As our media behaviours continue to evolve, the one that everyone has on their watch list for 2022 is gaming. the7Stars’ QT recently identified that 57% of Brits game as a form of escapism, with 2 in 5 relying on it as a means of entertainment. Although a higher percentage of younger people play games, casual mobile gaming has driven an increase across all age groups. This growth in gaming offers new in-game channels for marketers to directly deliver messages to all types of immersed audiences, via their medium of choice.

Brands can now leverage the power of programmatic ads and in-game out of home experiences. From static ads to dynamic virtual billboards, in-game advertising enables greater customisation of the user’s experience as well as availabilities for geo-targeting – all whilst being fully integrated into the storyline of a game. As such, ads in the gaming universe complement their surroundings and become part of the digital world, as they would in real life. This makes an effective way to reach audiences in a non-intrusive yet identifiable way.

Additionally, gamers’ acceptance and expectation for brand engagement on virtual platforms is evident.  Studies have highlighted that 70% of young gamers believe that brands should pay more attention to gamer culture, and more than half of gamers agree that brands should work to get their products in video games.

With increasing volumes of audiences spending time and money in virtual gaming experiences, brands that fail to tap into gaming’s massive marketing potential could be missing out on a major opportunity to reach these engaged consumers. Brands that are ready to act and to evolve with the gaming world will reap the benefits of these highly immersive and shoppable environments.

Source: the7stars QT, Ypulse, ExhangeWire.com