Beer, wine & spritzes • Gaming & ad talk • Your guide to the next happy hour and more!
Gaming is now bigger than music and movies combined, with 3B+ players worldwide and half the U.S. by 2025. For advertisers, the barrier to entry is gone – buying in gaming is as straightforward as other channels, but with access to the most active and influential audiences. This keynote will decode who playable audiences are, why they matter, and how the rest of the day will show just how easy it is to plan, buy, and measure in gaming.
Gaming isn’t just about engagement, it’s about conversion. With billions of players worldwide, gaming is now one of the most powerful engines for commerce. From rewarded ads that drive direct purchases, to in-game stores and virtual items that blur the line between play and pay, the opportunity for brands goes far beyond awareness. This session will unpack how advertisers can move from impressions to transactions, exploring best practices in gamified commerce, purchase-triggered rewards, and shoppable moments inside player experiences. A brand case study will demonstrate how gaming activations translate directly into measurable sales impact.
Gaming doesn’t just entertain audiences, it engages them in ways CTV or social never could. The mechanics of play, goals, challenges, and rewards, activate the same motivators that keep people streaming shows or bingeing TikToks, but with deeper participation. That’s why gamified ads drive 2–3x higher brand recall than standard video and keep players engaged for minutes instead of seconds. This session will unpack how brands can harness the psychology of play to transform media from something audiences watch into something they do – turning attention into action and entertainment into measurable impact.
From championship matches to creator showdowns, gaming events are now mainstream cultural tentpoles. The value for advertisers extends far beyond the competition itself-it lives in the content fans consume, the conversations that trend across social platforms, and the communities that rally around the action. This panel unpacks how brands can plug into this energy through event sponsorships like Twitchcon, live-streamed content, and fan-first activations-showcasing a case study on how these moments drive measurable business impact.
Gaming is not a single channel, it’s an ecosystem spanning console, PC, mobile, esports, and UGC. For advertisers, the challenge is how to balance premium integrations with scalable, performance-driven media. This panel will explore where gaming fits in the broader media mix and how brands can measure success across channels. Panelists from Activision, Publicis Media, and Playstation. will share strategies for buying, scaling, and proving impact in gaming.
Gaming is the “social glue” of Gen Z, with 32% more likely than average players to log in just to hang out with friends. Yet, only 5% of media dollars flow into gaming. Why the disconnect? For years, advertisers saw gaming as a walled garden. But with new ad formats, targeting, and measurement tools, brands can now break through authentically. This session explores how communities power culture, why brands have historically struggled to connect, and how innovations are finally unlocking authentic engagement across the funnel.
