There’s a staggering amount of money in advertising, that much is obvious. To put a number to it, it can cost up to $7 million to secure a 30-second ad spot during the Super Bowl. That’s a great representative example, but it’s at the higher end of the spectrum – but gaming and esports aren’t far behind those big-budget numbers. Recently, a trend has started emerging that’s seeing tech titans target gamers for increasingly ‘invasive’ ad-based opportunities, and receptions have been mixed, to say the least.
Read on to learn about the tech transformations that are taking place to revolutionise how some ads are displayed.
Strategy First
Recently, it was discovered that Roku has a patent pending for a new HDMI-focused, ad-based technology. This patent, which is simply named ‘HDMI Customised Ad Insertion’, would see Roku’s smart television sets ‘study’ HDMI inputs, inserting ads when the image has been static for some time. By doing this, Roku can target key audiences – such as gamers, who might have their game paused while they’re off doing something else or just sitting back and taking a break.
Per a tech site named Lowpass, Roku has blown up in recent years through ‘ads and services’ sales:
‘What brings in the bacon are ads and services; Roku generated a gross profit of nearly $1.6 billion with this business segment.’
Roku has long been known as a shrewd firm when it comes to advertising. The company uses a tried and tested screensaver system called ‘Roku City’ that allows brands to bring their logo front and centre on Roku televisions when playback isn’t running. That currently doesn’t function when a device is actively using a HDMI port, though.
Read also:Epic Games Store Coming to Mobile in 2024
Betraying Gamers
It was a few days ago that the news broke regarding Discord potentially using its platform to run ads. Discord is an industry-leading communications platform that’s used heavily by gamers the world over. When the news surfaced regarding ads emerging on the platform, some outlets slammed the tech firm and accused the company of ‘betraying’ gamers. It was revealed that Discord intends to hire ‘more than a dozen people’ for ad-sales roles, and they’ll be using the platform to push out data-driven ad campaigns.
The news was originally broken by the Wall Street Journal, and as explained by Cnet, it’ll work like this:
‘The ad slots will be offered to game developers as a way for them to get Discord users and their friends to play their games, earning the developers money from sales, in-app purchases and in-game ads. Instead of standard ads, however, the Discord advertisements will appear in the form of sponsored quests.’
Some have theorised that Discord will use its paid-for ‘Nitro’ service as a way to remove these in-app advertisements. Discord was also recently in the news for a more positive topic, though – the company launched a series of VALORANT-themed avatars that pleased users.
Read also:Gearbox Entertainment Sold to Take-Two in $460m Deal
Trending
The concept of using games to propagate advertisements certainly isn’t a new one. For years, brands have been partnering with developers and publishers to get their logos and labels inserted into popular games and on gaming platforms. Some have been subtle, while others have been stark, in-your-face advertisements that have enraged gamers.
For instance, in 2023, Microsoft started forcing full-screen ads on its Xbox platform, urging users to invest in games like Modern Warfare 3, which garnered understandable blowback from gamers.
An article published by Digiday in December 2023 revealed how brands are ‘refining their strategies’ to better engage gamers. There are more than 2 billion gamers in the world, and that number is rapidly rising with each passing day. That’s a massively diverse audience, too. It was estimated in September 2023 that 63% of Americans play games ‘regularly’, with 25% of them engaging with some kind of video game for more than 13 hours a week.
That equals some very lucrative advertising opportunities.
For now, mobile games dominate the ‘ads in gaming’ market, but it might not be very long until we’re seeing targeted ads injected into console and PC-based games. Some advertisers have already trialled in-game ads in various ways, such as Overwolf, a company that ‘captures gamers’ attention while they’re playing’ with engaging ad spots. In the Call of Duty League, brands are displayed across the in-game maps at various points, but never when the matches themselves are being played.
If it becomes too invasive, gamers might just revolt.
Read also:GRID Hires 100 Thieves and YouTube Gaming Veterans
For more industry news, stay tuned to Esports.net
This article was originally published here
