Gaming advertising commands gamers’ attention for longer than any digital advertising format other than YouTube, a new report from Anzu and Lumen has revealed.
The study, by cross-platform in-game ad solution company Anzu and technology company Lumen, aimed to uncover if the focus on gameplay extends to advertising.
The report revealed that in-game advertising drives 98% viewability, which translates to strong viewing figures of 85%.
In-game advertising also drives strong brand recall, with a 41% average spontaneous brand recall and purchase intent – with a 7% sales uplift.
In-game advertising commands gamers’ attention for longer than any other digital advertising format – excluding YouTube.
Mike Follett, CEO at Lumen Research said: “People think of in-game media environments as fast-paced, but from an ad attention point of view, Anzu ads do well because they are ‘slow media’. The ads are on screen for longer, and close to the action, so difficult to ignore. It’s because players as so engaged with the game that they also engage with the ads: good for the players, and good for the brands.”
The study drew findings from 25 Anzu studies, and Lumen used data from over 90 other in-game advertising attention studies to conduct their research. Using eye-tracking technology, with data coming from real measurements, the research measures attention rather than claimed behaviours.
Lumen’s data revealed that 85% of impressions were viewed by gamers. Anzu’s data shows that its ads range from 67% to 94%, depending on the campaign, with desktop display advertising leading the way.
Lumen’s research advises that 2 seconds of viewing is the critical threshold for ensuring that attention is translated into accessible memory.
80% of the 25 ads studied from campaigns run by Anzu exceeded the 2-second threshold with an average of 3.1 seconds, with the best-performing ad viewed for an average of 7.8 seconds. Lumen gaming data shows a generic norm of 2.5 seconds spent viewing in-game advertising.
Across 42 digital advertising formats, the average time spent viewing ads is 2.9 seconds, but only 43% of the digital advertising formats and 19% of non-YouTube formats exceeded the 2-second threshold set by the industry.