Strategy
H&M's Loooptopia: New routes to brand engagement
When unpacking the success behind a branded Roblox experience, the event sidebar is a logical place to start. But this promotional feature, which has helped to make some of Roblox’s biggest brand activations, has recently been scrapped by the virtual gaming giant. From traditional media buying and homepage takeovers,
Which Social Media platforms does the gaming industry prefer?
In September, there were over 391,000 posts made by gaming and esports entities across Youtube, Instagram and Twitter. We looked at the key platforms that influential gaming entities are engaging with their audiences on, and how this affects the visibility of branded content. Our analytics show that despite its
The Growth of Gaming on Social Media in 2020
How much growth has esports and gaming seen this year? We looked at social media followings of each of the top 100 esports teams, gaming content creators and games to find out. Content creators have had the biggest growth this year, at 17.4% total average growth. Esports teams are
Why Every Brand Needs a Gaming Strategy
Take your pick of a lofty number, the gaming industry has plenty. How about 5B hours watched on Twitch in Q2 of 2020, the Nintendo Switch selling over 60 million units or 27.7 million unique players watching a Travis Scott Fortnite concert (that also doubled as a Nike ad)
Why the Gaming Influencer Provides Untapped Opportunities
Influencer marketing has become a staple of many marketing campaigns. Usually the influencers are tied to Instagram, posting trendy pictures of everything from soaps to hotels. In gaming, influencers have been used by many brands to great success, but there are still untapped opportunities across Twitch, YouTube and social media
How Brands Use In (and out) of Game Ads to Succeed
Ever since video game graphics advanced to the point that brand logos were visible, brands have worked with developers as another platform for brand exposure. Even arcade games were classically branded through the years. In the modern age of games-as-a-service, in-game ads (IGA) have evolved into time-sensitive activations around product
To Esports or Not to Esports
While often conflated, even by major esports publications, esports is only a small subsection of the gaming world. Esports are video games played inside a professional competitive structure such as a league or tournament. Even if industry projections that the esports industry will cross $1B in revenue in 2020 held
Brands' White Label Tournament Viewership
Bud Light recently hosted an online tournament over 4 days where various streamers competed in a series of games, garnering over 60,000 views during the peak of the tournament. We explored how other branded tournaments have performed to identify if there is a formula to success. Having partnered with
Does Violence and Realism in Shooting Games affect Brand Involvement?
With the release of Riot Games’ new first-person-shooter, Valorant, we analysed brands’ relationships with shooting games. Particularly, the types of partnerships that games with varying levels of gore or realism attract. While some brands see the games as entertainment, others may worry about its connotations to real-life violence, and how
The Landscape of Automotives in Esports and Gaming
How are automotive companies navigating partnerships in esports and gaming? You may think that automotive companies are more likely to sponsor sport-focused games, particularly in racing. However, brands are choosing to be involved with games like Counter-Strike and League of Legends that attract mass audiences that represent their target demographics:
In-depth Insight: Mastercard's Marketing Strategy in League of Legends vs. Rugby
In 2019, Mastercard sponsored both the Rugby World Cup and the League of Legends World Championships. We put together a short case study of their esports marketing strategy, compared to their strategy in traditional sports. Looking at both strategies, we see that Mastercard adopted a similar strategy for both global