This is a collaborative piece with Chris Morency of DotDotDot, following on from an original piece with Ana Andjelic on The Sociology of Business.
Gaming is one of the most important cultural territories to be in today - we’ve established this.
But many brands are still sleeping on it. We get it - it’s a confusing space. There are Gorillaz running around in Fortnite. HIDDEN.NY is digging deep into the archives, making a collection around a 25 year old game called Jet Set Radio. Kids are “stealing a brain-rot” on Roblox. Huh?
As a marketing extraordinaire, burying your head in the pixelated sand is no longer an option. Why?
Roblox – the platform “for kids” – has recently reported a 54% YoY growth in the 13+ category, which means the audience is ageing into spend - both digitally and physically. Video game film and TV adaptations are rumoured to be replacing the Marvel Cinematic Universe in budget attention.
Meanwhile, Yu-Gi-Oh x Nike just took over the entire gaming and anime-verse - once again proving that anime is more than just a trend, it’s a mainstay amongst Gen Z and Alpha. All the while side quests continue to make their way off platform into the cultural zeitgeist - just ask those who clamoured and clawed their way to Corteiz’s 24hr Subway take over in New York.
The time to have a gaming strategy was yesterday. But don’t worry, we’ve got you.
Ask an Expert
Now, we could try to convince you ourselves why having a long-term gaming strategy will do more for a brand’s bottom line than almost any campaign, collaboration, or investment into hospitality or design (fields many brands have recently branched into), but we feel you’ll need to hear it from an even bigger expert.
Therefore we spoke with Charles Hambro, Founder of GEEIQ, a data platform and insights provider that empowers brands to create long-term strategies and make data-led investments in virtual worlds.
Hambro has been behind some of the biggest gaming and fashion integrations to date. GEEIQ has ushered Gucci, Versace, Coach and Givenchy through the elusive world of video games. We spoke to him to pressure-test what’s working, what’s waste, and where fashion brands still trip over their own digital dresses.
We’ve broken it across three fault lines:
Org design: Is it worth building a separate gaming department?
UGC platforms: Should you join creators inside 3D social, or build your own?
Collaborations: Central growth engine or just special projects?
Spoiler: there’s no cheat code, just better questions, tighter objectives, and the discipline to iterate. You’ve reached the loading screen; now let’s gear up for the long, twisty, highly rewarding main quest.
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