Page 31 - AdNews May-June 2020

Perspectives
Ricky Chanana, Twitch Australia and New Zealand head of sales Do advertisers have any misunderstandings about gaming and esports?
A key misunderstanding is that marketing to the esports audience must involve advertising within formal tournaments and that brands need a specific strategy for gaming. Advertising within tournaments is one possible component, but not only is there crossover between those who watch esports and other types of content on Twitch, the mere act of marketing to gamers
is to market to young audiences. Gaming, in fact, is mainstream. 79% of people aged 13 and over play at least an hour of video games a day and identify as gamers. Gaming drives $137.8 billion in revenue globally. Control, interaction, and participation in what they watch and play are core values of young audiences. To market in games and on Twitch--in interactive environments--is to speak the language of young people.
Venessa Hunt, GroupM Australia and New Zealand chief digital strategy officer
Is understanding around advertising in gaming and esports high enough? Although there are exceptions to the rule, most brands look to advertising in gaming for content alignment rather than taking advantage of the audiences that have significant scale and are in growth.
There is also often a lack of understanding on the profiles of “gamers”, with stereotypes of old,
rather than mass adoption and mainstream of today.
Are there any factors stopping brands from advertising in gaming and esports?
The biggest area of growth within the esports environments are live streaming of game play, which like all UGC has inherent brand safety concerns, but when solid planning strategies are used, these risks can significantly be reduced.
Will spending from brands in gaming and esports increase significantly in the next year? As audiences grow and advertising opportunities mature, the gaming vertical is too big for marketers to ignore. The esport industry is a great opportunity for brands to build long-term relationships with millions of customers. The opportunity lies
in understanding the environment and the loyalty of the audiences, unlocking the creativity and planning for participation with your brand.
Duncan Allan, Prism Australia and New Zealand strategy and insights manager
Is understanding around advertising in gaming and esports high enough?
Yes. Brands have been looking at
it for a while and there is now a
far greater level of understanding around the opportunities, size of the market, and ways to engage with audiences. There has been a maturity in approach - while gaming will no doubt grow and become increasingly monetised, the thinking is shifting from the “future of entertainment” to a “channel of entertainment”.
Are there any factors stopping brands from advertising in gaming and esports? Fundamentally, the ecosystem is not designed for advertising. All the power in gaming is with publishers who design games to be played,
not viewed. There is also a massive fragmentation problem. While there might be 8-9 million gamers in Australia, it can be difficult to reach segments with meaningful scale.
The opportunity is there, but the data sophistication in gaming and esports is also behind other channels. Until you can accurately tell a brand how many people they’ll reach and some basic demography, they can’t compare with other channels so will be reluctant to commit large chunks of advertising budgets.
Will spending from brands in gaming and esports increase significantly in the next year? I believe it will continue to increase with research suggesting at a
rate of around ~10-15% year-on- year. COVID may move this up to ~20+%. Esports in Australia may struggle to scale, but gaming has the potential to really take off. It will be interesting if, as with a lot of other industry verticals, COVID- induced innovation forces some fundamental shifts in gaming business models that opens up new opportunities we aren’t currently aware of.
Erik Hallander, Isobar AUNZ CEO
Is understanding around advertising in gaming and esports high enough?
I would hand on heart say the understanding is pretty high with
those brands who have a finger on the pulse, however there is still some way to go for most categories. There are some amazing examples of using gaming as a platform, across most geographies. The Travis Scott example in Fortnight would not have escaped anyone, and while
on the higher end of scale, it still represents an aspirational north star on how to truly get involved.
Are there any factors stopping brands from advertising in gaming and esports?
Audience and relevance seem to be the main barriers for brands considering advertising in this space. Gaming offers access to an incredibly broad audience, which may not appeal for all campaigns. Also, brands need to consider their relevance for the market. It can be quite jarring when you see brands who haven’t thought these aspects through properly. In this case, the audience is vocal when that happens, so there’s a slightly higher risk of blowback.
Historically, there has been a bit of contention with some games’ subject matter, with some perceived to have aspects of terrorism/counter- terrorism, but we’ve finally realised that Counter Strike: Global Offensive does not promote terrorism.
Will spending from brands in gaming and esports increase significantly in the next year? There’s a lot of stigma still, and that will continue for as long as decision makers stay ignorant to the cultural relevance of games. While spend should increase, I doubt that it will. And that’s something we should all press F for.
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