GumGum Helps Marketers Reach Gamers with Intrinsic In-Game Ads
For an industry that generates more revenue than music, movies, and television combined, gaming has been relatively untapped by digital advertisers. The channel accounted for less than 6% of total digital ad spend in the U.S. last year, despite 73% of adult gamers indicating they would welcome more advertising from brands.
A new partnership between the contextual-first digital ad platform GumGum and Frameplay, a company that enables intrinsic in-game advertising, could change all that, giving multi-location brands a way to reach gamers in select markets while also enhancing the playing experience for those seeking more in-game rewards.
The strategic partnership between GumGum and Frameplay is designed to expand GumGum’s suite of ad products into the Frameplay platform, where brands can connect with gamers through non-intrusive ads placed inside interactive video games. The approach is designed to generate engagement from the highly-desirable “gamer” audience using relevant in-game advertising in brand-suitable environments.
“Intrinsic in-game is a natural expansion of GumGum’s suite of high impact products into gaming environments,” says GumGum CEO Phil Schraeder. “Our in-gaming ad format is fully integrated, non-intrusive, delivers high viewability, and offers advertisers innovative, immersive, and creative ways to meet gaming audiences without using their personal data.”
GumGum will now be able to read metadata in gaming environments and build in its contextual technology, as appropriate, to enhance campaign creative and optimization. Schraeder believes expanding GumGum’s suite of ad products into Frameplay’s platform will offer a unique opportunity to advertisers wanting to reach unexpected audiences online.
“With this partnership, GumGum is now able to offer our clients the opportunity to enter the extremely coveted in-game advertising space without sacrificing creativity, brand suitability, or user experiences,” Schraeder says. “Together, we’re able to offer advertisers the chance to be early adopters of this emerging environment and reach diverse gaming audiences across mobile, desktop, and consoles with non-intrusive ads that don’t interrupt gaming experiences.”
The partnership also offers brands a springboard into what Schraeder describes as the “Web 3.0 world.” With more than 180 million people in the U.S. currently identifying as digital gamers, Schraeder believes in-game advertising will soon be critical for brands to increase their share of voice and reach audiences at scale.
“There’s a misconception that gamers are only younger men holed up in rooms in gaming chairs. This view is so far from the true breadth of the gaming audience, which is incredibly diverse,” Schraeder says.
In fact, the gender divide among gamers is almost evenly split, at 54% male to 46% female. Millennial audiences represent 40% of the gaming market, with Gen Z and Baby Boomers each making up another 21% market share. Among players between the ages of 18 and 35, 12% say they are considering careers as professional gamers, while 60% of gamer parents say they also play video games with their children at least once per week.
While the $165 billion global video game market has been relatively untapped by major brand marketers thus far, in-game advertising is a major topic among brand advertisers. With Sony, Microsoft, and EA all recently voicing support for in-game advertising, it’s clear that the space is in growth mode.
“We’re just now beginning to experiment with Web 3.0 and the metaverse, and it’s an incredibly exciting space with so much potential to bridge divides and truly change the world for the better by fostering connectivity,” Schraeder says. “We believe our blueprint for the future of digital advertising, which we’ve dubbed the Mindset Matrix, will provide advertisers with the tools they need to reach and engage audiences in web 3.0 environments — from gaming to the metaverse.”
Stephanie Miles is a senior editor at Street Fight.
