By Steven Wise

gaming ()There are many reasons why digital games are an ideal channel for advertising. They reach an audience that is more engaged and receptive than most other media channels, and they eliminate some of the issues that complicate other forms of digital advertising, like viewability and banner blindness. Advertisers who take the time to understand the power of game advertising, are likely to find they can be winners in this ad game.

 PwC analysts forecast game advertising to be the fastest growing (but still smallest) segment of games revenue, growing from $2.84bn in 2014 to $4.75bn by 2019. Globally, the US, the UK, China, and Japan are the largest markets for game advertising, thanks to their advanced ad ecosystems and large potential audiences. There’s ample data to corroborate the effectiveness of the games channel. MediaBrix found social and mobile gaming videos have an average click-through rate (CTR) 30 times higher than those for standard banner ads.

Who’s playing now

Games both reflect and shape some of the major trends in Internet usage. As the Internet becomes increasingly central in facilitating social connections, more and more people want to play games with new or existing friends. Meanwhile, mobile phones make a great platform for gaming and have been a driving factor for drawing additional consumers to online games. In fact, eMarketer forecasts that by next year, 80 per cent of smartphone users will use the device to play games. These shifts are changing the business models for video games and changing the demographics of who’s a gamer.

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