What is in-game advertising?

In-game advertising refers to the placement of adverts within native video game environments, offering a seamless integrated advertising experience for both players and advertisers alike. In-game ads utilise formats such as in-game billboards, reward video, custom minigames and native placements, capturing the attention of gamers globally. 

With the mobile gaming industry alone exceeding $120bn in market value in 2020, there has never been a better time for advertisers to consider in-game placements as part of their wider marketing mix, as many notable brands have done already. For example, Nike immersed young audiences with their ‘Nikeland’ virtual world in the popular kids game Roblox, offering various sporting minigames and collectible Nike branded sportswear for their avatars. Or similarly The Grammy Awards, in partnership with Mastercard, hosted ‘Grammy Week’ on Roblox, offering virtual concerts, artist meet and greets, minigames and exclusive in-game collectibles.

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Benefits of In-Game Advertising

Increased Engagement

In-game advertising offers a native, seamless and engaging experiences for players, by integrating directly within the gaming environments they are already familiar with. As such, in-game campaign performance often fares better in terms of overall engagement and view-through metrics, compared to traditional online advertising placements. For example, reward video placements typically achieve a view-through-rate in excess of 90%, as users opt-in to watching an ad in exchange for in-game currency or collectibles.

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Diverse Demographics to Engage With

Mass smartphone adoption means the modern gaming demographic is far more diverse than stereotypes may previously have suggested. According to a recent study, approximately 51% of mobile gamers are female, with 43% of them playing mobile games more than 5x a week. Whilst Gen Z still account for the lionshare of mobile gamers, studies show over 66% of internet users aged between 55-64 globally play video games. With the worldwide ubiquity of smartphones, mobile gaming audiences are more diverse and far reaching than ever before.

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An Alternative to Social Media

As the popularity of socialising in metaverse environments continues to grow, in-game placements offer a compelling alternative to social media advertising. Like social media, online video games offer a social environment where friends can connect, however this is elevated as players can share joint experiences in real-time, offering a uniquely immersive experience. In-game advertising also has the added benefit of lower advertising competition across placements, as typically only a single ad-unit is in view at a given time, increasing brand awareness and recognition.

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In-Game Ad-Formats:

SuperBiz In-Game Billboards

Our partnership with Super Biz allows advertisers to place existing banner or video creatives across in-game billboards hosted on their brand safe Roblox worlds, offering a seamless and organically integrated placement into Gen Z's most popular metaverse platform.

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Super Biz 3D In-Game Character

For advertisers seeking a completely customizable integrated placement, our 3D In-Game character interacts directly with gamers across brand-safe environments. The 3D character can be customized to deliver promotional messaging regarding a campaign, raising awarenss amongst gamers in a fun and interactive way.

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In-App Interstitial

Interstitials consist of text, images and/or video graphics and are served on natural pauses in gameplay, such as in-between levels.

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Reward Video

Reward video ads are served after a user opts in to viewing an advertisement, in exchange for in-game gifts or currency. Reward video benefits from very high view-through rates (VTR), as users must complete the video before receiving their reward. Reward video placements are available across our in-app and PlayerWon in-game formats. 

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MRAID

An MRAID is a custom mini-game, served during natural pauses in gameplay or in-exchange for a reward. These are built by Venatus with popular game formats such as quizzes, puzzles and action games available for advertisers to completely customize. MRAIDs can boost brand awareness and recognition, by allowing players to interact and engage with their brand.

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Custom Integration

Custom integrations are built from the ground up by collaborating with both game publishers and advertisers, so can take any form within an app, for example brands can sponsor levels, offer branded in-game collectibles, host daily challenges and much more.

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Get in touch:

If you’d like to connect with gaming audiences with custom interactive in-game placements, we'd love to connect! Get in touch with a member of our sales team using the email address below, or click the link to book a meeting:

global-sales@venatus.com

https://meetings.hubspot.com/omar-bakr/newsletter-sales-meeting