2023 has seen another meteoric rise of advertising specifically targeting gamers. Away from endemic gaming products, the fast-moving consumer goods category has really found its feet with creative and original campaigns.
In this article, we unveil three best-in-class examples where brands have seamlessly woven themselves into the fabric of gaming culture, transcending passive logo sponsorship to achieve genuine engagement.
From epic community collaborations to innovative activations, these success stories prove that when it comes to gaming, these brands aren’t just players; they’re pioneers, setting the stage for all of us to learn from.
- Heinz Hidden Spots x Call of Duty
The Insight:
Gamers often face the dilemma of eating while playing, especially in intense games like Call of Duty: Warzone, where taking a break could cost them the match.
The Campaign:
Heinz, in partnership with Activision, created the ‘Heinz Hidden Spots’ campaign, identifying safe in-game locations for players to take a snack break. The campaign involved partnering with YouTube and Twitch streamers who demonstrated these spots while enjoying a burger and fries. The activation was extended to other popular games like Fortnite and PUBG.
The Results:
The campaign’s announcement video garnered over 1.2M views on YouTube. Paid media resulted in more than 29,000 interactions and 56.6M impressions, with earned media adding another 24,000 interactions and 51M impressions.
2. Doritos Silent: Cancel The Crunch
The Insight:
The crunch of Doritos, while a beloved feature of the snack, can be a loud distraction in high-intense gaming situations where team communication is key and microphones are switched on.
The Campaign:
Doritos introduced ‘Doritos Silent,’ a ‘crunch-cancellation’ technology compatible with all PCs, developed in partnership with Smooth Technology. This tech was designed after analyzing over 5,000 different crunch sounds. The campaign was promoted through social media and out-of-home advertisements in various countries.
The Results:
Since the campaign is still running at the time of writing this article, there are no results as of yet. However, since the campaign addresses a widespread issue among gamers, we can only assume the outcome will be positive.
3. Walmart Discovered x Roblox
The Insight:
After introducing Walmart to a younger digitally-native audience and earning their loyalty through previous activations in Roblox, gamers were seeking easier ways to discover experiences and virtual items in the metaverse.
The Campaign:
Walmart Discovered turns their store interactive and virtual inside of Roblox, allowing players to tour departments across Sports, Pets, Racing and Beauty. More importantly, they’ve given the keys to the community by spotlighting 300+ creators, from digital fashion designers to experienced developers to create the best games, indie experiences and virtual items as voted on by the community.
The Results:
So far, the new world has driven 10.2M lifetime visits and 4.2M average monthly visits, ranked 8th in December 2023 amongst the top 10 Roblox branded games (sitting comfortably alongside worlds from Barbie, Sonic The Hedgehog, Hello Kitty and Ben10).
Overwolf Ads allows advertisers to reach and engage gamers at scale during playtime across the world’s biggest games such as Fortnite, Minecraft, League of Legends and hundreds more.
If you’re interested in hearing more, head here or email us at ads(at)overwolf(dot)com.