At a time when interruptive advertising in network television has become less effective as a result of the emergence of streaming platforms and new viewing habits, gaming is showing up as a key medium for advertisers.

“Gaming platforms are overtaking social media platforms and even streaming platforms because people are looking for authentic experiences where they can be themselves,” says Navjot Kaur, director of research and insights at Dentsu Canada, which conducted a study into how effective gaming is at capturing consumer attention.

Gaming is slowly but surely becoming ubiquitous. Only 13% of adult consumers say they do not play video games at all. Dentsu’s survey found that 45% play every day, 33% at least once a week and 8% monthly or less.

The popularity of gaming is high throughout different age groups, providing a large target audience for advertisers. Millennial consumers are most likely to game every day (53%), but even among boomers, the cohort least likely to play daily, this figure is still considerable (35%).

In addition, 3.3 billion people are predicted to be gamers by 2024, generating more than US$218 billion in revenue. In-game advertising is also expected to grow at a CAGR of 16% by 2025.

Finally, 48% of gamers say they have purchased a brand after seeing or interacting with that brand in-game, rising to 59% for Gen Z and 61% for millennial gamers.

When asked to name companies they would like to see advertise or integrate into games, consumers mentioned food, beverage and sports apparel brands in particular, as well as tech and gaming companies.

Kaur has some advice for brands looking to break into gaming hubs. “Brands have to be very specific and make their integrations relevant to the audience,” she says. ” The biggest trend right now is making the whole experience very real-life and immersive.”