📓Creativ Brief: Gaming and Advertising an Exec Recap
Gaming populations and platform stats. Amazon CTV. OpenAI investor drama. Fox Sports streaming. Creator compensation. Media galas.
ThinkLA hosted 400 gaming and advertising executives this past Wednesday for their annual gaming brunch.
I spoke on a panel with executives from Twitch, Tripleclix and Ayzenburg on “Creativity in Gaming” to determine how advertisers can integrate into games.
Here’s the biggest trends I took away from the talk:
3.4 billion people, more than 50% of the population now games. Gaming is now a bigger industry than music, movies, and TV combined.
For weekly gamers, mobile is the biggest platform at 77%, then 52% on console and 34% on PC. VR is still a tiny fraction at 3%-4% of the market. (Activision/Blizzard research)
Games are entertainment. Brands should integrate in a way that adds fun to the experience.
The top three additive brand elements to games are subsidizing in-game rewards, unlocking custom content, and sponsoring IRL experiences for gamers.
GTA VI trailer dropped the week before. The game is going to be huge. Brands should take note.
There are multiple ways into gaming culture, from game integration themselves to IRL gaming events to esports to gaming creators to gaming platforms like Twitch and Discord.
Gaming is expansive, from Gen Alpha to gen X adults. Brand should determine the right entry point to reach their target audience. Each property has its own audience and is not uniform.
Video games already are one of the largest media ecosystems in the world. The industry will continue to lead technological innovation, growing consumer adoption, and media creativity.
3 Stories Shaping the Media and Tech Industries
These formats include pause ads that surface when content is paused, carousel ads with multiple product options, and interactive brand trivia experiences—all designed to bridge entertainment and e-commerce.
Why it matters: Amazon has a growing ambition to reshape TV advertising by merging retail data, streaming content, and direct shopping capabilities in ways that traditional broadcasters and advertisers can't easily replicate.
The discussions focus on Microsoft's equity stake in the new entity and potential adjustments to their broader contract, including access to OpenAI's technology beyond the current 2030 agreement.
Why it matters: This development highlights the evolving dynamics in the tech industry, where collaborations between AI startups and established tech giants are being redefined to balance innovation, control, and competitive interests.
Fox One will consolidate live and on-demand content from across Fox's portfolio—including Fox News, Fox Sports, FS1, FS2, Fox Business, Fox Weather, Fox Deportes, Big Ten Network, and local Fox stations—into a single platform, with the option to bundle Fox Nation.
Why it matters: This move signifies Fox's strategic entry into the competitive streaming market, aiming to attract cord-cutters while maintaining its traditional cable audience, and highlights the ongoing convergence of media, sports, and technology industries.
Creativ Spotlight - ThinkLA Idea Awards
We're celebrating our 15th anniversary honoring the campaigns, agencies, clients, marketers, media partners, and individuals with ThinkLA on June 26th. The gala will host the best media executives from around Los Angeles. We'll mingle and enjoy cocktails, dinner, and the awards show, followed by an after party with sponsored activity areas.
To register and buy a ticket, click here!
Stat of the Week - US Creators Face Compensation Challenges
Marketers have trouble justifying pay creators for multiple reasons. This chart maps the top 5.
One Fun Thing - Creativ Crew at ThinkLA Gaming Brunch
A big thank you to ThinkLA hosting the Gaming Brunch, Ayzenberg Group President Chris Younger for moderating, and Chris Erb, Founder and Managing Partner of Tripleclix and Bill Young Head of Games at Twitch for joining me on stage yesterday.