Zynga and Activision Blizzard advise brands on participating in player experiences
When people come to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas each January, many of them are looking for the same thing.
It might come in the form of a new laptop. It could manifest itself through an improved microprocessor. What they’re usually looking for, though, is some kind of innovation in the gaming experience.
Once they have their new hardware, however, what ultimately matters is the player experience – how fun and friction-free it is to enjoy the latest console, desktop or mobile games. Brands can help game publishers monetize their work through advertising, but they also pose a potential disruption to the player experience, which can lead to bad outcomes all around.
Executives from Activation Blizzard and Zynga recognize this issue, but they maintained there are effective ways to get in front of gamers to raise brand awareness, invite them to their own customer experiences (CX) and make direct purchases. These are some of the player-centric rules of advertising within games, which was the focus of a CES session dubbed ‘gamevertising.’
Tailoring ad experiences to the gaming environment
Claire Nance, head of gaming business success strategy at Activision Blizzard Media, noted that many players are accustomed to a “value exchange” where players get something back from watching an in-game ad. A good example is rewarded view, where players get virtual currency or enter a new tier once they’ve finished watching a clip.
“That experience works really well in a mobile title, but that’s not necessarily going to work well in a console environment,” she said. “When we talk (as brands) about this idea of earning trust, one of the ways that you do that is by showing respect to the audience that you’re trying to reach.”
Why playing is both seeing and believing
Gabrielle Hayman, vice-president of global brand sales and partnerships at Zynga, said many players have grown accustomed to in-game advertising, much like they have in traditional channels such as linear TV. A good way to gauge whether putting a brand in a game will work? The age-old CX principle put putting yourself in the customer’s shoes.
“If you’re a brand or an agency, play the games that you’re going to buy (ads for),” she said.
When you do that, you’ll see that some Zynga titles don’t run traditional in-game ads like interstitials, for example, because time has proven that players are more accepting of content that moves the game along.
“People want to opt into the ad experience, not just have a regular commercial break,” she said. In games based on sports like the NBA, on the other hand, banners might be placed all around the virtual court.
“You want to see something like what you would see in real life, what you’d see at a stadium.”
The potential of echoing CX within a game
Chirag Ambwami, SVP, gaming and entertainment at research firm Sensor Tower, noted brands like McDonald’s have demonstrated that advertising within games isn’t limited to placing their logo within a title. Instead, the fast food giant has placed virtual restaurants in a game where players can send their virtual avatars to replenish their “health” – similar to stopping by for a Big Mac when you’re hungry.
“It’s a very seamless experience,” he said. “It’s not a traditional ad, but it’s still an ad.”
Nance agreed, but added that brands shouldn’t avoid advertising games out of fear of the complexity or investment involved.
“It doesn’t have to be this all or nothing experience. It doesn’t have to be this huge virtual world. It can be a programmatic ad buy,” she said. “There can be something kind of more in between as well.”
Consider who’s playing, and why their experience matters
Marketers who aren’t gamers themselves may assume the market is still mostly made of up adolescent boys, but Hayman described huge growth among women in the so-called “casual gaming” market. These are consumers who often make purchasing decisions on behalf of their household, and have considerable disposable income to spend on themselves. A game can be a good way to connect.
“I think that some brands will say, ‘Well, there’s plenty of places for me to reach women, like I can reach them on CTV, but I think that what they need to understand is that reaching them in games is different,” she said. “There is a lot to the psychological mindset of when someone’s gaming. It’s their ‘me’ time, it’s when they are relaxed.”
Whereas scrolling social media can be anxiety-producing, Hayman added, gaming puts people at ease while also making them more focused than when they’re simply watching TV. This can make them more open to hearing a brand’s message and considering what’s being said.
Promoting a brand on TV also means adapting to international nuances of various markets, which isn’t necessarily the case with gaming, Nance said.
“If your experience is working really well in, let’s say, the Western market, it can also work for APAC, for example,” she said. “And I think for brands, especially, who are looking to expand and go across the world, I think gaming is a great way, because ultimately, gaming has no borders.”
That said, the gaming industry recognizes it must continue to improve the player experience. Hayman predicted a shift in how people think about platforms, where playing a game means using a smartphone versus a PC or console.
“It’s this idea of accessibility: how do we make it more accessible and easier for folks to play the games that they love across these different platforms and across these different devices?” she said. ”How do we change some of the models so that it’s easier than ever for folks to be able to play?”
CES 2025 wraps up on Friday.
