Marrying gaming and brands

“As the digital ecosystem evolved, so has advertising on gaming. From simply placing banners around a [virtual] racetrack, we now have sophisticated placements like Lamborghini’s integration in GTA (Grand Theft Auto, a popular game),” says , chief business officer at online game streaming platform Rooter.

Marketers now have a canvas to innovate and integrate their brands and become part of the user experience, thanks to the sophistication of online gaming. Not only does gaming provide avenues, but also high audience numbers. India alone saw the number of professional gamers double in 2022 to 6,00,000, as compared to 3,00,000 in 2021, according to a KPMG report. Further, research by the Boston Consulting Group and estimates that India’s mobile gaming market will go from $1.5 billion in 2020 to $5 billion by 2025. 

Richer product integrations

Perhaps the biggest advantage in-game placement offers over product placements in movies or TV shows is that the consumer is actively engaged with the platform — in this case, the game. So while the other two provide a linear mode of communication, in the case of gaming, it is a two-way loop. This helps not only gather data, often in real-time, but also deepens engagement through experience.

“A big advantage that gaming offers is that a brand can work with the game platformto replicate the [offline] experience it wants the consumer to have with its product, in the virtual world,” says , founder and CEO, 8Bit Creatives, an e-sports consultancy. He elaborates, “So, an energy drink can integrate into the game as a power-up — which increases the health of a player — emulating the experience of using the product in real life.”, founder and director, AlphaZegus, a marketing agency specialising in gaming, says there are two types of in-game product placements. The most popular is buying real estate on the game — a banner or billboard, for instance — which is part of the game interface. This requires less backend integration and is used by brands for tactical objectives.

“The second kind is the more experience-led integration where the user gets to experience the product. This is obviously more laborious to execute and costs more. But it gives better engagement when used smartly,” he says. There are other forms of product integrations as well. For example, in one of its integrations with the now banned PubG Mobile, had integrated its products as collectibles within the game. These awarded the player with bonus points.

Audience overview

“In-game product integration offers brands a way to sharply target their consumers and build reach with minimum spillover [of marketing spends]. It also helps reach out to a loyal audience,” says Manoj George, chief business officer at

Moreover, with the target audience mostly in the 15-24 years age bracket, in-game placements also allow brands to engage and capture consumers at a younger age. They can build on this engagement to bolster brand loyalty over time, Rooter’s Ayush adds. However, he also points out that the world of gaming is not restricted to just active professional gamers; there are those who may be well in their 30s and still indulge in a few matches of FIFA on their consoles, or a few rounds around the circuit over the weekends.

Here’s another interesting data point for brands: According to the 2022 ‘Think with Google APAC – Play like a Girl’ report, 18% of all gamers in India are women. In the US, a much more evolved gaming market, Statista pegs this number at 48%.

“It’s not just apps, gizmos, cars, bikes and snack brands that are making inroads into the gaming ecosystem, but soon it might be a great platform for fashion, homecare or who knows, even baby care products,” says Sandipan Bhattacharyya, managing director and chief creative officer, Grey Group India , breaking down the categories that may be seen on gaming platforms.

Walking a thin line

Creative directors from advertising agencies agree that while in-game placements are a rich opportunity to get the attention of an increasingly fickle customer, there is a thin line between integration and intrusion. “Obviously, the levels of immersive engagement are ridiculously high and that is a good thing as well as a huge challenge. With great levels of immersion come high levels of irritation at anything that’s distracting. Gamers can be very harsh and snappy rejectors,” says Bhattacharyya. Experts say that serious gamers are the harshest critics; they will call out even the slightest intrusion by brands on the overall gaming experience. The casual gamers and the streamers can be more forgiving. For gaming, there needs to be a shift in the way brands look at advertising, creative experts say. It’s not just about ensuring visibility. “Brands see games as a media placement opportunity whereas it could be an experiential opportunity; they can collaborate with games for great content. Especially youth categories like food, fashion and electronics should be doing more,” says Vishnu Srivatsav, national creative director, 22feet Tribal Worldwide.

Bhattacharyya agrees that currently in India, brands are getting on to the in-game advertising wagon more out of fear of missing out than to do some true innovations. However, that is not to say there is a lack of inspiration from other markets.

In addition to this, there are a few uncertainties that prevent brands from taking a deeper plunge into the trend. “Currently, there is some impact of the global economic slowdown on marketing spends and so brands are shying away from spending big bucks on in-game integrations. Also, India has seen some games being banned overnight, which has deterred brands as well,” 8Bit’s Animesh adds.