listening and responding to community feedback.
Embrace Cross-Media Storytelling
In the lead-up to major releases (and entertainment cultural ‘events’), audiences crave immersive, shareable experiences in the right place at the right time. Savvy brand-leaders have been exploring how to translate intellectual property from one medium to another and through 2024 we saw several successful video game adaptations that have helped some of the gaming industry’s most beloved characters reach new audiences. The next step is to align the content roadmap to really maintain momentum from these transmedia plays.
Consider the hype-building potential of a cryptic teaser trailer that hints at an in-game mystery, which players must solve together through clues hidden in blog posts, social media updates, and live streams. This not only generates sustained engagement but also fosters a sense of community and shared purpose among your audience.

Crafting the Future: Adaptive Trailer Sequences (or “It’s about me, me, me!”)
Imagine producing trailer sequences that dynamically adjust to each viewer, showing them exactly what they want to see, precisely when they want to see it. With real-time data and machine learning algorithms, this future is closer than you might think. Adaptive trailers could adhere to viewer preferences for pacing, music, and content types, creating unique, personalised experiences that captivate audiences like never before.
Unleash your superpowers
2025 offers unprecedented superpowers for videogame publishers and entertainment marketers.
By embracing data-driven strategies, marketing managers, community managers, and data & insights teams can deliver engaging, personalised content that cuts through the noise and resonates with audiences. Advanced production techniques and expertise allow us to create hyper-personalised video content to be delivered to players and audiences.
So, let’s dive into the data, understand and interrogate posts, predict trends, and embrace cross-media storytelling. Audiences are hungry for smarter, brighter and more breathtaking beats.
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