When I tell people that mobile gamers are a dream audience for financial brands, I sometimes get raised eyebrows. There’s still this stereotyped image of a gamer as a teenager holed up in a basement in front of a console. But that picture is decades old. Today’s mobile gamers are, well, everyone. The people making household decisions, paying bills, planning for college savings and even trading stocks on their phones in between rounds of Words With Friends.

These outdated notions of what a “gamer” is are cutting off brands, particularly those in the finance industry, from highly engaged, ready-to-spend consumers. To help reframe the outlook, Zynga partnered with Comscore to dig into the data on our players. Not only are Zynga gamers household decision-makers, tech-savvy financial planners and eager adopters of new tools, but they’re also more receptive to in-game advertising than ever before.

More than 60 percent of Zynga gamers told us they’re the primary manager of their household bills and finances, while more than half (56 percent) said they are the primary decision makers for financial and insurance choices. Meanwhile, a full third (35 percent) stated they are parents making those choices for their entire family. These are leaders in their households and they’re carrying our games with them everywhere, from their commute, waiting for school pickup in the parking lot and even cramming in sessions during those small breaks between meetings.

What really stood out, however, is how quickly our audience embraces new financial technology. Around two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents said they’re comfortable managing all of their financial activities entirely through apps while nearly one-in-four consider themselves early adopters of fintech. Meanwhile, one-in-five are already buying and selling investments on their phones. On the same device they’re playing Match Factory or Toon Blast, Zynga gamers are also experimenting with the latest financial tools and shaping the way their households handle money.

That combination of decision-making authority and a natural comfort with technology makes mobile gamers, and Zynga players specifically, an incredibly valuable audience for finance brands. And the good news is they’re not just open to hearing from brands in-game, they’re also actively engaging once their play sessions are over. Our data shows Zynga gamers are more than twice as likely as non-gamers to click on a finance-related ad. Over a third have already done so while playing and unlike a passive scroll through social media, their attention is fully in the game which makes them more likely to act on what they see.

And act they do. Compared to non-gamers, Zynga players are more likely to download a finance app, sign up for new services and explore products after clicking. They’re also heading into the next few months with big financial plans, from applying for credit cards to opening savings accounts to renewing insurance policies. In other words, these aren’t people just thinking about money in the abstract, they’re ready to make tangible financial moves right now.

If you’re not considering mobile gaming as part of the media mix for your finance brand, you’re leaving an engaged, tech-forward and financially active audience on the table. Our audience invites us into their pockets and into their lives everyday. For the finance industry, that’s an invitation worth accepting.

• Gabrielle Heyman, Vice President, Global Sales, Zynga