I love video games, and have loved them from a very young age (given that I have previously expressed love for The Oregon Trail and Nintendo in separate posts, this likely comes as no surprise). The first Christmas present that I remember receiving was the original Nintendo when I was only four. Since that time, there have been quite a few different games over the years where the stats have shown that I have taken over 100 hours to complete a game, and each time a part of me cringes realizing how much of my life was gone only on one game. I shudder to think of the full amount of lifetime hours I have spent on gaming, but at the same time, it has provided me with a lifetime of entertainment and humor, and in recent years I have also been on the receiving end of some of the best storytelling in any entertainment industry (and I do not give such praise lightly).
In this respect, I am like many millennials. 57 percent of my generation claims to play video games at least three times a week, and despite working two jobs, finishing up a Master’s degree, and planning a wedding, this somehow has held true for me as well (most weeks, anyway). I play across a variety of different platforms, including several gaming systems, my computer, and my mobile phone. And speaking of mobile gaming, it should come as no surprise that millennials also lead the way in this category.
This leads to yet another medium in which brands may be able to reach this generation: in-game advertising. While it is not uncommon for brands to advertise in console games (one example would be Tostino’s advertising within the WWE 2K16 game as in the below image), I will instead take a brief look at in-game advertising within mobile games. This generally consists of the ads that play either when the app is opened or sometime during a break in gameplay.
There are over 160 million mobile phone gamers in the United States, so this adds up to a lot of overall opportunity. Plus, gamers tend to be more engaged and receptive of ads on mobile, so when executed properly, this can be a very effective strategy as well. I know that I personally do not mind the ads on mobile, as they offer a brief reprieve in-between levels or puzzles (I tend to prefer the latter on mobile), and the most obnoxious ads tend to be skippable after a few seconds.
How effective are these ads? About two-thirds of gamers have visited advertisers’ websites after viewing a mobile game advertisement. These are impressive results for advertisers who might have trouble otherwise driving traffic to their own digital channels. These results are also the reason that nearly 50% of all digital video advertising is expected to be delivered via mobile by the year 2019.
I have to admit that my personal experience with these mobile ads has not been as positive, but then again, most of the ads I seem to be shown are for other game applications. Still, there have been a few movie trailers that have played that have raised my excitement to see them. To me, this is an odd finding because I generally ignore video advertisements that play on Hulu Plus or try and skip past the pre-roll ads on YouTube, yet when it comes to mobile phone applications, for some reason I have more attention.
This is clearly opportunity for advertisers of all industries. As I am part of a generation that tends to ignore, skip, or find a way to avoid advertising, it is pretty remarkable to find a medium in which advertising seems to work quite well. And given all the spending expected to occur by 2019, it is clear that marketers are also beginning to understand ways to reach this millennial generation.
Reaching Me in My Digital Space 