It goes without saying that if you're in the gaming industry and want to make a name for yourself, gaming advertisements are a must. But gone are the days of banners and traditional game advertising methods.
Whether it's movies, YouTube videos, in-game interactions, branded campaigns, or celebrity collaborations, for decades, marketers have developed innovative methods of showcasing gaming's appeal in ways beyond gameplay alone.
The result? A plethora of creative and tech-driven marketing strategies for games.
Here you’ll find some of the most innovative game advertising tips to inspire your next campaign.
Video ads are often inspired by advertising trends rather than looking exactly like the game itself.
Generally, gamers are reluctant to leave their seats, but a good gaming advertisement will make them jump out of it in delight while also injecting a sense of urgency. A delicate balance between “have you seen this amazing game?” and “you better not forget about this amazing game,” if you may.
But how do you make a gaming ad "good"?
Sometimes, the best strategy is to take an approach nobody else has taken. Many of you have probably heard of Fortnite's Travis Scott collaboration or the way Sony's Double Life ad gave an identity to millions of gamers. What these campaigns all have in common is that they are original, impactful, and engaging for the audience.
But let’s face it, you can't keep coming up with ideas no one else has thought of to make your game advertising interesting. It’s the 2022 gaming scene, and originality has lost much of its meaning along with gaming genres.
You can, however, highlight the unique features of your game to make it more memorable.
Consider all the features and aspects of the game that distinguish it from others – its mechanics, graphics, narrative, etc. Your game advertising should be geared towards giving an overview of the game (what it is, what it involves, etc.) in addition to highlighting its benefits. It’s more like a trailer for a game or an explanation video.
Then consider how you can present them so that they catch the audience's attention following our tips. We’ve collected several useful tips to help make your game advertising stand out, including optimized in-game ads, which you can check out below.
According to a new report from Social Peta, mobile game advertising experienced a sharp decline in ad placements in 2022. َAccording to the report, the total number of conventional mobile game ads decreased by nearly 30% to 15.8 million.
Due to this narrowing market, quality seems to have taken precedence over quantity. In other words, if your game ads don't engage your audience, they won't work. So it’s time to get creative with your ads and find inspiration in the trending ad campaigns if you haven’t already.
We will share 8 iconic gaming ad tips to inspire your ad strategy this year.
A strong online presence is the most effective (and cost-effective) method of reaching your target audience. Social networks like Discord, Instagram, and TikTok connect you with a large and diverse audience you can’t easily find anywhere else.
In addition to the vastness of social media networks, visual ads can be customized to match your branding. But if you want to turn social media users into players, you should create compelling and aesthetic (especially on platforms like Instagram) visual content for your ads to pique their interest.
RPG advertising has been using real people and real-life stories for quite some time now. This strategy was implemented by advertisers to make themselves more credible. After all, anything that takes inspiration from the real world has the potential to go mainstream, become culturally relevant, and thrill audiences.
A cross-promotional advertising strategy refers to companies partnering with other businesses for advertising, which can result in both companies gaining more customers. Although, finding such companies could be challenging since they should be reliable companies that are not in direct competition with you.
Alternatively, you can use a new platform or app to promote yourself.
The more types of apps, social media accounts, and games you have, the more you can share them with each other. As a result, a free application without a specific revenue model could serve as a cross-marketing channel to promote your profitable game.
The gaming industry isn't a sequel to Hollywood; it is its own thing, and it will continue to evolve and change. But some things will remain the same, and the role of influential figures in popularizing games is one of them.
It has become increasingly common to leverage the influence of internet celebrities for advertising purposes. In fact, this method is quite popular with advertisers if they have the budget for it.
Working with celebrities can be more profitable than traditional marketing, although it’ll only be effective when combined with other marketing strategies. These figures already have a fan base and audience of their own, so there is a huge pool of fans just waiting to be converted into players.
Over 3 billion people play games on various platforms, making gaming the most popular form of entertainment of our time. However, this is not just another exciting channel for game advertisers. This is the channel to reach gamers' core demographic - millennial men.
While gaming is not exclusively a male activity, and you can have access to a wide range of audiences if you understand the latest marketing trends, 52% of American gamers in 2022 were men.
These prospects are like the holy grail of marketing, elusive but loyal once ensnared in the marketing funnel, and they’re more receptive to innovative games. Plus, there is no easy way to find them on any other marketing channel.
Good research is the key to good advertising. It is no different when it comes to game advertising. In order to create effective video game ads, you should take inspiration from the target market's love of the game rather than appealing to a general audience that doesn't care about the game.
With today's games, there's something for everyone – consequently, gaming is now a community for everyone. Modern-time video games have created their own subcultures, nurtured and nourished online through sites like Twitch, YouTube, and Discord. Research should be conducted on those very websites to find out what players are interested in.
If your target audience doesn't know about the gameplay of your video game, how will they be able to “want” to play it? This is one of the many reasons why you need to make a gameplay video in addition to your promotional video.
There is no doubt that video marketing has become one of the most important marketing strategies for many businesses, and it has shown particularly positive results in the gaming industry.
Moreover, short videos have been used for game advertising in what SocialPeta describes as an attempt to increase their popularity as a topic of discussion among social media users. Alternatively, you can use real people to act out gameplay or record reactions, thereby making the most out of popular apps like TikTok that allow you to post short-form videos.
Can you guess how many mobile games make it to the market? The gaming industry is constantly generating huge revenues, but according to Fortunly, only 5% of mobile game titles generate profits.
There are several reasons why this happens, including a lack of exposure. As the gaming market becomes more crowded, it becomes harder for developers to be noticed by potential customers, much less for their games to be purchased and enjoyed. Regardless of how impressive your game is, the success of your game comes down to how easily it can be found by your audience. Indeed, in the end, it's all about marketing.
Whether you run an affiliate gaming site, a blog dedicated to video games, an eCommerce store for gamers, or even if you have made your own video game, video marketing can be used in a variety of ways so that you can connect with your customers to reach your goals.
The right video advertising campaign will increase revenue for advertisers, motivate players to engage with the brand, and attract players that are more likely to take action.
In 2022, we witnessed terms such as “open world” and “first-person shooter” being stripped of most of their previous definitions. In fact, nowadays, gaming isn't even a single category anymore.
There are people who play alone to lose themselves, others who play with their friends, and some who play for profit, and Roblox has proven that gamers find making games as rewarding as playing them.
But of course, video games’ stubborn reluctance to conform contributes to their addictive nature. It's only natural that, like any great art form, they need continuous classification and re-classification just to keep up with their endless development.
Our daily lives have become even more reliant on games since the pandemic, and advertisements in games have also grown at an exponential rate. According to estimates, the industry will be worth $56 billion by 2024. Smart businesses know there are many benefits following that number.
In-game advertising is a popular strategy for ad campaigns as it increases the possibility of a sale. As a matter of fact, 81% of British and American media buyers plan to spend more on in-game advertising in 2023.
By 2025, the global gaming market is expected to be worth $256.97 billion. In this equation, gaming ads play an important role.
Game developers use in-game advertising as a means of earning money by selling advertisements inside their games. Even though the ads come in different formats, their purpose is always the same: capture the attention of the player without interfering with their gameplay.
It is a great opportunity for brands to advertise in video games due to the fact that they can reach out to an audience that is arguably the most receptive on the internet. But as with anything marketing, in-game advertising needs to be optimized for success.
A game is nothing more than a story you participate in. Through it, we are able to shape the narrative for good or evil, allowing us to step into another world. That is the most valuable part of gaming experiences, and taking that away from your audience means losing them.
More than two decades have passed since in-game advertising became a hot-button topic. There are numerous players who claim they’re sick and tired of in-game ads. But the growth of in-game advertising, largely driven by the likes of Wiz Khalifa’s campaign on Xbox 360, Fortnite’s collaboration with Travis Scott, plus recent announcements in partnership with the NBA, suggests otherwise.
Turns out, gamers don’t hate in-game ads if they’re well-made and well-placed. The idea of it, however, does not sit well with them. So what’s a marketer to do?
The key to successful in-game advertising is to take note of what players don’t like to see and experience mid-game and optimize marketing efforts accordingly. To get you started, here are some tips.
Every day, we help companies like yours reach their audiences through various channels, spanning from YouTube video advertising to in-game ads. With expertise in everything from social media content to Super Bowl commercials, Driver Studios offers full-service production, content creation, and marketing services for brands and agencies alike.
Let's discuss how we can help you succeed with in-game advertising!
It's hard to get noticed in the crowded sea of games when players have so many options to choose from. Additionally, big gaming brands that are backed by huge budgets are pushing small studios out of business.
Imagining that months of hard work have finally paid off and the project you have been working on has finally been completed must be satisfying. Indeed, the process of developing a game can be tedious, but if people don't know about it, then what's the point?
In-game advertising not only allows you to showcase your game to your potential audience but also gives you an opportunity to find prospects where they’re engaged and likely to interact with your ad (but only if you time and place it right).
Driver Studio services allow you to access a truly diverse audience throughout the world while preserving and complementing the gaming experience. Contact us to create fresh, meaningful, and profitable revenue streams with in-game advertising that compliments the gaming experience.
