Why omnichannel advertising needs gaming at its core

Gaming aligns naturally with this strategy because it offers a uniquely immersive, player-first environment. It integrates seamlessly into daily routines across platforms, reaches an influential audience with strong purchasing power and offers curated, brand-safe environments built for strategic partnerships.

When done right — in a brand-safe, contextually relevant environment — gaming isn’t just an add-on. It’s a core driver of attention, interaction and meaningful brand outcomes.

How gaming influences household purchasing decisions

An often-overlooked strength of the gaming audience is the significant role gamers play in making household purchasing decisions. 

Players are not passive consumers but active decision makers, frequently influencing or deciding purchases across categories such as technology, beauty, groceries and financial services, according to research from Activision Blizzard Media. Specifically, 68% of players lead decisions on beauty and personal care purchases, while 65% oversee technology and electronics choices, according to the research. 

That influence indicates that gaming should be a central pillar of any marketer’s omnichannel strategy to connect brands with decision-makers across multiple product categories, amplifying the effectiveness of cross-platform advertising efforts.

Strategic gaming partnerships offer brand-safe advertising opportunities

To employ an effective omnichannel strategy, a brand’s message needs to appear in a trusted, controlled, secure environment. 

When entering the gaming space, it’s essential to work with partners who are thoughtful about the content they create and committed to brand safety. Partners such as King, Xbox and Microsoft Casual Games bring this approach to mobile, desktop and console experiences, supporting sustained, high-quality consumer engagement. The inherently moderated and professionally curated nature of these gaming environments ensures that brands can engage with their audiences without the risk of encountering user-curated content, thus maintaining high standards of contextual appropriateness and brand integrity. 

By capitalizing on gaming’s ability to command sustained player attention and to provide tailored user interactions, brands can increase their audience engagement and reach an influential decision-making audience with their messaging.

Players’ daily gaming routines give brands cross-platform ad engagement

Seventy-three percent of players actively engage across more than one gaming platform, according to Activision Blizzard Media’s Gaming’s Next Level: The Power of Platforms report. Players engage with gaming throughout their day, weaving gameplay into their everyday routines and thus creating multiple touchpoints for brands, according to the report. Players’ habitual gaming behavior makes gaming environments an optimal advertising setting that spans screens, aligns with natural user rhythms and keeps players deeply engaged. 

In particular, players’ morning routines typically feature short, stimulating mobile sessions — especially popular among puzzle, card and casino gamers. By midday, players often seek cognitive breaks, continuing their mobile gaming. Afternoons find users engaging across all types of platforms as they seek more immersive moments of play. During the evenings and late nights, players’ sessions lengthen significantly as console and PC use peaks. 

Importantly, gaming does not occur in isolation. Seventy-five percent of players regularly game while consuming other media, such as TV or streaming video. This second-screen behavior presents a powerful opportunity for advertisers to build a cross-media strategy that reinforces brand messages across channels and extends their reach beyond single-screen strategies.

Whether in short bursts or extended sessions, gaming is an always-on channel in which marketers can deliver contextually relevant brand experiences at a time when user attention is high and interruptions are low. This underscores the critical role of gaming in a comprehensive, omnichannel marketing approach.

Platform-specific ad formats allow marketers to reach players where they’re most immersed

Once marketers choose to include gaming as a core pillar of their omnichannel strategy, they must learn how to effectively activate campaigns across gaming’s major platforms — each of which offers a distinct opportunity to connect with players in an immersive environment. Here is how those platforms stack up:

• On mobile, brands can tap into frequent, bite-sized gaming sessions by using ad formats designed to enhance the player experience. Fifty-four percent of players favor opt-in ad formats, which include rewarded video and interactive formats like Playables. These types of ads deliver high viewability and drive incremental spend by generating genuine user engagement without disrupting gameplay. They are also ideal for mobile’s casual, high-frequency context and align with players’ preferences for opt-in ad formats.
• On console, the environment is built for cinematic storytelling. Platforms like Xbox offer immersive landing experiences and click-to-engage formats that make the most of leaned-in, evening play sessions. Averaging 1.66 hours per session, console gameplay provides space for brands to deliver premium creative that captures attention and leaves a lasting impression.
• On PC, players often seek deeper cognitive engagement, with many dedicating extended time to strategic or immersive experiences. PCs attract a high-value audience with long average weekly play times — around 17.7 hours — offering brands the opportunity to deliver more involved, interactive formats. Opt-in rewarded video and branded experiences, such as those available on Microsoft Casual Games, support thoughtful brand storytelling and sustained attention in a context players trust.

Whether reaching players in short mobile bursts or through longer-form PC and console sessions, effective brand activation in gaming means respecting the player-first nature of the medium. Done right, advertising becomes additive, earning engagement through relevance, reward and respect. With informed partnerships and player-first advertising formats, brands can unlock the substantial potential that gaming holds for driving meaningful omnichannel marketing outcomes.

For brands looking to level up their omnichannel strategies, gaming is ready to deliver. 

Sponsored by Activision Blizzard Media