Brands must master gaming advertising to ace engagement in the metaverse
In South East Asia, gaming app consumption has doubled year-on-year since the pandemic, signaling notable shifts in normalizing and embracing gaming, writes Rishi Bedi, vice-president for South East Asia, Japan and Korea at InMobi.
In gaming, consumers are used to accessing a new dimension of realistic gameplay through interactive elements / Pixabay
Gaming is a conduit for online immersion and interactivity – elements that are key building blocks of the metaverse. Enabling the creation of digital avatars to express oneself, participating in augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) simulations, and accessing borderless online social gatherings are all part and parcel of being a gamer. Thus, the essence of gaming itself aligns greatly with what the metaverse envisions – a world-building functionality within an online capacity.
The immersion commonality between gaming and the metaverse
One of the most interoperable elements between gaming and the metaverse is virtual simulations stemmed from extended realities such as AR and VR. For instance, in VR users are fully immersed in a three-dimensional environment, triggering a real-time simulation of their senses, and in AR users are placed in a real-world environment but with digital information being superimposed over their actual surroundings.
In gaming, consumers are used to accessing a new dimension of realistic gameplay through interactive elements, which is widely afforded today by mobile technology. The mobile device’s lightweight and wireless connection features enhance the flexibility of access to virtual gaming environments. For example, games such as Pokémon Go took the market by storm as gamers were able to actively participate and immerse themselves in a virtual AR environment that coincided with their real-life movements.
In South East Asia, gaming app consumption has doubled year-on-year since the pandemic, signaling notable shifts in normalizing and embracing gaming with everyday life. The mobile-first region holds a strong preference for smartphone gaming, due to its on-the-go convenience and entertainment – leading to an astounding population of over 250 million mobile gamers. Given how metaverse developments are on the rise in South East Asia, along with its flourishing communities, gaming is likely a clear, accessible gateway to the metaverse for marketers to effectively reach their audiences in the region.
So, how can brands prepare for the metaverse?
Making gaming advertising a core strategy
The compatibilities of the metaverse and gaming show us that the latter could potentially be the core and epicenter of any media and marketing strategy for brands to prepare for the metaverse. The gaming industry is already equipped with a scalable, immersive adtech infrastructure that can be the stepping stone for brands to drive the right audience-building and engagement opportunities in the metaverse.
Gaming provides the possibility of reaching the core target audience in an environment that is extremely high-engagement, brand-safe and immersive. By making gaming a core part of the media plan, brands could not only discover the various experiences they can deliver in the metaverse, but also learn about the infrastructure required to measure and track the impact of these engagements.
Mastering the nuances of gaming advertising
While mobile gaming includes people from all walks of life, brands should keep in mind that gaming practices are not monolithic. Different demographics produce different gaming behaviors. For instance, gen Z gamers are more inclined toward multiplayer active games such as Fortnite or Roblox, whereas other gamers may prefer more nostalgic puzzle games such as Candy Crush Saga. Knowing such differences in gamer attributes will help brands recognize the varying audiences possibly present in the metaverse itself.
Transitioning into the metaverse with blended in-game advertising
Particularly in mobile-first South East Asia, the presence of play-to-earn games that leverage in-game advertising could provide a blueprint on how monetization occurs in the metaverse. Through blended in-game advertising, brands and marketers can programmatically insert their ads anywhere within the gaming environment – from billboards along with virtual cityscapes, or even enabling users to design their avatars with advertised brand apparel. Blended in-game advertising is most likely the closest we are to experiencing advertising in the metaverse today and can serve as early inroads for brands.
Adaptation is every brand’s advantage
From online immersion to borderless socialization and community-based product targeting, the synergy between gaming and the metaverse will likely continue to advance in the future. With such limitless possibilities on our doorstep, gaming should evolve within these virtual landscapes, and so marketers should ideally take the first step to master gaming advertising to gain a foothold in the metaverse.
Rishi Bedi is vice-president for South East Asia, Japan and Korea at InMobi.