Four benefits of gaming, according to media agencies
Media execs told us why they consider in-game advertising a must in a complete digital strategy.
After two conversations with programmatic trade specialists about the role of in-game advertising in a modern digital media mix, this time we turned to media agency executives to find out what experiences they had along with their clients, and why they think including video games in a media strategy.
Amalia Gerpe, Digital Director at Carat; Damián Maffud, Account Director at StarCom; Lucas Salomón, Digital Director at PHD, and Leandro Starópoli, Digital Project Manager at IPG Mediabrands, shared their views on gaming’s potential and the differential value it gives to a campaign.
We summed up their answers into four key points.
1) Relevance
One of the advantages of in-game advertising the interviewees pointed out is the precise audience segmentation the medium permits and all the information we can gather (or infer) about users and their context. This way it’s easier to find the right person with the most suitable message.
Salomón says: “The most important thing is to keep working on a strategy where data and creative messages are the corner stones to achieve more relevant brand results”.
On the other hand, Starópoli assures “all this information is challenging and redefining media planning”, and adds: “At the same time, tech providers are constantly thinking up and developing new experiences, some even completely immersive, to get marketers and users even closer”.
2) Receptiveness
Advertising on video games, we know not only who we are talking to but also the situation and the mood they’re in. And, it just so happens, it’s a context where they are very open to brand messages: as Maffud sums up, gaming “gives us the chance to reach a certain group with a high level of attention and disposition to receiving the content”.
“In this context, the user is more permeable to ads”, agrees Salomón. He recounts: “For one brand, for example, we intervened the creative piece to make it dynamic and interactive so that gamers could experience the message in a more attractive way. We were able to surpass 7x our expected results”.
3) Provable results
This leads us to our third point, which is that in-game advertising allows us to thoroughly measure a campaign’s performance. And the results are very good!
Says Starópoli: “This type of format offers users continuity to the game experience, which leads directly to better engagement rates than we can get, for example, with certain social media”.
Maffud mentions the high VTRs and CTRs gaming yields, and their importance for any campaign. “Digital media keep growing because of the traceability they allow and the constant optimization they grant us –he explains–. In an economic situation like this one, this is the most efficient way to invest”.
Gerpe, on the other hand, highlights the use of interesting metrics “especially aimed at branding, which was always very hard to measure, unlike performance campaigns”.
4) Accessibility
Another point Gerpe makes is that the gaming world is a good tool agencies have to “democratize innovation”. That is, offer new advertising solutions to brands that aren’t particularly adventurous, without requiring a big investment. “Games are visual and dynamic, and most marketers have some experience with them. Therefore, it’s easy to explain and it helps us make this type of strategy popular”, she explains.
The executive also reflected on the difference between big brands, that have the resources to explore new formats and platforms but tend to play it safe, and small companies with less of a budget but with a better disposition for innovation.
Bonus: Two unresolved issues
5) Education
See? We’re not the only ones to insist on this! Our partners agree that there are many preconceptions and incorrect assessments about gaming.
Starópoli assures in-game advertising is “an opportunity to be more creative, more innovative, to explore new paths, to imagine new experiences but, above all, to stop ignoring what data indicates”. He points out that out of 250 million Latin American gamers, 55% play five or more times a day and 44% have made an in-game purchase before.
6) Tech integration
Just like in any other aspect of the digital industry, staying up to date with new technologies and innovating constantly is paramount. “In the digital world we are forever in transition. We’re always leaving the old behind and latching onto the new”, describes Gerpe, while observing that, in this regard, completing the integration to programmatic is still a pending task for gaming.
Fundamentally, more marketers need to dare to explore the potential of gaming, a medium with the reach and flexibility to give any brand to boost to new horizons.
