The future of immersive advertising, today

With the digital gaming landscape constantly evolving across mobile, console, PC, streaming, and beyond, many advertisers have been unsure how, whether, or when to jump into in-game ads. Beyond experimental budgets, many advertising plans today are focused elsewhere, and advertisers continue to make the same mistake that they have historically made with each new phase of the Internet; they are allocating budgets to channels where consumers used to be, instead of where consumers are.

The future of advertising is immersive, because the future of entertainment is immersive. Unlike the more recent shifts from linear to CTV, or desktop to mobile, the shift from “flat” to “immersive” is a transformative leap - more akin to the shift from print/legacy media to digital in the early days of the Internet. While immersive advertising is still an emerging concept for many advertisers, those who have not begun to experiment with it are already behind the curve. It’s past time for advertisers to get in the game.

For brands looking to understand the potential of immersive advertising, it makes sense to start by understanding the power of gaming as it exists today—both in terms of audience behaviors and opportunities for brands.

For immersive advertising gaming experiences to be successful, it is critical that they do not disrupt the player experience but rather, enhance it. This can only be done by keeping the player experience at the center of any decisions around brand integrations into the game. 

Prioritizing the player's experience above all means delivering the right ad at the right moment. Our in-game ads are highly customized to each game, and appear to the right players in the moments that maximize the opportunity for positive brand lift and other measurable outcomes. These ads are by design both immersive and natively seamless; they exist as logical components of a virtual world, providing enhanced realism for players. Ads actually make games “feel” more authentic.

For our free-to-play mobile games like Candy Crush, we offer in-game currency and boosters so advertisers can reward players for their time and attention. Rewards are essential for creating positive brand perception and offer a meaningful value exchange for players. The result is a win for both players and brands—players get an enhanced gaming experience while brands are reaching audiences when they are highly engaged and paying attention.