Why Gaming Is The Next Big Opportunity For Brands: Key Takeaways From Campaign’s Gaming Summit

Written by Adam Flynn, Senior Strategist

 
 

Panelists:  Dallia Herrtage /Vice President, Global Media Innovation and Partnerships, Unilever /Georgia Paton, Senior Gaming Partnerships Manager, War Child UK /Elaine Dowman, Head of Games & Creative Industries, Barclays /Simon Luff, Managing Partner - Head of Strategy, Ear to the Ground 

 

It will be no surprise to many of you that gaming is big business, contributing £5bn to the UK economy last year (Campaign). According to Statista, the UK was home to 51.21 million gamers in 2023 and this is predicted to rise to 57.56 million in 2027. 

Recently we attended Campaign’s Gaming Summit in London to catch up on the work the industry is currently doing and what the key focuses are for gaming moving forward. Here is what we learned. 

Speaker: Dan Alessandro Podasca, Group Account Director, GEEIQ 

 

ATTENTION HAS EVOLVED INTO THE VIRTUAL WORLD

As beautifully put by GEEIQs Account Director, Dan Alessandro Podasca, attention has now evolved beyond social media to encompass the world of virtual environments. Gen Z spends more time in Roblox than TikTok and YouTube (Vice X Razorfish Gen Z Metaverse Report).  

While the distraction economy that is social media makes ten seconds of attention very difficult to achieve, virtual worlds at their core are extremely interactive and allow users to immerse themselves into worlds, creating their own stories and journeys. GEEIQ shared that on average, gamers spend eleven minutes on average inside their Roblox experiences.  

KEY TAKEOUT

  • Gen Z spends more time in virtual worlds (like Roblox) than traditional social media. 

  • Virtual environments offer high engagement with extended attention spans, which presents an opportunity for brands to have more effective interactions with hard-to-reach audiences. 

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF AUTHENTICITY AND WHAT THAT MEANS WITHIN GAMING

Authenticity is a buzzword that is thrown around a lot within the marketing landscape. Here are some pointers to highlight what authenticity is within the context of the gaming environment.  

DON’T TAKE GAMERS AWAY FROM THE GAME

It’s important to support gamers and not to lecture them. Gaming is a passion, and an opportunity to escape the pressures of life.  While there are completely valid mental and physical health concerns regarding gaming, force-feeding these concerns down the throats of gamers will achieve nothing but alienate you from the very audience you’re trying to engage.  

Aldi’s Teatime Takedown campaign was discussed during the summit, this campaign involved an elite squad of esports pros who we hired to takedown young gamers in game, so that they were downstairs in time for tea.  

Aldi was accused of being out of touch with this campaign, meeting heavy criticism from gamers for painting gaming as a hinderance.  

KEY TAKEOUT

  • Understand the audience to launch authentic and relatable activity  

 

Speaker: Melinda Spence, Head of Insights, Activision Blizzard Media 

 

GAMING ISN’T JUST FOR THE VERY YOUNG: MUMS AND MOBILE GAMING

Another misconception is that gaming is just for the young. This is not true, millennials and even some Gen X’s have grown up with gaming.  

This also included mums. Activision/Blizzards head of insights, Melinda Spence, highlighted how gaming was very popular with mums. While we’ve mainly mentioned console and PC gaming so far, mobile gaming is very popular with older audiences and especially with Mums. 

As with younger gamers, Mums primarily use gaming to relax or cure boredom during moments of downtime, playing games such as Candy Crush.

In addition to this, gaming offers communal benefits within the household. Nearly half of mums rank gaming as one of the top ways to bond with family and friends.  

KEY TAKEOUT

  • Don’t assume gaming is restricted to console players, mobile players present a huge opportunity for brands to break into this space  

 

TRENDS TO PAY ATTENTION TO

 

EVOLUTION OF THE GAMING INDUSTRY

The gaming industry is currently facing mass layoffs within large studios. Essentially, this means the gaming market will follow what is happening in the movie industry, with releases either being indie-based or consistent releases from the industry’s cash cows, as seen with the superhero franchises.  

Within a gaming context, we will carry on getting our AAA games such as Call of Duty and EAFC, but the AA and A markets will shrink.  

However, with the rise of social media and the prominence of virtual stores (Steam, PS store, Microsoft store), it’s much easier for indie games to become mainstream and, each year, there will be multiple examples of Indie games going viral, think Palworld or Valheim.  

KEY TAKEOUT

  • Monitoring these trending games provide a key opportunity for both larger and smaller brands to step into this space  

 

INFLUENCER MARKETING

Each game will have its own creator network who holds authority over the audience. Partnering with these creators is perfect way for your brand to showcase that you have knowledge within the space. 

KEY TAKEOUT

  • Identify the right creators to form partnerships with and develop brand friendships with longevity to build an authentic presence in this space 

 

EMPHASISING STORYTELLING

Players remember when they had an immersive experience. These experiences can be built in-game or at a live physical event. However, it’s worth mentioning that live events are not at the scale they were before covid, with some even being abandoned, such as E3.  

Live events (such asGX and Insomnia in the UK) still offer a perfect opportunity for a brand to get to know the gaming audience.   

KEY TAKEOUT

  • Don’t dismiss live events, and if you’re going to attend, always ensure you have an authentic and relatable reason to go   

 

GAMING ON THE GO (MOBILE GAMING)

Mobile gaming appeals to a very wide audience, with most people owning a mobile device. As mobile technology becomes more powerful, mobile games are becoming more expansive (Call of Duty Mobile scores within the top 10 downloads on both Android and IOS), providing players with more opportunities to play in moments of peace, at home or on their commute, for example. Older audiences typically play mobile puzzle games, while children under the age 8, are mostly likely to play games like Roblox or Fortnite (Ofcom 2023).

KEY TAKEOUTS

  • Mobile gaming is often used as a pastime and, therefore, a brilliant way to frequently get your brand in front of users

 

SAFE GAMING PRACTICES

Finally, at present there is a lot more focus being placed on game safety regarding mental and physical health. There is a lot of concern from parents regarding health habits and protection for their children in the online social environment. Brands need to reassure their target audiences that they are complying with safety laws and encouraging a safe space within their activations. 

From a physical standpoint, more and more research is being done to discover what affect prolonged screentime and exposure to loud noises has on our youth in later years. Most recently the BBC published an article sharing the finding of studies relating to irreversible hearing damage caused by headsets (BBC 2024). 

We are tackling this issue in partnership with Specsavers, educating gamers and their parents on maintaining healthy eyes and ears while gaming. Starting last year with a stand at EGX, the campaign has now evolved into an educational experience within Roblox, available now at 🌟Ultimate Easy Obby - Roblox. 

KEY TAKEOUT

  • Brands need to consider the benefits that they can offer to their audience when they step into this space, as well as what they want to achieve  

BlogsTangerine CommsIntel