With its COMBO! Kids offering Gameloft for brands make in-game advertising the ideal tool to connect with families.

With each successive generation, video games are increasingly becoming a family activity. It is a reality observed in the one billion players reached every month by COMBO! The Gaming Media Network which was launched in September 2022 under the auspices of Gameloft for brands. This summer, COMBO! now provides a Kids offering that targets the Alpha generation and their parents in a secure gaming environment. 

"The popularity of video games is due to their intergenerational strength. 95% of children over ten years of age and 68% of adults indulge in this hobby. But the most significant fact is that year after year, video games are becoming more and more popular among the over-60s, with 44% of this population concerned," states Julie Chalmette, President of SELL, in the introduction of the recent study "French People and Video Games" published by the organization at the end of 2022. The study also observes that the average age of a player in France is 38 and that 54% of French people play on mobile devices. 

Gaming also affects everyone, irrespective of age, gender or social background. This is especially true on mobile, where there are just as many casual players who are fans of management or memory games as there are professional gamers, for whom there is now an esports scene for games such as League of Legends: Wild Rift and Asphalt 9: Legends. It is also an increasingly sought-after platform by advertisers, who see an opportunity to offer engaging and creative advertising experiences to their target demographics. Notably, this has been highlighted this year by the new Gaming category introduced at Cannes Lions.

With this observation in mind, Gameloft launched COMBO! in September 2022. The first global advertising network dedicated to mobile games, composed of premium publishers such as Outfit7, Wooga, Rovio, Wildlife and Activision Blizzard, brings together over one hundred games and provides access to over one billion monthly users. Moving forward, Gameloft intends to go even further to respond to a major development in the profile of gamers.

64% of parents play video games with their children

It is not ground-breaking news that children regularly play games. According to SELL, 66% of children play more than once per week. However, the new development is that they play more often with their parents, with gaming taking a central role in family entertainment. 

"72% of French people consider video games a leisure activity for the whole family and therefore enjoy sharing moments with their loved ones. 64% of parents play at least occasionally with their child, indicating their growing interest," asserts Julie Chalmette.

To capitalize on this family demographic, COMBO! expands its line with a Kids offering, providing access to a mixed audience consisting of 59% adults (of which 30% are parents) and 41% children, over a wide range of games such as Minion Rush, Dragon Mania Legends, the official game for My Little Pony, Disney Magic Kingdoms and the classics, My Talking Tom and Angry Birds. 

The potential for advertisers is simple. "Engage the target demographic consisting of kids and their parents in a secure gaming environment on the most popular games with playable in-game video advertising formats, contextually integrated into the game experience, at key moments in the player experience," summarizes Hugues Ossart, Global Marketing Director of Gameloft for brands, who also clarifies that the target is the fun-video family activity and not the children.

"As a publisher, we are especially aware of the quality of advertising experiences and the messages that advertisers communicate in our games. With advertising formats that are video-based, playable and rewarded, a brand is integrated into the player's moments of victory or loss, where the brand acts as a companion throughout the gaming experience by rewarding the player when they succeed or providing support when they face challenges. These 'Rewarded Moments' maximize the attention, acceptance and retention of a brand message. We have obtained COPPA and GDPR certifications to ensure a secure gaming environment for our young public," adds Hugues Ossart.

He also highlights the evolving role of video games, which is becoming a real intersection of generations: "With an average age of 38, today's player grew up with video games: They were gamers as children, gamers as teenagers, gamers as adults and are now gamers as parents. Instead of being parents who control access to video games, they are parents who accompany their child on their discovery of video games and share the pleasure of playing together as a family: These are the parents of the Alpha generation. Video games offer brands the ideal family 'positive moment' to engage this demographic."

Gaming generates brand attention and attachment.

According to SELL, which researched social practices of video games, 56% of parents play with their children to share activities, 48% state that they play for fun, and 43% play at their child's request.

"Video games are a medium for entertainment, escapism and sharing that is favorable to creating positive emotions, all while driving attention, which makes it an ideal platform for brands as long as they are integrated in a manner that is effective and acceptable to players. That's the beauty of communicating in COMBO!, the only in-game advertising network created by publishers for brands. Gameloft for brands, with its 23 years of experience in creation for players and its eight years of development of solutions for brands, understands the expectations of all the stakeholders and can pinpoint which creative, which message, which format, and which moment of the gaming experience can generate a positive experience for the player and the brand. With 'Rewarded Moments,' we offer high-attention 'rewarded' advertising formats that favorably impact brand awareness, consideration, and intent to buy," says Hugues Ossart.

Instead of drawing away the player's attention, these "rewarded" formats allow the brand to offer an active contribution to the game and are, therefore, the preferred advertising format for players: 68% of players prefer this format according to data from Integral Ad Science and the "ADReaction Global" study. Advertising launched in this format in COMBO! games network offers superior performance compared to market averages, according to trusted third parties such as Moat, with a visibility rate of 98.3% compared to 67% for traditional advertising and a completion rate of 92.4% compared to an average of 61.9% for other formats. Similarly, Gameloft benefits from performance increases in indicators of memory, awareness and consideration of +49.5%, +12% and +11%, respectively. 

"Today, video games are THE medium that brands must integrate into their media mix to effectively engage their audiences on a large scale in a secure and measured environment via non-intrusive formats that are accepted by players and that retain attention, facilitating memory and consideration. By taking on the role of a partner in the game and validating the player's status, a brand can go further and create a real attachment, a Brand Likeability," explains Hugues Ossart.

This article was originally published in French at eMarketing.fr