Blockchain and Cloud are terms that have been of much interest (and speculation) across domains and markets, and the gaming cohort is the latest entrant in this arena. Several non-gaming brands seem to be recognizing the utility and value in associating with gaming and associated platforms due to their outreach to billions of both casual and hardcore consumers, with disposable income and potential brand loyalty.
We spoke to several industry experts to understand the reach and response to these innovations.
Neeraj Sharma, Senior VP – Planning, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi posits, "Imagine you own a swanky car in a car game, which is worth thousands in the gaming world but practically zilch in the real world. Now if that car is a NFT, suddenly it is worth something in the real world and crudely put that’s one of the reasons gaming companies want to invest in blockchain. It makes not only two totally different digital games interoperable but also gaming and the real world interoperable.”
Meanwhile, Digitas CCO Abraham Varughese notes that companies across the board are interested in these emerging technologies, and not just tech and gaming brands. And while the agency is mapping out exciting campaigns and ventures with their clients, Varughese cautions against rushing into any trend. "There's huge potential in tech and applications like the Metaverse and blockchain and these are spaces everyone wants to be in, as the markets pivot towards them. With new cohorts coming online and a massive audience on the cusp of entering the digital ecosystem, there are so many opportunities for these platforms," he says.
"However, we also have to keep in mind that creating games or tokens or metaverse experiences isn't something that will fit every marketing model, and we don't want clients to be negatively impacted by doing something that may not be in their best interest, just for the sake of tapping into something new. Every business has different advertising needs, and we help them reach those, using the media mix that works best for them. So, while it often involves these new platforms for many clients, we also dissuade those who won't accrue the best possible outcome from entering a space that may not suit their domain," Varughese added.
Sharing more on this was Shekhar Jain, Co-founder, OMOTEC (On My Own technology), a leading innovation and research lab. Such technology enables experience, global availability of content, ability to connect by creating a user community, Jain said.
Brands are able to directly access and influence their users in a real-time arena, thereby increasing the stickiness of their clients significantly, industry observers say.
Sharma adds that with Metaverse being the buzzword, it clearly will make interaction between gaming companies and customers more seamless, transparent and easy. Only time will tell how popular they become because the tech is still expanding and adoption has just started, he said. "It has started happening already in esports. Kitkat decided to explore the esports market three years ago to remain relevant for the younger generation. Kitkat banked on “Even the biggest champs need a break” and changed the perspective of breaks during matches using them to bring in more fan activation and entertainment. It also partnered with PlayStation 5 supported by the “One Break Away” campaign. Associations like these in all probability will extend into that tech gaming world too."
Rohit Agarwal, Founder and Director of Alpha Zegus, a marketing agency specializing in the domains of gaming and lifestyle, points out that non-endemic brands generally target larger masses than endemic brands, as the latter has a more defined audience in terms of their domain. “Having a democratized platform (like cloud gaming and blockchain) simply means that gamers who couldn't access many games before can now do it with ease, which in turn allows non-endemic brands to reach out to the gaming 'masses'. A definite win and a great entry point for non-endemic brands.”
“Partnerships, visibility, compatibility of complementary products, and accessibility to new markets are going to be the future norms as physical and virtual geographical borders dissipate. We will see more brands typically non-endemic partnering with endemic brands who are creating an ecosystem to tap into the user community to gain access and benefit from there and use that as a base to create their own platforms and user community over time,” says Jain.
With over 500 million new internet users expected to come online in India by 2025, paired with the 5 billion USD valuation of the Indian gaming industry by the same time, the game is just beginning.
As Swapnil Pawar, Founder, Newrl, the country’s first public blockchain created by fintech company ASQI, observes, the gaming industry is set to see an influx of new competitors coming in from various sectors such as social media, networking, dating, and more. “This would then be the advent of the so-called 'Gameverse' in the true sense and the endemic brands would have to swap out a lot of their old tricks to keep up pace with the technological innovations,” says Pawar.
Sagar Nair, Co-Founder and CEO, Qlan, The Gamer's Social Network, notes that gaming companies leverage the Cloud majorly because it lets you access any sort of data anywhere in the world with just a click of a button and blockchain to encrypt and secure those data transactions. “Cloud gaming platforms have made even the largest gaming titles device-agnostic, ensuring a bigger reach and user adoption. Even at its nascent stage, the rate at which cloud gaming and blockchain are being adopted by the gaming industry surely makes it a no-brainer for investors. Similarly, many brands can use blockchain to identify user patterns and gather information on users that relate to their products and offerings.”
Rohit Agarwal says that moving to cloud and blockchain will allow gaming companies to implement changes more regularly, which brands can leverage to put their messaging more creatively. Older brands can use the media estate on the cloud platform itself, while newer brands can find innovative ways to integrate their messaging within the game.
For instance, over 4,500 products from more than 60 countries have partnered with Gamezop; these partners include Amazon, MX Player, Paytm, Samsung Internet, Tata Play, and Airtel Thanks. More than 45 million users from across the world engage with Gamezop every month via one of their partners.
"Cloud is now more the norm than the exception. Platforms like AWS and Google Cloud have done two things exceptionally well: first, they have made best-in-class server technology accessible to everyone within a few clicks. And second, they have brought unprecedented cost-efficiency to anyone that wants to build an online product. The alternative to using cloud computing is to set up and manage one’s own data centers – for companies looking to move fast and stay lean, that is simply not an option,” Yashash Agarwal, CEO and Co-founder, Gamezop said.
Mitesh Gangar, Co-Founder and Director, PlayerzPot agrees, “A non-endemic brand can use these modern techs to reach out to the gaming audience accurately. It opens the gateway for non-endemic brands to reach out to a set of targeted audiences in a cost-effective manner. Thus, advertisers are able to draw greater value by better targeting of their advertisements, which provides better engagement on their spends.”
