In-Game Advertising: A trend you can't afford to miss in 2022

Advertising technologies are keeping pace with new habits. Discover how to reach your audience at the heart of the gaming experience.

Entertainment has evolved tremendously over time. Gaming has become a pastime for everyone. Adults, children, women, and men: there is now a multitude of player profiles.

There are so many different games that there is something for every taste. From multiplayer role-playing games ♟, to racing games 🏎, to sports games ⚽️, video games come in every genre.

They are also available on all types of devices:

Mobile (which is seeing strong growth this year, up 16%)
Console (+9%)
PC (+10%)
And also on Connected TVs 😌.
The rise of the video game market and the resulting innovations open up great opportunities for advertisers to communicate creatively with their audiences. Luxury fashion brands are making good use of this, as Balenciaga did well in its latest collaboration with Fortnite (for the launch of a collection).

🎮 A few figures on In-Game Ads

Video gaming has become mainstream and has evolved significantly over the years. We have moved from arcades to games accessible at any time (Web, Cloud gaming...) - with immersive environments that are therefore much more impactful.

The coronavirus crisis only amplified this desire to escape virtually, to play, and to be entertained.

More than 36 million French people play video games. 71% of them play occasionally. 52% play regularly. 1 in 2 children plays daily.

Another equally interesting figure is the average age of regular players, which is around 39, with an equal split between women and men.

The development of this market is also evident in the activity of game publishers. French studios have significantly increased the pace of video game creation, with more than 1,350 games in production in 2021 (16% more than the previous year), according to the 2021 video game barometer published Monday by the National Video Game Union (SNJV).

Other players like Twitch have largely benefited from this period, which has been favorable to the development of the gaming market.

🧐 Advertising in video games? How?

Technological developments in the advertising industry are making it much easier for advertisers to access impactful levers like DOOH or Connected TV.

In-game advertising—until now completely unexplored—is one of those innovative levers.

There is a wide variety of formats. Let’s take a look.👇

Four types of formats

In-Game Native format
The Native format is the least intrusive and best integrated into the gaming environment. Take Football Manager ⚽️, for example, where we can display a banner around the pitch, just like in a real football match. More than 65% of players say they prefer non-intrusive formats while playing.

In-Game Advertising in Football Manager - Klox
Video
Video is one of the most engaging formats. More dynamic, it allows you to tell a real story. In the in-game environment, we find this pre-roll video format, which appears before the game starts, or mid-roll, before the next stage of the game.

The rewarded video format is also very popular. The concept: watch an ad in exchange for a reward, such as virtual currency.

Audio
Spotify allows you to reach its freemium users (who do not pay for a subscription) between their favorite songs 🎵. Thanks to the app available on PlayStation & Xbox 🎮, we can reach these players during their gaming sessions. Let’s not forget that nearly 60% of gamers say they listen to music while playing.

Banners
Cheaper and easier to distribute, banners continue to be a highly sought-after format in programmatic advertising.

Two formats are available:

The display ad, an image added to the game environment or interfaces without disrupting gameplay.
The interstitial (mobile only), which appears in full screen when opening the app or between two stages of the game.
💰 What budget?

Thanks to the power of programmatic advertising, the minimum investment is much more accessible. We can launch your campaigns with a budget starting at 1,000 euros, while, of course, defining a delivery framework that is 100% personalized to your target audience.

🎯 How to identify the right audiences?

In the latest report on the French gaming market by the S.E.L.L., we analyzed 4 player profiles:

Casual gamers 👾: typically women aged 50 and over, with a large proportion of retirees who only play on mobile and tablet devices. (This profile accounts for 33% of gamers in France)

Social gamers 👥: typically players living in households of 4 or more, who only play with others, with a high concentration of 35-49 year olds. (29% of gamers in France)

Engaged active players 🕹: typically people aged between 15 and 34 who play frequently on a computer. These are active players and closer to what we define as a "gamer." (19% of gamers in France)

Tech-savvy enthusiasts 🎮: typically men aged between 10 and 24, often students who play on multiple devices and enjoy the latest generation of games. (19% of gamers in France)

Not to mention that we can target by video game, location, device, or vertical. We can also combine certain data sets across specific video games. We have listed all the games open to In-Game advertising for you below.👇

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Please allow 2 to 3 days for your campaign to be activated.

🚀 What will In-Game advertising bring to your brand?

In-Game advertising is a rapidly growing channel that is already highly advanced, with a complete ecosystem and booming players. Few advertisers are currently aware of its potential and how to communicate through it. Demand is therefore low compared to the available inventory. These new channels are consequently inexpensive and offer a significant impact in terms of visibility.

Many video game publishers have also shifted their strategy, moving away from selling games to offering them for free with in-game purchases (as Fortnite has successfully done) and advertising (like the FIFA competitor Pro Evolution Soccer, which became eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer, a free-to-play game).

Let’s not forget that gaming is a moment of relaxation, where concentration is high and attention levels are elevated. Being present during these moments will allow you to further strengthen your brand, while also showing that you are close to the consumer and understand what they enjoy.

Our knowledge of the video game world, combined with our key partnerships, will allow you to know exactly where your target audience is.

🏆 How to run a successful In-Game advertising campaign?

In-Game advertising is a channel still very little exploited by brands and agencies. Purchase prices are therefore generally very favorable, and performance will be relatively strong right from the start.

You should still stack the odds in your favor by studying two essential topics:

What types of games does your target audience play? On what device?
How do you address them in a new and intimate environment? You absolutely must adapt your message.
We have gaming experts at Klox who can advise you on your ad creative copy if you have any needs.

For the release of the movie The Bad Guys in February 2021, we launched an In-Game campaign on games selected with the client.

Klox is a pioneer in the field. We were among the first to test In-Game advertising and the first agency to run a programmatic campaign on Xbox inventory in Europe.

We would be happy to answer your questions and assist you in defining your communication and acquisition strategy.