The gamification of advertising is a significant and ongoing development. It’s not for everyone but for those brands who do it well, the upsides are considerable as they create a more interactive, immersive engagement with their audience. “There’s a big appetite for it and definitely an increase in demand to align with gaming,” said Carina Moran, head of strategy at Yahoo UK.
Respect your audience
“We saw over the pandemic that gaming was, for many, almost a coping mechanism,” explained Moran. “Firstly, why do people game? For many it’s downtime and 55% of this audience say that gaming is a stress relief for them. So the audience doesn’t want to be bombarded with disruptive ad experiences. The audience experience is first and foremost with advertising as secondary.”
Gaming is, contrary to the stereotype, an increasingly social pastime with more and more games built with social and community aspects at the heart. Indeed, according to Moran, 78% of people have said that they’ve developed a relationship (romantic or otherwise) through gaming.
Endemic brand case study: Warner Bros (Dune)
With just one one ad placement on the console home screen, this is not a casual badging exercise. “When we talk about having an authentic experience, this really does feel integrated and seamless,” said Moran. Endemic brands are those that would obviously and comfortably align with a gaming audience. Dune, Warner Bros sci-fi epic that launched last October, is such an example. “If you’re an endemic brand, there’s much more you can do in this space because you can actually add value to that user.”
Warner Bros wanted to communicate the complex, multi-layered storyline of Dune, with users also able to click through to purchase tickets to the film. Then there were options to create your own avatars, based on the tribes within the film, by scanning a QR code that could then be used in the metaverse and on social media profiles. “This is the living proof of adding value,” said Moran.
Non-endemic brand case study: Kwik Fit
“Lots of brands say they want to talk to a gaming audience but why and how? This is where my strategy team really examines the brief,” explained Moran. In late 2021 Kwik Fit, the car servicing and repair company, sponsored a top racing game. “You have to give back to the audience in some way,” said Moran. When users clicked through from the landing page,there was an option to watch the new racing game trailer. If you clicked through to play the new game, you were entered into a draw to win “super relevant” prizes, like a gaming chair and a full gaming setup. Kwik Fit also created a vehicle that could be used within the game and lives within the game forever. Brands need to tread carefully and make sure they’re creating the right fit because otherwise, said Moran, “you’d be called out pretty fast by a community that’s extremely vocal”.
Keeping track: dwell times, metrics and secondary screens
“One of the things about advertising on a console platform is that it is a fully engaged experience,” said Moran. Gaming is likely taking place on the main TV in the home and users have a console in their hand. There are secondary screen options, such as the aforementioned Dune avatar, which brings a brand experience to life on a phone.
“Everyone is logged in so we know who you are, where you are, how you engage with the platform, what games you play and how long you spend on those games,” said Moran. “And there are lots of different tracking capabilities. Engagement rates are stronger than we see across any other type of advertising.
Carina’s key learnings
- Make sure your brand aligns with the platform and the game – don’t act like a broadcaster
- You have to give back to/add value to the audience
- Conversions really aren’t everything but it’s amazing for brand building
- Offer mini games, hints and tips, learning experiences