For years, marketers have treated gaming like a curiosity. It’s intriguing, but not quite “brand safe.” And nowhere is that hesitation more evident than with mobile gaming. Dismissed as the domain of teenage boys and Candy Crush addicts, mobile games have quietly become one of the most engaging, scalable, and underutilised channels in the modern media mix.
Mobile Gaming Is Mainstream and Massive
Today, more than 3.32 billion people worldwide are active gamers, and mobile accounts for over half of that audience (Exploding Topics, 2024). That’s not a subculture. That’s the largest entertainment audience on the planet.
Australia reflects this shift. Candy Crush Saga ranks #1 in grossing and #8 in free downloads in the casual gaming category, with over 7 million local installs and consistently high engagement (Sensor Tower, 2024). The title’s staying power isn’t just impressive, it’s instructive.
Forget the gaming stereotype of a teenager in a basement. The average gamer today is 36 years old, according to the Entertainment Software Association, with 53% identifying as male and 46% as female. In Australia, the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association pegs the average at 34 years old, with 48% of players being women.
And while console and PC gaming still thrive, mobile leads the way due to its accessibility and ubiquity. Whether on the train, in line for coffee, or winding down before bed, mobile games are part of daily life, and that means your audience is already there.
Why Should Marketers Care?
Because mobile gaming offers something rare in today’s fragmented media landscape: a high-attention, fully engaged experience.
Here’s why it deserves a spot on your media plan:
- Cost-efficient CPMs that often outperform traditional social and display
- Non-disruptive formats like rewarded video and playable interstitials
- Programmatic access for seamless planning and buying
- Standard digital measurement, including CTR, VCR, viewability, and brand lift
And perhaps most importantly: gaming is not a media experiment anymore. It’s a proven, scalable channel that fits neatly alongside your social, video, and display strategy.
Case in Point: Maybelline x Candy Crush
A standout example of mobile gaming’s brand potential comes from Maybelline, which partnered with Activision Blizzard Media to promote its Lifter Gloss line inside Candy Crush Saga. Here’s how they did it:
- Rewarded video ads: Players opted to watch short, branded videos about Lifter Gloss in exchange for in-game boosters, making the ad feel like a perk, not a punishment.
- Custom playable mini-games: Maybelline created interactive experiences inspired by Candy Crush gameplay that highlighted the glosses in a fun, tactile way.
- “Video Explorer” feature: Users could dive deeper into the product range with additional content and calls to action.
The results?
- 12+ million mini-games played
- 23% lift in ad recall
- 552% increase in web traffic, as daily site visitors jumped from 15,000 to 100,000
Who Else Is Getting It Right?
Maybelline’s not alone. Brands across FMCG, finance, auto, and fashion are successfully tapping into gaming to drive both awareness and performance:
- Gucci created an immersive Roblox world called Gucci Town, featuring games, virtual fashion, and celebrity integrations.
- Fenty Beauty launched a shoppable experience inside Roblox, allowing players to buy physical products directly in-game.
- SUPERPRETZEL ran intrinsic in-game ads with Anzu and saw a 29-point brand lift simply by showing up contextually within gameplay.
- Samsung created the Clash of Commuters with Livewire, having 130k total players battle it out for an average session duration of 17-minutes.
Ready to Get Started?
You don’t have to launch a branded game or build a metaverse island to get started. Mobile gaming is more accessible than you think, and easier to test than many traditional channels. Here’s how brands can dip their toes in the water:
- Identify your audience overlap
Use datasets like Roy Morgan’s Asteroid, Nielsen, or GWI to see how gaming maps to your current segments. Chances are, there’s more crossover than you expect, especially in casual and puzzle gaming genres. - Start with programmatic in-game ads
Platforms like Anzu, Admix, Frameplay & Livewire let you buy non-intrusive in-game placements. Think billboards in racing games or branded signage in sports titles. These formats blend into gameplay and feel native to the experience, making them an easy first step with little creative lift. - Explore rewarded video inventory
Use your existing video assets in rewarded ad formats, where players choose to watch short ads in exchange for in-game benefits. It’s opt-in, high-attention, and proven to drive better brand recall and lift. Plus, it’s media you can measure like any other digital video. - Partner with existing titles
Collaborate with game publishers or ad networks already integrated into high-engagement games. You can test co-branded creative, limited-time offers, or even contextual tie-ins based on game mechanics, without needing to build from scratch. - Measure and learn like any other channel
Gaming fits neatly into your existing reporting stack. Track viewability, CTR, VCR, brand lift, and even foot traffic or sales attribution depending on your setup. Start small, but treat it seriously – the data will show you where to scale.
The Bottom Line
Whether you’re looking for incremental reach or a new canvas for brand storytelling, mobile gaming gives you room to experiment without blowing up your strategy. It’s not a moonshot, it’s just media where your audience happens to be having fun.
