With a staggering 215 million+ gamers in the U.S. and as much as 90% of Gen Z immersed in the gaming world, it’s no surprise that brands of all kinds are boldly venturing into the virtual realms of Roblox, Fortnite, and beyond. For those looking to connect with Gen Z, a generation that dedicates an entire working day to gaming each week, it’s undeniably the place to be.
During a panel discussion at the Fast Company Innovation Festival, GALE’s Max Bass shared some eye-opening insights on the topic alongside gaming partner Moonrock Labs. He noted,
“The average amount of time spent on a promoted Facebook or Twitter post is three seconds. Compare this to the average branded Roblox activation, where players engage for 12-30 minutes.” Max Bass - Director of Influencer Marketing and Content Partnerships
The prospect of reaching millions of eyeballs for an extended period is certainly appealing, but when it comes to success with gamers, GALE and Moonrock argue reach is not enough. Brands can’t expect to earn meaningful engagement without a strategy that’s deeply rooted in a true understanding of the platform. Several big-name brands have stumbled in their attempts.
To avoid pitfalls, Moonrock’s Krishna Singh emphasized the importance of making a brand integration feel natural, native, and playable. Brands shouldn’t just drop their logo or activation into a game without considering how it fits into the environment – a makeup counter or sustainability farm, for example, simply doesn’t belong in a wartime game.
Highlighting GALE and Moonrock’s successful activation for the iconic ice pop brand, Bomb Pop, the panel discussed the keys to their success: they integrated into a world where a food brand was a natural fit (Restaurant Tycoon), they crafted a challenge that meshed with that world’s core gameplay (selling Bomb Pops), and they allowed people to play with their brand by incorporating Bomb Pop imagery into digital structures, wall art, and beyond. The panel also emphasized the importance of playability and ensuring the activation was genuinely fun.
In the end, an astounding 500,000 players bought more than 48 million Bomb Pops and went on to purchase and place more than 600,000 branded items within Restaurant Tycoon. While no real money was exchanged, Moonrock’s Jordan Baker noted that the time players invested to earn that virtual currency holds value, perhaps even greater. The fact that players devoted their in-game hours to amass wealth and then chose to invest in Bomb Pop branded items is a testament to the activation value.
Despite gaming’s longstanding presence in our culture, this territory remains relatively uncharted for many brand marketers and investing in gaming demands a fundamental reevaluation of how we measure ROI. As Max Bass noted, if traditional media isn’t hitting the mark with Gen Z, then traditional metrics need reimagining as well.
“With the power and amount of engagement gaming is getting, we need to rethink how we’re measuring success for these activations.”
Together, GALE and Moonrock are helping CMOs define what this means. Bass stated, “Immersion over impressions is really our perspective when it comes to gaming…you need to get beyond the apples-to-apples comparison to TV, traditional media, and digital. You need to make sure that you’re considering the context of where your brand is showing up. What are people doing there? What are the behaviors there and what are the ways you can take advantage of those?”
Ultimately, achieving true immersion will have the greatest impact on your brand’s success.
Click here to learn more about GALE’s partnership with Moonrock.
