A new framework for gaming ads from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) might finally help marketers take full advantage of the highly engaged gamer audience.

There are over 3.4 billion worldwide game players and time spent with games across devices is set to climb 6% YoY, according to a June report from Dentsu. And yet, gaming still accounts for less than 5% of worldwide media investment.

"Our remit has always been to try and close that gap, because that's increasing the way brands are going to find their audiences," said Zoe Soon, vice president of experience at IAB. "We wanted to create this framework to increase transparency and confidence in the marketplace so brands can know what to ask for and what they should be measuring by the different formats."

Teamwork helps the framework

The IAB's new Gaming Measurement Framework lays out standard ad formats in gaming and the best measurement metrics for each ad type. It aims to help marketers align across the media mix and establish benchmarks and key goals, all the while highlighting how gaming differs from other digital channels.

"A lot of the time, the industry is trying to retrofit new advertising channels into old measurement frameworks," said Soon. "In order to know what you should be measuring, you need to know what formats that applies to, because it's going to differ. So we identified and categorized the main gaming formats according to categories that that buyer is already familiar with."

Those main gaming formats in the framework include:

• Intrinsic in-game ads, which appear inside a player's experience
• Rewarded ads, which give players cosmetic, in-game, or other gifts for viewing the ad
• Interstitial ads, which can appear between levels or during natural breaks in content
• Adjacent ads, which can appear near, but not inside, the actual gameplay

The wide range of formats in game advertising has held back marketers who have been confused about what works best. Formats can range from in-game messaging to esports partnerships.

"If you think about video, they've got the six-second bumper, the 15-second bumper, the midstream, they've sort of got those models a little bit more clearly defined," said Soon. "So, I think we're also aiming to do that with this framework to sort of help buyers understand the different formats."

State of gaming advertising

While players don't feel too friendly towards ads in games, they're open to them, depending on the format and the ad’s content.

• 71.3% of game players have noticed ads while playing, but only 14.6% have a positive feeling about ads being in games, according to Attest's data.
• 48% of game players say advertisements for technology products and gaming accessories fit well in games, per Attest.
• And 62% of players said rewards-based ads are the type of in-game advertisements that they find most engaging.

"We have been fighting those old, outdated stereotypes of gamers being 22-year-olds in their parents' basements playing games. I do think that's changing with millennials becoming the dominant boss in the workplace," said Soon. "Sports is a good analogy. There are so many different sports out there, yet people seem to understand it… We should be able to make gaming simple for buyers as well."

Gen Z is all about the games

Video games entice marketers in part because they attract massive younger audiences.

• Gen Z game players are 32% more likely than the average gamer to play to socialize with friends.
• Gen Z spends an average of two and a half (2:30) hours daily on Roblox, per Dentsu.

"84% of internet users between the ages of 16 and 64 identify as gamers, and it's even greater with Gen Z and Gen Alpha, with 90 to 95% of them identifying as gamers," said Soon.

Games as commerce driver is also growing for younger players. Some 45% of Gen Zers and millennials are interested in purchasing physical products while playing a game, according to Dentsu's report.

"[Gaming] gives you depth, it gives you storytelling, it gives you access to younger generations," said Soon.

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.