Advertising Week Europe and Media360 2023 Recap

Activision Blizzard Media recently presented our newest research, Premium By Design, to our advertising industry colleagues at Advertising Week Europe and Campaign UK’s Media360 event. There, we took to the stage to further educate advertisers and brands on the power of gaming in reaching engaged audiences. Here’s our recap of the week.

Advertising Week Europe - A Pathway to Premium Session Recap

Activision Blizzard Media’s Head of Global Ad Insights, Melinda Spence, focused on the importance of “premium gameplay experiences” in our session. A Pathway to Premium: Understanding the Impact of Quality Gameplay Experiences spoke to the growing opportunities of ad integrations paired with premium gaming. 

Spence delivered the potential means for innovation and meaningful interactions with players that can be achieved through the fusion of premium gaming and premium advertising experiences.

“By identifying and understanding premium games and premium ad experiences, brands are better positioned to reach attentive audiences within mobile gaming. The bar for premium is high, but the payoff for brands is clear. Players have expectations of how they want experiences to be—how they want it to look and feel—and brands should be committed to meeting them where they are. When they do this, everyone wins,” Spence said.

Attendees walked away learning: 

1. Why context is important for both brands and players in garnering and retaining player attention and engagement.

2. What premium advertising experiences look like within established gaming titles and franchises.

3. How brands can harness the power of premium mobile gaming to drive their business forward.

Media360 - The Premium Nature of Gaming Session Recap

The Premium Nature of Gaming and How to Authentically Get into Gaming in 2023, was presented by Anthony Lawson, Head of Sales EMEA, alongside Jamie Lyons, Global Head of Gaming & Virtual Experience, PHD.

Together they spoke about the impact of quality gameplay experiences; specifically, what makes a game premium and how player perception intersects with a quality gameplay experience. 

Despite conventional wisdom about the quality and accessibility of mobile games due to their smaller screens, our Premium By Design study revealed that 73% of gamers perceive mobile games as being of "high quality." Additionally, 40% of respondents stated that a mobile ad featuring high-quality graphics would successfully grab their attention.

"Because gaming is a nascent media channel, we have to justify it more. That's gonna be the case of anyone in this room to justify divestment from tried-and-tested traditional media channels, which are often less measurable in terms of direct action. For marketers, it's a new space and for them, that feels like there's an element of risk," said Lyons.

Through gaming, players have direct access to brands in a way that traditional media, like TV, can’t compete with. When executed effectively and seamlessly integrated into gameplay, marketing efforts have the potential to engage this highly attentive audience when their focus is fully dedicated to the game.

Get the latest insights on what makes a premium game and in-game ad experience when you download our research, Premium By Design: Understanding Premium Gaming Experiences. For information about Activision Blizzard Media’s in-game ad experiences, click here or contact ads@activisionblizzardmedia.com to set an appointment to learn more.