As day two of PlayFronts 2024 unfolded March 27 inside Convene's Rockefeller Center quarters, the focus went bi-directional. Whereas the previous day of Interactive Advertising Bureau's annual videogame ad and content showcase emphasized opportunities among audiences for mobile, tablet and PC/laptop vehicles, day two centered around the surging marketplace of games and game hubs launched over the last year by numerous smart TV set and device makers, including Samsung, LG, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Telly. Another theme offered among these presentations: incorporate reward/loyalty elements with smart TV-minded gamers.
The Big Message: In quick order, videogame aficionados in every demographic—including the young Generation X and Alpha crowds many advertisers deem extremely hard-to-reach via traditional TV—are attracted to play over smart TV sets and devices without a PlayStation, Xbox or other console attached to the set or device. Thanks to artificial intelligence software embedded in the set or device, gamers can use their voice, a voice remote or joystick pointed at the screen to play a growing variety of sophisticated games. National advertisers, regardless of size, must pay attention and participate now to some degree. "It's time to be intentional with how you advertise to gamers," reflected Samsung Ads Head of Insights Justin Fromm (pictured top right). "Gaming and smart TV usage goes hand-in-hand, making the TV operating system a powerful tool to understand the behavior of gamers. This is just the start of a big trend."
Host: Zoe Soon (pictured top left), Vice President of IAB's Experience Center unit. Just like day one, Soon makes every moment on stage count with a positive, authoritative attitude. You can tell Soon is out to generate fun among the crowd.
What Worked: Fromm's presentation, offering the whole 10 yards on what Samsung's game hub is all about while inviting advertisers to consider both cross-game platform and cross-media campaign options. If you already run messages before or after mobile games, adapt them for smart TV-offered games. Or develop a campaign where elements appear on both Samsung hub titles and the company's multichannel bundle.
What Also Worked: Several presentations encouraging advertisers to set up ways for gamers to be rewarded for how often they play, or when they reach advanced levels on a specific title. Recent campaigns for Circle K coffee and other brands implemented on mobile games by ad agency Niantic use augmented reality-formatted messages to encourage play for merchandise discounts. The Circle K campaign attracted 37 million-plus impressions and a 96 percent completion rate among gamers watching the message. Success with these campaigns could pave the way for TV networks and services to adopt this practice for retaining or expanding their viewership, similar to what results airlines and other travel-centric organizations get from frequent flier miles or guest programs.
What Didn't Work: Samsung's presentation could have spent a few minutes detailing some of their current popular titles, plus what new games they'll introduce on their hub later this year. Their extensive game roster includes titles from Xbox, Amazon's Luna package, Utomic and Nvidia's GE Force catalog.
Data Points: Plenty to digest from IAB's new "Chasing The Game" qualitative study of the marketplace. Involving more than 300 brand/agency decision-makers. A few tidbits: companies are expected to spend $8.5 billion on videogame ads this year, about $1 billion more than 2023—and $11.5 billion annually by 2027. Seventy-eight percent of advertisers will spread their campaigns throughout 2024, instead of during one time period, and 40 percent of ad responders claim their game budgets will increase this coming year. More than two-thirds of Samsung smart TV owners, and also gamers, participating in a company-released "Engaging Gamers" study affirm they are open to ad-supported videogame services, and 40 percent are willing to try a free or discounted gaming service (using cloud technology) where ads offset the cost of the service.
News: Nvidia, whose GE Force catalog carries more than 1,900 titles and plays on Samsung and other smart TV sets in console-free fashion, has launched new rewards feature on GE Force in association with specialized ad agency PlayerWON. Under the format, GE Force users who pay $4 to 8 a month to access the catalog can play a title carrying Player Now-created ads free for an hour. Experian is one of several advertisers involved in this venture. "This will be a growth area in the video game industry," predicted PlayerWON President Dave Madden.
Parting Words: "We live in a culture today that's all about finding the next big thing. The next big thing requires the mainstream to believe it's cool."—Bill Young, Twitch/Amazon Head of Games
"Gamers are not fixed to their devices. They're fixed to their experiences."—Samsung Ads Insights Head Justin Fromm
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