Insights
AI power-up – The gaming marketers’ sidekick
Hello, gamers, marketers and future AI overlords! Today, we embark on a quest to explore the potential risks of AI overshadowing human marketers in the future of marketing for gamers…
5 VR trends to look out for over the coming months
As we look forward into 2023, we can't help but get hyped about all the awesome things happening in the world of VR. From mind-blowing gaming experiences to innovative corporate training tools, there's so much to be excited about in the coming 12 months.
It’s time to accentuate gaming’s positives
In a recent interview with CBS Good Morning, famed game developer Cliff Bleszinski spoke candidly about his life, and his new autobiography, Control Freak. The 7-minute section featured only one question about video games generally - interviewer Brook Silva-Braga asked: "Do virtual bullets help inspire real world shootings?”
Metaverse advertising offers a host of opportunities, and challenges
The metaverse is often portrayed as a mash-up of virtual shopping malls, entertainment hubs, and gaming arcades. Each of these real world places are heavily festooned with loud, colorful advertising. It's a fair bet that the companies currently funding metaverse development view advertising as a core component of their offering.
Creator economy is central to the metaverse’s success
Meta's recent release of new images from its Horizon Worlds metaverse was widely greeted with derision, demonstrating just how far the concept of web 3.0 has to go before it's fully accepted.
The challenge of marketing games on TikTok
Tiktok is getting serious about games. The social media platform is looking into ways to leverage its huge and youthful user base into a gaming platform. According to a recent Reuters report, TikTok has been testing games via its Vietnam service, with a view to rolling out the feature elsewhere.
9 ways that gaming is good for your mental health
World Mental Health Day (10th October) is an opportunity for us all to take a breath and think about improving our own emotional health, and that of those around us. And while it’s a day to discover and explore new wellbeing methods, it can also be an opportunity to re-evaluate the everyday (especially when our everydays have been pretty far from normal for the last 18 months).
Mobile gaming is an innovation further
Still expanding fast, mobile gaming cannot afford to stand still.
Apple vs Epic Games: Will we see a game revolution this summer?
This summer could herald a game industry revolution. The United States Congress is ready to vote on potential bills that could severely limit Apple and Google’s current mobile gaming digital stores practices, which are widely viewed by game publishers and developers as unfair. Meanwhile, the European Union is legislating to limit the power of big tech platform holders.
Why queer visibility matters in video games
June is Pride Month. Many organizations use this time as an opportunity to look at the representation of the LGBTQ+ community in their respective sectors. For example, Jake Daniels recently became the first ever active English Premier League player to come out, prompting the football world to consider its own sluggish progress.
In-game advertising: How brands are reaching new audiences
One of the marketing world’s most awarded branding campaigns of recent years was embedded inside a video game.
Virtual reality therapy: How to be your own therapist
Imagine if you could be your own therapist, and solve ALL of your problems. All by yourself, without any professional help. But how could such a phenomenon even be possible? Enter Virtual Reality Therapy.
What is the appeal of new IP in video games?
The arrival of a successful new video game Intellectual Property (IP) is welcomed much like a newborn baby – warmly embraced as both a symbol and a guarantee of a bright future. Its fresh promise delivers genuine renewal and no small measure of joy.
5 podcasts every marketer should listen to
I know a little bit about podcasts. Enough to be dangerous. This time last year, I teamed up with journalist and radio presenter Louise Blain to create a podcast about podcasts (called Podworld). Yes, very meta, I know… but for that show I had to listen to hundreds of podcasts, and after a while, you do start to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t. So armed with this (maybe dangerous) amount of knowledge and listening hours, I have come up with 5 podcasts I think you should listen to if you are involved in the world of marketing.
How do we measure impact in a world without third-party cookies?
The marketing world as we know it is changing: without third-party cookies and the data it captures, we explore how businesses can find opportunities in such adversity.
Why we need the why: Understanding audience behavior without cookies
We know a lot about the what but not a lot about the why. As third-party cookies are set to crumble and disappear, it’s time to dig deeper into consumer behavior.
NFTs… Why do they have value?
The metaverse and the digital revolution of Web3, NFTs, and cryptocurrency is a concept divided between boosters, skeptics, and dreamers. I count myself in the latter camp – I’m excited by the almost unlimited potential of a new digital universe. At the same time, I’m reluctant to be swept up by the current hyperbole. The future of gaming entertainment is, as ever, a work-in-progress.
Video games finally embrace LGBTQ+ romance
It’s not often that a video game trailer makes me go all gooey, but this one for The Sims 4 My Wedding Stories is a gorgeous festival of romantic excess. Timed for the Valentine’s Day season, the trailer promotes a new addition to Electronic Arts’ human life simulation The Sims 4, in which players plan the wedding of their dreams. The trailer is a mini-movie about two women who fall madly in love, and throw a beautiful marriage ceremony.
Our highlights from 2021
Want to see what we’ve been up to? We couldn’t resist the opportunity to share with you some of our creative work from the closing chapters of 2021. Collaborating with the likes of Logitech, Extreme Networks, and EVE Online, here are some of the highlights…
Why we need accessibility in video games
Players with disabilities deserve to enjoy video games. The recently released Halo Infinite attracted broad critical acclaim for its exciting action, lush world, and compelling story. But one review will have caused concern for the game’s publisher Xbox Game Studios. Critic Ben Bayliss at Can I Play That wrote that the game is marred by “clumsy implementation” of accessibility features.
Dialect Dialogue
A series of conversations focused on the present and future of marketing with John Gower, Dialect's CEO and founder