TalkTalk Quantifies In-gaming Advertising’s Impact on Consumer Engagement

Broadband provider TalkTalk has revealed the findings of recent research conducted to find in-gaming advertising’s impact on consumer engagement.

TalkTalk supported by agency partner m/SIX, programmatic advertising partner and Outcome Media Company Xaxis, and in-game advertising platform Bidstack, commissioned eye-tracking specialist Lumen Research to study how ads were seen within gaming environments and how messaging for its fibre broadband service reached and resonated with gaming audiences.

Developed to explore attention, brand perception and purchase intent within the rapidly growing sector of in-game advertising, the study incorporated players on PC engaged with popular football and racing games.

Highlights from the study include:

After experiencing the in-game ads there was an uplift of 12% points in purchase intent.

Almost half (48%) of the study participants were able to spontaneously recall TalkTalk, rising to 58% when prompted. Whereas the benchmark for prompted is 33%, when looking at digital display (desktop and mobile) and Facebook Infeed (mobile).

Attention generated by the in-game ads in this study equates to 29 minutes of consumer attention per thousand impressions – a remarkable rate when compared to the industry average for online advertising (including desktop display, mobile display, and Facebook mobile Infeed) of 17.5 minutes per thousand impressions.

The study found that the average dwell time was 13% higher for the TalkTalk ads than the industry average of 1.6 seconds for online advertising (including desktop display, mobile display, and Facebook mobile Infeed).

TalkTalk’s in-game ads were viewed by up to 96% of the study participants. In comparison, an industry average of 67% of online advertising (including desktop display, mobile display, and Facebook mobile Infeed) ad impressions are viewed.

Over eight in ten (84%) felt the ads were suitable for the in-game environment.

Joe Bremend, Media Manager of TalkTalk, said: “Gaming is a large and ever-growing part of how consumers utilise their broadband services – accelerated further by the COVID-19 pandemic. Having the ability to effectively reach and engage with this growing and valuable audience, in an environment where they are increasingly spending time, and share marketing messages that drive brand awareness is a game-changer. It is particularly promising to see this campaign perform so well against some of the most relied on digital advertising KPIs, which bodes well for the future of in-game campaigns.”

Gareth Rees, Communications Planning & Strategy Director of m/Six, said: “Gaming is a fast-growing form of entertainment with an enormous global audience that spans a range of demographics, yet it’s a relatively nascent channel for advertising. This groundbreaking study proves the value of in-game advertising for brand awareness activations, with the ability to generate attention when consumers are fully immersed in gaming environments and drive positive outcomes.”