[Marketing Week] Bob Koigi: Why brands can no longer afford to ignore gaming

Gaming continues to enjoy meteoric rise with significant growth and cultural impact, positioning it as a crucial space for brands to engage with their audiences.

Indeed, brands no longer treat gaming as a side quest in their media strategies, but rather as a golden opportunity to expand and dive deeper with key audiences.

According to a report by Dentsu, in partnership with global consumer research company GWI, the gaming industry has surpassed the combined value of the music and movies industries in scale, with a market value of nearly $184 billion and a global gamer population of 3.38 billion, and yet accounts for less than 5% of advertising spend.

Brands have become alive to the pivotal role of gaming and are investing in it.

WPP recently has announced a global partnership with Roblox, an immersive gaming and creation platform, building on several years of collaboration on interactive 3D brand content and advertising. The alliance will help scale expertise among agency teams and brands in leveraging Roblox as a new media channel.

Xbox, in collaboration with McCann London, announced Xbox’s groundbreaking new 'Xbox Adaptive Joystick' via an empowering and impactful creative campaign 'This Is How We Do It.”

This impressive innovation furthers Xbox’s commitment to making gaming accessible to all.

Xsolla, a global video game commerce company, also extended its strategic partnership with GameAnalytics, the analytics service for game developers and publishers. The partnership marked a significant expansion of Xsolla's capabilities. By integrating GameAnalytics directly into the Xsolla Backend Solution, developers can access powerful analytics and monetization tools in one seamless interface.

Campaigns of the week

This week, we highlight innovative campaigns that continue to push the envelope on creativity.

Chicken Licken and Joe Public are back with an exciting new twist on the iconic Super Slyders through their latest campaign, showcasing how Super Slyder cravers can enjoy the ultimate satisfaction of the Super Slider Mix 4.

Heineken has hacked music events across the world to deliver a hidden message, encouraging people to minimise phone use on the dance floor and to be more present during memorable moments. In the campaign, ideated by creative agency LePub, Heineken teamed up with Silver Live Out Festival in Mexico and Amsterdam Dance Event in the Netherlands to install innovative technology that delivered the message via infrared lighting.

Tesco quite literally stands for quality food in a new OOH campaign by BBH London, which replaces the letters of its famous logo with beautiful fresh produce starting with T, E, S, C and O. Called “ICONS”, the campaign is BBH’s response to a brief to make Tesco stand for quality food.

LinkedIn has launched an episode of its latest social-first campaign, “Know-How That Sticks”, in partnership with integrated agency VCCP London. The three social-first films aim to target Gen Z and bring awareness to the platform’s newly implemented immersive video ’ feature.

Agencies and accounts

This week, various agencies have continued to secure key accounts and deals.

TruGreen, the largest provider of lawn care service in America, has named VML as lead creative and social agency. VML is charged with reimagining the lawn care business to grow TruGreen’s customer base and strengthen brand identity.

Leo Burnett has won the coveted creative account for ANZ, following a competitive pitch process. The Big Four bank's account, which was previously held by Special Group, was sought after by some of the industry’s top agencies, including BMF, dentsu, and The Monkeys.

Laundry detergent brand, Persil, is to get a social media refresh with the appointment of Hey Honey, the Amsterdam-based global social-first creative agency. Persil, a household name synonymous with quality and innovation in laundry care, has entrusted Hey Honey to grow its owned social media presence and engage with audiences across diverse global markets, excluding the UK and the US.

THIS, the fastest-growing plant-based meat alternative brand, has appointed St Luke’s as its lead creative agency following a competitive pitch managed by new Marketing Director Debbie Epstein, in a pitch called following the decision to scale-up marketing investment for the key new year trading period.

Chat with captains of industry

This week, we had a chat with Harshil Karia, the founder of Schbang,India’s largest independent agency on its acquisition of communications agency addikt. future plans and his thoughts on the unique trends shaping the industry.

Appointments

Ogilvy this week announced that health industry leader Mario Muredda has been named Global CEO of Ogilvy Health.

Mario will oversee all aspects of Ogilvy’s Health business which spans Brand Strategy, Advertising, Public Relations and Influence, Experience and Innovation, Medical Education, and Market Access and be responsible for further accelerating Ogilvy Health’s growth.

Edelman also announced the promotion of Anthony Chelvanathan to Global Creative Partner. As Edelman’s first ever Global Creative Partner, Chelvanathan will work alongside Global Chief Creative Officer Judy John, driving creative excellence across the firm’s top clients and greatest opportunities. He retains his Chief Creative Officer role for Edelman Canada.

Other news we covered

Other key developments we covered this week include VML announcing the launch of Brand Design at VML, a studio specialising in powering brand growth through design. Brand Design at VML aggregates the agency’s robust capabilities in design positioning, visual and verbal identity systems, and brand governance. Leading the North America group will be Robb Smigielski, Chief Design Officer for North America.

Interpublic Group has announced Interact, the latest evolution of its revolutionary marketing engine. This powerful platform delivers unparalleled connectivity and global reach, serving as Interpublic’s core technology platform infrastructure.

And finally, Nielsen, a global player in audience measurement, data and analytics, has announced the expansion of YouTube Connected TV (CTV) ads measurement to now include deduplication with mobile and desktop devices in Thailand.

Bob Koigi is the editor-in-chief of Marketing Report.One.

Follow Marketing Report on LinkedIn