

Simply message the moderators and ask us to look into it. All rights reserved.If your submission does not appear, do not delete it. ™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. “As people live their lives in the metaverse on a more daily basis over the next few years … it’s critical for brands like ours to make sure that we are where those consumers are living their lives.” “I see gaming as really the springboard into this new phenomenon we call the metaverse,” he said. He also sees gaming as an entry-point to the metaverse, a concept embraced by Silicon Valley that imagines a world where people’s digital avatars engage with each other in a virtual world. “It’s not just about those competitive gamers … I see this now as an opportunity to become more surgical in how we reach consumers.” “Gaming has exploded to such a massive audience,” he said. PepsiCo also has to reach different types of gamers. It has also promoted Doritos, Ruffles potato chips and, of course, Mountain Dew, in those virtual spaces.įor Harter, it’s not enough to market more products to gamers. In 2021, it worked with Anzu, an in-game advertising company, to place ads for Cap’n Crunch in several games.

PepsiCo started marketing more of its products in earnest to gamers around three years ago, said Harter. Now, for virtually all of our brands, this is a must-have component of our media communication strategy.” So Mountain Dew is going to be the brand that we go to market and advertise around gaming,'” he said. “There was a point in time where we would look at a brand like Mountain Dew and say, ‘well, Mountain Dew is the best fit for a gaming platform. According to Newzoo, the number of people who said they played games on computers, consoles or mobile devices in the last six months grew 5.3% globally in 2021 compared to 2020.īut for some big snack makers, including PepsiCo, gaming is just the tip of the iceberg.Īs gaming evolves, so does the food giants’ approach to advertising to gamers, said Adam Harter, SVP of media, sports and entertainment at PepsiCo. Newzoo predicts that spending will grow to $218.8 billion in 2024.Īnd it’s not just current gamers spending more - more people are becoming gamers. Globally, consumer spending on games, including subscriptions and in-app purchases, hit $180.3 billion in 2021, according to Newzoo, an analytics company for the gaming market. The Microsoft acquisition is just one piece of the puzzle. Last month, the tech company announced it would pay nearly $70 billion for the gaming firm, even though Activision and its controversial CEO had been recently accused of fostering a toxic work environment. “It’s really important for us to recognize that gaming is more pervasive and is an important part of culture today,” said Gajiwala.Īs evidence of the relevance of gaming, Gajiwala pointed to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, creator of Call of Duty, Candy Crush, World of Warcraft and more. These may seem like niche ads, but Kraft Heinz doesn’t see it that way. Around the same time, Lunchables launched a branded game within the kids gaming platform Roblox.
