Virtual OOH, or out-of-world, is still young, but top brands are embracing the opportunities
Could in-game advertising one day rival Facebook’s scale? Ad pioneers, enabled by programmatic tech, believe targeted ads and branded integrations delivered natively into 3 billion gamers’ favorite worlds could bring about a new era of economic prosperity and fund the birth of a metaverse. As part of our deep dive into all things gaming, The Drum talks to the very execs laying these virtual foundations.
Mobile gamers are all-too-familiar with interruptions such as immersion-breaking ads flanking short sessions in freemium titles. Some opt to watch rewarded ads (view for lives), some stump up cash to block them, and others inevitably ditch the game for good. For better or worse, advertisers are now integrating ads into other gaming worlds.
Adverty’s Alex Ginn outlines why the mobile marketing industry should celebrate an increased focus on Gaming from the major holding groups.
The news that Publicis Groupe has launched a specialist gaming division – Publicis Play – provides further proof, if it were needed, that the media industry is finally waking up to the power of gaming.
The new proposition aims to offer advertisers the right creative, media and production opportunities for marketing within games and eSports, with key Publicis executives taking central roles, thanks to their experience on gaming initiatives for brands such as EE, KFC, Heineken and Samsung.
The holding group will, of course, be aware that the gaming sector outperformed music, video and film last year, with UK gaming industry revenues rising by almost 10 per cent in 2020, and projected to continue to rise by 7.3 per cent annually over the next five years. What’s more – with 5G and cloud-based gaming services closing the gap between mob