4 challenges for in-game advertising, according to programmatic
As the first part in a new article series, we talked to some of Latin America’s key programmatic players about their take on gaming.
This year, 65% of the world’s digital ad spend will be traded programmatically. This share is growing steadily, and in some markets is already over 80%.
Considering how important programmatic advertising is, we reached out to four Latin American experts to find out what gaming needs in order to become indispensable in a digital media mix, and especially in order to be more programmatic-friendly.
We talked to Cristian Figoli, Regional Head of Programmatic at Dentsu Aegis Network; Andrés Mociulsky, Head Programmatic Hub at Havas Media Argentina; Alejo Mosin, Head of Cadreon Argentina, and Armando Martínez, Programmatic and Digital Innovation Director at Omnicom Media Group.
This is what we learnt from their answers:
1) Tearing down preconceptions
All four professionals agree (and so do we!) that gaming grants access to audiences much more diverse and valuable than is commonly thought, and the market still needs to be educated on that.
“Just like programmatic trading did once upon a time, gaming is going through a stage where it needs to ‘prove’ its true worth and break down stereotypes,” explains Mociulsky, who pointed out that mobile gamers belong to economically valuable audiences.
Figoli adds: “There is no gamer archetype, like was thought some years ago. However, the message hasn’t reached everyone and some still frown upon the idea of running ads in videogames.”
2) Making good use of data
On the other hand, knowing how to gather and interpret user information will be key in getting to know consumers deeply.
“In Latin America there are very few gaming specialists, and consumer knowledge is still limited to other areas of their digital behavior –explains Martínez-. When inventory grows and we identify nuances in gamer profiles, more advertisers will be interesting in using games to communicate relevant messages to users.”
Figoli highlights the importance of having concrete, auditable information about audiences, while Mosin points out that “gaming will be friendlier to programmatic as long as, within the parameters of responsible data use, it exchanges as much information as possible with connected technologies.”
3) Boosting creativity
Video game advertising also needs to continue to explore its creative possibilities, so it can offer players innovative and truly attractive ad experiences.
Says Mosin: “It would help to view in-game ads in a much more creative way, in order to develop a message and an ad format that is seen as valuable, and not an interruption”.
4) Adding new formats
If it wants to bolster programmatic buying, in-game advertising needs to be ready to automatize all kinds of ads, and not just Interstitials and Rewarded Videos.
“It would be ideal to have other formats integrated to the programmatic environment, that prove you can get good results beyond the clear benefit of getting a reward,” explains Mociulsky.
Figoli adds that there are no defined creative standards that allow scaling campaigns, and that in-app advertising in general needs to be more transparent regarding its supply path in order to gain trust.
Bonus: The future of programmatic
While we’re here, we asked the experts how they think the programmatic sector will evolve in the next couple years. In Martínez’s words, that road can be summed up as “more media and more targeting”.
On one hand, programmatic trade is expected to reach more and more channels and formats, including traditional media like television, radio and out of home. “Truth is, the technical integrations necessary to buy any king of ad programmatically exist already, but like any new paradigm it needs to be adopted, and that takes leaving the comfort zone and changing the status quo,” says Figoli.
On the other, all four executives expect the abundant available data will not only grant a more detailed knowledge and segmentation of digital audiences, as mentioned, but also allow better measurement of campaign performance across different channels.
Mosin explains: “I believe programmatic will become a must for understanding and activating data sources, both online and offline, and therefore grow into the best tool for keeping a more effective record of user level performance, and creating more complete attribution models.”
