It's no surprise that the global games market is booming, we all either play games ourselves or know someone who does. On September 24th, the games industry was given the recognition it deserves at RAIN’s (Radio And Internet News) Canadian audio summit, where audio innovators, researchers, agency leads, and executive-level marketers come together to share valuable perspectives and insights on the dynamic digital audio space for advertisers. For the first time ever, this year’s summit was hosted in a virtual format, enabling instant participation from a global audience. It was also the first time this event dedicated a session to gaming, hosted by AudioMob CBO, Ben Williams, which explored the opportunities of digital audio in games for marketers with a panel of industry experts.

One of the key discussion points was the effect of the global pandemic on the games industry: Since lockdown, more people than ever are playing games, with reports showing a 35% industry wide growth at the end of Q1. As a result, more brands have understood the growing potential of the market and started looking at ways to capitalise on this. Dave Bradley, COO at Steel Media, revealed that the global game market is estimated to be worth over $152Bn, with mobile games accounting for $68.5billion of that. Compare this with the global entertainment industry of film, TV and streaming, which is currently worth $101bn. Brands are increasingly looking at brand-safe, brilliantly targeted and highly responsive campaigns - something that has been made available through rewarded audio ads.

Rewarded Audio helps players stay in games longer by giving them bonus rewards or free lives - making their gaming experience longer and better - but most of all uninterrupted. Unlike other environments, here gamers are very receptive to audio advertising as it helps them pay while they play. It’s a new development and its gateway platform is spearheaded by AudioMob, a tech maverick startup founded by ex Google and Facebook alums.

Speaking on advertising in mobile games, Jack Cooney, Director at indie game studio Nerd Agency, highlighted the importance of choosing the right ad format when developing games.  95% of Nerd’s game revenue comes from advertising, and using the wrong ad format can kill your revenues. One of his key considerations and recommendations for in-game advertising is that it should never block players from playing. Kathleen Moroney, Creative Director at the audio agency Red Apple Creative UK, explained that recently there has been a shift in more people understanding the value of audio with more brands incorporating it in the earlier stages of their marketing plans. Gamers are one of the most engaged audiences and it is therefore extra important not to interrupt them. Audio enhances game experiences and if players are using headphones it provides brands an opportunity to utilise audio in more creative ways, from immersive experiences to 3D audio, to deliver creative and unforgettable ad campaigns. When it comes to best practices for audio in games, it all comes down to tailoring; knowing what environment your audio ads are going on and how it will enrich the gaming experience. As gamers are generally in a good mood while playing, advertisers have a golden opportunity to enhance gamers’ experience.

The panel clearly outlined the growing trends: This is amplified by Spotify's CEO, Daniel Ek, recently sharing his belief that audio ads' migration from radio to digital formats may bring an $18 billion ad sales opportunity in the US alone, while DAX has found that 66% of brand advertisers now see digital audio as a key part of their integrated media strategies. Factor in the move of podcasts into the true mainstream, and Twitter’s recent exploration of audio tweets, and it's clear that digital audio is going places.