Publicis Media’s Samantha Lim will be speaking at AdExchanger’s Industry Preview in New York City on February 7. Click here to register.
The video game ad market is “not very mature – but it’s growing,” said Samantha Lim, SVP of gaming strategy and innovation at Publicis Media.
Yet, although there are more advertisers running tests, many “are interested but just haven’t figured out how to fully dive in yet,” Lim said.
One challenge is that advertisers are sensitive. “They don’t want to do anything that hurts their brand,” she said, and many still view gaming content as a less-than-brand-safe environment. Not to mention brands risk drawing the ire of gamers if their campaigns aren’t a fit for the games they run in.
But recent happenings are paving the way for more ad dollars to come into gaming, including new standards for intrinsic in-game ads (as in, ads that appear within gameplay rather than more traditional display and video formats) and the fact that console giants, such as Sony and Microsoft, are looking to monetize their free-to-play titles with ads.
Lim spoke to AdExchanger about navigating these new advertising opportunities, the growth of intrinsic in-game ad inventory and the next steps for in-game programmatic.
AdExchanger: What have been some key developments in the video game ads market over the past year?
SAMANTHA LIM: There have been many more integration and custom opportunities, and the immersive experiences that brands are building are getting headlines in the trades. I’ve also been hearing more about companies hiring people to focus on gaming.
What’s on the horizon in 2023 for the gaming channel?
We’ll start to see more game publishers and studios have test models where they pull in intrinsic in-game ads – obviously, depending on the game. And there’s been a lot of conversation around intrinsic in-game ads on consoles. It will be interesting to see the timing for when those ads get rolled out – if it’s in 2023 or if it goes through 2024, depending on how the testing is going now.
Across the gaming industry, experimentation with monetization models will continue, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see testing of new ad formats. And we’ll continue to see developments in game integrations that feel like rewards.
How can brands effectively reward gamers?
Providing a different look, like wearables or some sort of customization, [is effective] because gamers are interested in making the game a reflection of who they are. Gamers are gravitating to things that showcase an interest in style, and that’s where brands are experimenting. What I like about that approach is that it doesn’t require you to build a brand-new [virtual] world that you then have to drive traffic to.
Are intrinsic in-game ads on home consoles the next big thing, or are advertisers more focused on chasing custom integrations in metaverse-inspired online games like Roblox?
It’s going to be both custom integrations and intrinsic console. The way I look at things, it’s more about the entire gaming ecosystem, meaning not doing one-off campaigns but looking at the various touch points within gaming where a brand can activate. You need, ideally, a mix of the various touch points in the game, around the game and outside of it.
How important are those “outside the game” activations – things like esports sponsorships or influencer marketing?
Quite important. They can sometimes, depending on what you want to do, be more cost prohibitive or have longer lead times, especially if you’re aligning to an experiential event. But those activations are key, because there are communities that are built around them, and community is a really important part of gaming.
How well developed is the programmatic infrastructure for intrinsic in-game ads as compared to “around the game ads” like interstitials and rewarded video?
The amount of inventory that can run programmatically for intrinsic in-game is less developed. One of the challenges for intrinsic in-game programmatic is the creative aspect and the need for human review of the ad creative, especially when dealing with game developers that want to make sure they have a say in who is advertising. When you have more custom units, those usually need to be direct IO.
Around-the-game ads are definitely more programmatic friendly. It’s been around longer, and while the ads appear in the game, you’re not a part of the gameplay or the aesthetic of the world developed by the game studio.
What kinds of ad campaigns are video games best suited for?
Intrinsic in-game tends to be more upper-funnel, more about brand metrics versus performance, because it’s rare to be able to click out from a game through an intrinsic in-game ad. But around-the-game placements can be more performance-driven.
How big of a role do DSPs play in building programmatic infrastructure for in-game ads?
I don’t think it’s just up to DSPs. It’s also up to the industry to agree on methodologies and buying standards. Even though we’ve got the IAB’s new standards, that doesn’t mean those are widely adopted. More standardization needs to happen before the DSPs can play a bigger role. From a technological standpoint, there are things that can be done – for example, integrations with companies to provide measurement or attention metrics. But creative will continue to be a challenge as long as developers need to have a say in the look and feel of intrinsic in-game ads.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
