Gaming ads outperform other media on attention but struggle with brand recall, Dentsu study finds

Ads on gaming platforms score better than other media on attention yet fall below other media on average for brand recall, according to a study conducted on behalf of Dentsu across three platforms. Related: Inside in-game advertising Drawing generalizations can be tricky, though, because the study looked at three types of gaming platforms across three media companies, including livestreaming on Twitch, rewarded video ads with Activision Blizzard and intrinsic in-game advertising with Anzu. All performed better than Dentsu norms on attention measures, but results in brand recall and lift varied. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs For example, Twitch scored well both on attention and on brand recall. Livestream ads generated 57% brand recall in post-exposure surveys, above the Dentsu norm of 38% in prior studies that included audio, social, online video and display ads. Twitch ads across all formats also lifted brand preference by 17% on average, which is also well ahead of studies of other media, where brand lift ranged from 5% for online display and social to 9% for online video and 10% for audio ads. Also read: Roblox is testing video portal ads The study by Lumen Research was conducted with 2,000 people in the U.S., U.K., Australia, France and Germany. The U.S. audience, about a third of the total, was recruited in Las Vegas, with research conducted inside the CBS Television City research facility there. Activision Blizzard’s “rewarded viewing” ads—where players can advance in their gameplay by agreeing to watch—generated 100% on-screen impression rates and an average of 10,043 attentive seconds per thousand audience impressions (APM). That’s well ahead of the average of 6,100 APM for online video generally. And only audio ads beat that APM measure among media studied by Dentsu. In-game ads on Anzu captured attention for an average of 3,442 seconds, outperforming traditional online ads’ benchmark of 1,416 seconds per thousand audience impressions. The on-screen visibility rate for Anzu ads was 99%, above the usual 87% for online video. But brand recall, outside of streaming on Twitch, was below average for gaming compared to other media Dentsu has measured. “In gaming environments, there’s a lot going on,” said Kevin Villatoro, director of global media partnerships for Dentsu Media U.S. “If it’s a shooting game or racing environment, things are moving pretty quick.” Not all video ads are optimized for those environments, he said, which he believes accounts for the disconnect between above-average viewability and attention but below-average brand recall. Overall, gaming came in with an “attentive cost per 1,000 impressions” or a CPM, of $3.38, which is more efficient than overall Dentsu norms. In part, the efficiency comes from much of the inventory being bought programmatically, Villatoro said. Twitch, on the other hand, “considers themselves a pretty premium video environment, so they demand a higher premium,” he said. “But, if you look at the attention, brand recall and brand lift, you’re OK. Now, all of a sudden, the price kind of makes sense.” “These results reinforce what we’ve been saying to the industry for a long time—that gaming is one of the most engaging and impactful media channels for brands,” said Jordan Shlachter, head of research for Activision Blizzard, in a statement. Media measurement blog Tracking TV, social and digital updates Click here

Gaming ads outperform other media on attention but struggle with brand recall, Dentsu study finds

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