Does Anyone Really Benefit From In Game Advertising?

Andrew Wilson, Chariman & CEO of Electronic Arts, recently caught the attention of a few folks like Eddie Makuch at Gamespot who wrote about how the company is evaluating a ”thoughtful approach to in-game advertising” There’s been a flurry of recent coverage, as gamers, who already have a complicated relationship with the brand question whether or not these “ads’ are really going to meaningfully enhance their recreational experience—particularly when it has come at an increasing cost, with, by some metrics, decreased satisfaction. While some may think that in-game advertising is a new venture for EA, the truth is, the brand has a long history of exploring in-game marketing partnerships.

EA boasts an audience of 205,000,000 monthly active gamers with a 60% male skew. They highlight experiences in games like The Sims 4, Madden 21 Mobile, Apex Legends, Battlefield V, NBA Live Mobile, Need for Speed No Limits, Plants & Zombies 2, Real Racing 3, and Bejewled Blitz. Past opportunities have included bespoke sponsorships of competitive gaming events, in-game activations like takeovers, and some programmatic and display opportunities inside of mobile gamings. The recent comments came in the context of the FC franchise, which can be acquired on a sale, but could cost gamers as much as $60. Historically, EA’s activations have required brands to make at least a $100,000 investment, so they haven’t been practical for small advertisers.

EA isn’t the only gaming powerhouse to dabble with sponsored integrations. Despite some strong feelings about advertising, the team at Epic Games worked with the fine folks at WPP to dabble in exploring Metaverse campaigns in 2022, and gamers across the internet have noticed. Roblox experimented with a self serve advertising platform, and are looking to build a new offering built around sponsored experiences and sponsored items. The team is concerned with making sure brands deliver experiences that are ‘integrated with the user experience.’

A number of platforms like StackAdapt offer access to video and display inventory inside of a number of popular mobile apps. Often these videos are included as part of a feature where users are incentivized with free coins or access to an additional feature in exchange for engaging with the video itself. While this can potentially mislead a brand to think a campaign is performing better than it is, it can also unlock access to segments of audiences that can be otherwise very difficult to reach online.

Brands know that gamers are a valuable segment. They’ve tried to reach them on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok to varying degrees of success, and so it’s natural to want to explore the more brand-safe environment of games themselves, but audiences are asking real questions, and have real concerns about the fundamental fairness of the value proposition.

Brands that are looking to experiment with in-game messaging need to make sure that they do so with an eye to the reality that this is a space where the “norms” just haven’t been established, and audiences have real concerns that deserve to be respected.