Why In-Game Ads Are Taking Off

Why In-Game Ads Are Taking Off

by Max Petrungaro Gaming

eMarketer recently forecast that U.S. mobile gaming ad revenues will reach $6.26 billion in 2022, up a muscular 14.0 percent from $5.49 billion in 2021. And that’s not all: robust double-digit growth is predicted to continue through 2024. What does this news mean to brands?

What eMarketer Reported

According to eMarketer, the pandemic has given mobile gaming a boost. The most popular device for gaming appears to be smartphones — good news for advertisers, as casual smartphone gamers may not feel the need to pay for ad-free platforms. Media companies have certainly taken note of the inherent opportunities in this arena: consider Netflix, which acquired mobile game studio Next Games and mobile game developer Boss Fight Entertainment. Significantly, the gaming trend appears to be staying strong: eMarketer projects that mobile gaming is poised to reach $7.87 billion in ad revenues in 2024. That’s a total of 2.5 percent of all digital ad spend. Long story short: gaming isn’t going anywhere, and marketers stand to benefit.

The Netflix Effect

It’s likely that Netflix’s deep dive into gaming will boost the in-game advertising market over the next few years. The company also stands to draft a blueprint as to how gaming can revitalize a stagnant, even suffering, brand. Netflix, under tremendous pressure to boost its revenues after reporting a disappointing first quarter of 2022, has plenty of motivation — it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of this year, with a forecasted further loss of 2 million subscribers.

But gaming could help the subscription streaming service find its groove again. As reported by the Washington Post, Netflix plans to make 50 games available before year’s end, some of which may be tied in to shows. The company is hardly starting from scratch, having already dipped a toe into gaming waters by licensing intellectual property or adapting already popular games. But now it’s clear that Netflix will be leaning even harder into gaming—and all the opportunities that will subsequently come their way.

Handle with Care

As exciting as those opportunities may be, it’s important for advertisers to proceed with caution when it comes to in-game ads. As eMarketer notes, gamers are anxious about ads possibly interrupting their play. What format the ads take is part of the issue: while in-game billboards in racing or open-world games may be unobtrusive, the prospect of ads served up between game matches or, even worse, obscuring the screen mid-match, have consumers worriedly gnashing their teeth. To be fair, ads have been part of the gaming experience since gaming first became a thing. But as eMarketer points out, “ads still aren’t baked into the medium the way they are for TV, and advertisers should be mindful of players’ wishes for a non-disruptive experience.”

What Advertisers Should Do

 So, what is the best way for brands to capitalize on the gaming phenom? We recommend that you:

  • Know your audience. Gamers are a diverse bunch. Know their habits, know their passion points. Above all, understand what games your target audience enjoys. You’ll find moms playing games like Home Sheep Home, while 18-to-24-year-olds reliably gravitate to Fortnite. Understand the trends, and who’s where, before attempting to advertise on a gaming platform.
  • Know gaming. Make sure you understand the medium. Furthermore, really understand the game itself. It’s not enough that a game is popular—or even popular with your chosen demographic. Is it a good match for your brand? A game like Doom, well liked if admittedly violent, may or may not be consistent with the messaging your brand hopes to impart.
  • Know your limits—and the limits of your audience. Returning to the point made above about proceeding with caution: make sure that your ads aren’t ruining the gaming experience for your potential customers. Respecting the integrity of a game represents a win/win for gamers and marketers alike.

Contact True Interactive

Eager to learn more about the opportunities gaming—and in-game ads—can afford your brand? Contact us. We can help.

Advertising and Marketing in the Metaverse

Advertising and Marketing in the Metaverse

by Max Petrungaro Advertising

The metaverse is hot. One need look no further for proof than the fact that Facebook changed its company name to Meta in October 2021. Consequently, the metaverse is one of the most talked-about topics in business right now. Companies are already figuring out how to make the most of what it has to offer. How might the metaverse help them make money? How might brands embrace advertising and marketing there?

The Metaverse Defined

As was the case with the internet back in the day, new definitions of the metaverse are constantly cropping up, from all quarters. There is a lot of speculation about the metaverse arriving in the future. But the term was actually coined decades ago in Neal Stephenson’s 1992 science-fiction novel Snow Crash. Aspects of the metaverse — a shared virtual world where people can work, play, and live through digital twins, or avatars — are here already. Every time someone uses a digital currency, every time someone hangs out on Fortnite or Roblox (gaming is currently a big slice of the metaverse), we’re engaging with parts of metaverse (they’re just not yet connected seamlessly).

As the metaverse takes shape, savvy brands are already planting a flag in this rich terrain. And to do so, they are looking at things a tad differently. Brittan Heller, counsel with the American law firm Foley Hoag, puts it this way: “When you think about advertising in XR [extended reality, one of the building blocks of the metaverse], you should think about it as placement in the product instead of product placement.” Heller may be thinking of luxury brands like Louis Vuitton or Marc Jacobs, which have designed digital products for the game Animal Crossing. Or Balenciaga, which has collaborated with Fortnite to drop exclusive wearable skins for in-game characters. She notes, “An ad in virtual reality may look like buying a designer jacket for your digital avatar [but] that’s an ad for a clothing company that you are wearing on your body.” Coveted digital fashion sometimes bests even real-world counterparts: in Roblox’s virtual world, for example, a digital-only Gucci bag sold for more money than the bag would have netted in the physical world.

Some metaverse advertising, of course, falls back on real-world models. Consider games like Tiki-Taka Soccer and FIFA Mobile, which are already incorporating billboards as part of the game universe. The billboards are meant to raise awareness —just like the billboards we pass on the highway — and if players wish, they can access more intel about the product.

But there is also a concerted effort to create advertising unique to the metaverse experience. The day when users can interact freely with embodiments of a brand — an avatar for a celebrity or an existing character from, say, Disney — is not far off.

The takeaway: there are already opportunities for brands to flex advertising muscle in the metaverse, and those opportunities are growing exponentially.

What Businesses Should Do

What does this mean for your brand? Does delving into the metaverse make sense for you? As you consider these questions, we recommend that you:

  • Remember your audience first. How attuned are they to immersive worlds such as the metaverse? Is marketing and advertising in the metaverse a good fit for them? Currently, the biggest audience for the metaverse skews young: Gen Zers who have grown up gaming and for whom the intricacies of a virtual world are already familiar. But some brands are addressing this divide by reaching out directly to an older cohort. Roblox, for example, has developed features to appeal to older users. And so, the attendant question to ask yourself is: do you have the energy and resources to think outside the box and woo your audience, no matter what generation they inhabit?
  • Assess your appetite for experimentation. This is a brave new world that’s constantly changing. How comfortable are you with that dynamic?
  • Learn from businesses that have been getting involved in advertising and marketing in immersive gaming worlds, which are, as noted, extremely popular in the metaverse. A really good example consists of brands that have been embracing in-game ads, as we blogged here.

Contact True Interactive

True Interactive knows how to make online advertising deliver measurable results on all platforms and apps. To learn how we can help you, contact us. Learn more about our services here.