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How mobile gaming connects advertisers to household shoppers

Game developers, martech platforms, and agencies are increasingly trying to convince advertisers that consumers playing mobile games are worth reaching. Stakeholders, like gaming company Zynga, are positioning ad placements as an opportunity to reach high-value shoppers that turn to ecommerce for a range of household purchases. “As data centric as the advertising industry is, the […]

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Game developers, martech platforms, and agencies are increasingly trying to convince advertisers that consumers playing mobile games are worth reaching.

Stakeholders, like gaming company Zynga, are positioning ad placements as an opportunity to reach high-value shoppers that turn to ecommerce for a range of household purchases.

“As data centric as the advertising industry is, the people pushing the economy forward and buying the most products are not the ones they’re targeting,” said Gabrielle Heyman, VP global brand sales and partnerships at Zynga.

While the perception is that mobile gaming advertising is a closed ecosystem that promotes other mobile games, there’s a growing moment to push external brand involvement by emphasizing the purchasing power of its audience and the potential for seamless partnerships.

The hidden opportunity

Mobile gaming’s enormous audience has long been a foregone conclusion, but it is a channel in need of robust targeting and measurement. Jorge Prado, co-founder and CEO at mobile game marketing platform Admazing is one of many entrepreneurs preaching that contemporary martech ensures that advertisers’ dollars will be well spent.

“Since the beginning, Admazing has always developed their technology only to look for the right user at the right time, in the right device, regardless of the game,” said Prado at this month’s PlayFronts. “Technology is becoming more and more available to help us drive those impactful impressions, combined with adding new technologies to measure that.”

Partnerships are rapidly emerging. Stephanie Brownlee, director of media activation at OMD USA, recently connected PepsiCo with Admazing for a successful Gatorade mobile game campaign.

“We understand that attention spans are low… the entire media space is really struggling,” said Brownlee at PlayFronts, touting the results they saw leveraging formats like rewarded video. “For someone that is playing a mobile game and is looking to have an extra life, we’re able to essentially build that brand connection in a more personal way.”

While the mobile gaming space is supported by endemic advertising, this dynamic is shifting as gaming publishers roll out more native brand integrations, said Heyman.

“I don’t foresee a time when 100% of the ads in mobile games are brands, but I think it could get to a 50/50 threshold,” said Heyman.

A valuable demographic

Despite the assumption that the gaming industry skews young, Zynga is confident that mobile gaming is fueled by millennial and Gen X women.

  • Women make up 47% of US gamers, EMARKETER forecasts, and 69% of women prefer simple mobile games, according to Deloitte’s 2024 media trends survey.
  • 41% of mobile gamers are parents, 90% are the primary grocery shoppers in their households, and 88% are the primary retail shoppers, according to a Zynga study.

“Now that I’m in my 50s, I’m probably at the height of my shopping moment, and mobile games are one of the top activities for people my age,” said Heyman. “At the same time, there’s this obsession with youth.”

While marketers often focus on Gen Z to target lifetime shoppers at a young age, this generation lags in brand loyalty—these shoppers are 33.9% more likely to have abandoned at least one brand or business over 12 months, according to a Capital One Shopping survey.

“The majority of RFPs that come in are for Gen Z,” said Marian Thomas, director of partnerships, research and measurement at Zynga. “People forget about you when you’re old, but (older generations) have a lot of money, and advertisers can reach them in unique and creative ways on mobile as well.”

Mobile gamers are also more likely than non-mobile gamers to shop via a mobile app vs. online website, emphasizing an opportunity for in-app experiences that drive results, said Thomas.

“People are always talking about retail media, but no one is talking about this retail media consumer that is comfortable doing things in-app,” she said.

Exchanging ad interruptions for free content

Advertising within mobile games can give brands repetitive exposure to consumers. While gaming apps might have a harder time capturing audience attention than functionality apps like food and drink, they are more likely to maintain audience attention, according to an Aarki report.

  • Less than 5% of free game players make in-app purchases, per Z2A Digital, and two-thirds (66%) of US TV viewers now prefer ad-supported streaming over ad-free alternatives, per Hub Research data.

While Zynga looks for brand integrations that are as seamless as possible, consumers have proven their interest in watching ads in exchange for free content.

“Ads are part of the mix when you have a free entertainment experience,” said Heyman. “Consumers like keeping money in their pocketbooks and they see the value exchange. I think we’re giving the same optionality that any streamer is offering right now.”

For Brownlee, the common perception that a brand’s audience is not in the mobile gaming space needs to be debunked.

“There is always someone,” she said. “There are so many users there. It’s understanding the data and going through your consumer trends to understand where that user is so you can deliver the right brand messaging to the right person at the right time.”

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.



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Hero MotoCorp And Krafton India Announce First-Of-Its-Kind ‘Phygital’ Collaboration For BGMI

Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, has teamed up with KRAFTON India, publisher of BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA (BGMI), to launch an unprecedented ‘phygital’ partnership — a first for India’s two-wheeler and gaming industry. This collaboration brings together the thrill of digital gaming with the excitement of real-world motorcycling through a unique […]

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Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, has teamed up with KRAFTON India, publisher of BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA (BGMI), to launch an unprecedented ‘phygital’ partnership — a first for India’s two-wheeler and gaming industry. This collaboration brings together the thrill of digital gaming with the excitement of real-world motorcycling through a unique blend of in-game content and limited-edition bikes.
 
As part of this initiative, Hero’s popular motorcycles — the Xtreme 160R 4V and Xtreme 125R, the fastest bikes in their respective segments are now integrated into BGMI as playable vehicles. Soon, fans will also be able to bring the digital experience to life by purchasing exclusive, BGMI-branded Hero motorcycles in the real world, featuring specially designed decals and themed styling.
 
“This is more than a brand integration — it’s a benchmark for how companies can authentically embed into gaming culture and create real value for a connected generation,” said Seddharth Merrotra, Head of Business Development and Partnerships at KRAFTON India. He added, “With Hero MotoCorp, we’re turning virtual mobility into real-world expression — translating in-game aspiration into tangible ownership. For the first time in India, players aren’t just engaging with a brand — they’re living it, both in-game and on the road.”
 
Speaking on the development, Ashutosh Varma, Chief Business Officer, Hero MotoCorp, said, ” At Hero MotoCorp, we are constantly innovating to connect with young, digital-first consumers in meaningful and exciting ways. Our collaboration with KRAFTON India marks a bold new step in this direction, blending the real and virtual worlds like never before. By bringing our Xtreme motorcycles into BGMI, we are not just creating immersive brand experiences, we are redefining the intersection of mobility and digital entertainment. This partnership is a celebration of new-age passion, performance, and play.”
 
Hero Motorcycles Hit the Battleground

Starting from May 25, players will find the Hero Xtreme 160R 4V and Xtreme 125R inside BGMI as high-performance vehicles with exclusive designs inspired by their real-world counterparts. The collaboration also includes an unlockable Hero-themed gear drop, featuring a custom outfit, helmet, and backpack.
 
Merging Culture, Community, and Mobility




This initiative redefines how brands engage with India’s digitally native generation. For Hero MotoCorp, the collaboration signals a forward-looking move into the digital ecosystem, embedding the brand into gaming culture. For KRAFTON India, it continues the evolution of BGMI as not just a game, but a lifestyle platform.

Together, this phygital partnership offers a glimpse into the future — where mobility meets gameplay, and fandom becomes a tangible as well as a rideable experience.
 
For the latest updates, follow BGMI’s official YouTube, Instagram and Facebook pages.





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Your Endless Call – Everything You Need to Know Before the Premiere

Image Via Tatsunoko Production and Dong Woo Animation The highly anticipated anime film “KING OF PRISM: Your Endless Call” is going to premiere in Japan next month. This new movie add a fun twist to the long-time Pretty Rhythm series. It has time travel, new character, and one special feature, some important scenes in the […]

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The highly anticipated anime film “KING OF PRISM: Your Endless Call” is going to premiere in Japan next month. This new movie add a fun twist to the long-time Pretty Rhythm series. It has time travel, new character, and one special feature, some important scenes in the movie will changed every week.

That means the story is a little different depending on when you watch it. A trailer was recently released showing how this works. Every week, fans can seeing different scenes and outcomes in the Pretty Rhythm timeline. So people might wants go back to the theater many time to watch all versions.

History of KING OF PRISM

The KING OF PRISM series was begin in 2016. It was a spin-off from the anime Pretty Rhythm: RainbowLive and it made by Tatsunoko Production and Dong Woo Animation. The first movie, KING OF PRISM by Pretty Rhythm, come out in January 2016. Then the second movie, KING OF PRISM: Pride the Hero, came on June 2017.

In 2019, the series gotten bigger with KING OF PRISM: Shiny Seven Stars. It released as four movies and later as 12 episode TV show. In 2020, fans was enjoyed KING OF PRISM ALL STARS – Prism Show☆Best 10 – which had many musical performances. Recently in 2024, KING OF PRISM -Dramatic PRISM.1- was showed to recap the Shiny Seven Stars story.

New Drama And School Rivalry

The story is picking up after Prism King Cup. Ichijo Shin now is in spotlight and started highschool at Kakyoin Academy. Meanwhile, Over The Rainbow group is break up, and Koji, Hiro, and Kazuki are making new agency. Things getting tense between the two school. After Hiro win the Prism King title, Jin from the rival school Schwarz Rose start a new competition call PRISM.1 to choose other king. That makes big rivalry between Schwarz Rose and Edel Rose.

Also Read : DAN DA DAN Season 2 Anime Unveils Action-Packed Trailer and New Theme Song

With many drama, time travel, and scenes what keep changing, KING OF PRISM: Your Endless Call give fans something different each time. Whether you liking the music, the people, or the story, this movie is a fresh experience every time you watching. Get ready for journey where no two time is the same.

Source : Official Website

 

Written By “Sujoy Bhowmik – India Today Gaming”

 



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Fan Fav Tourney ‘Deadman AllStars Season 2’ Airs 30th May

Announced a few short days ago, ‘Old School RuneScape’ content creator SOLOMISSION announced the return of the fan favourite tournament ‘Deadman AllStars’ with Season 2 airing on the 30th of May til the 8th of June. Rivalries will reignite as the competition heats up between OSRS stars in this special invite-only Creator-ran variant of the […]

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Announced a few short days ago, ‘Old School RuneScape’ content creator SOLOMISSION announced the return of the fan favourite tournament ‘Deadman AllStars’ with Season 2 airing on the 30th of May til the 8th of June. Rivalries will reignite as the competition heats up between OSRS stars in this special invite-only Creator-ran variant of the Deadman Mode tournament.

Watch your favourite OSRS content creators take center stage, working together to formulate the best plan of action to beat other teams and claim the ultimate victory. The show will stream live over on Jagex’s Twitch page and draft picks will begin tonight at 20:00 BST—head over to the official website to participate in polls and watch highlights as they come in.

Have a gander below for more details on Deadman AllStars. Old School RuneScape is a free-to-play MMORPG that is available on PC via the Jagex Launcher/Runelite/Steam, iOS, and Android via Google Play. Just last week, RuneScape members saw the addition of an all-new boss encounter with Yama, The Master of Pacts, available to those who have completed the ‘A Kingdom Divided’ quest.


Get ready for the return of one of the most exciting Esports events on the calendar, as Old School RuneScape’s Deadman AllStars Season 2 returns on May 30th, hosted by OSRS content creator Solo Mission with the grand finale streaming live on Old School RuneScape’s Twitch on Sunday, June 8th.

Rivalries will reignite as the competition heats up between OSRS stars in this special invite-only Creator-ran variant of the Deadman Mode tournament. Watch your favourite OSRS content creators take center stage, working together to formulate the best plan of action to beat other teams and claim the ultimate victory. Root for your favourites, take part in polls, and watch highlights on the official AllStars Website, before tuning in for the thrilling tournament finale on June 8th to celebrate the best of the best in Deadman.

The action kicks off tonight from 20:00 BST, May 22nd, with a semi-snake ordering draft where six teams of six will be formed ahead of the tournament starting on May 30th. For this year’s tournament, Deadman AllStars Season 2 will introduce significant changes to the traditional Deadman format, including a new final arena, new breach spawn locations, reworked penalties, and a 120 hour cap to ensure that every second matters! Only the strongest will survive, are they up to the challenge?

Catch the Old School RuneScape Deadman AllStars Season 2 on May 30th – June 8th, directly on Twitch, with draft picks happening tonight, 20:00 BST, May 22nd.

Old School RuneScape is available now on PC, Steam, iOS, and Android, complete with cross-platform progression and play on PC and mobile. 



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Five Secret City Esports Players Sign To Play At NMSU

LAHS Secret City Esports team members, from left, Zane Kretz, Vigtil Szinger, Fortis Brown, Penny Doebling and Quinbee Sintay are headed to NMSU after successful high school Esports careers. Courtesy/LAPS LAPS News: Five members of the Los Alamos High School Secret City Esports team signed letters of intent to attend New Mexico State University as […]

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LAHS Secret City Esports team members, from left, Zane Kretz, Vigtil Szinger, Fortis Brown, Penny Doebling and Quinbee Sintay are headed to NMSU after successful high school Esports careers. Courtesy/LAPS

LAPS News:

Five members of the Los Alamos High School Secret City Esports team signed letters of intent to attend New Mexico State University as members of their Esports team.

 Fortis Brown, Penny Doebling, Zane Kretz, Quinbee Sintay and Virgil Szinger are headed to NMSU after successful high school Esports careers.

Fortis Brown (iamfortis), joined the Esports Club in Fall 2023, participating for four seasons on the Mario Kart and Valorant teams. Fortis plans to study genetics and biotech and is joining the Mario Kart team at NMSU.

Penny Doebling (p3bbl3), joined the Esports Club in Spring 2024, participating for three seasons on the Mario Kart, Valorant, and Pokémon Unite teams. Penny plans to study journalism and is also joining the Mario Kart team at NMSU.

Zane Kretz (Anizaniac) joined the Esports Club in Spring 2022 and has spent six seasons participating on the Production, Splatoon, SSBU, and Valorant teams. He will be studying marketing and joining the Splatoon team at NMSU.

Amelia “Quinbee” Sintay (professor) joined the Esports Club in Spring 2023 and has spent three seasons on the Splatoon team. Quinbee is planning to study animation and is also joining the Splatoon team at NMSU.

Virgil Szinger (tallyvi) joined the Esports Club in Spring 2024 and has played for three seasons on the Splatoon team. Virgil plans to study engineering and will be the third LAHS graduate joining the Splatoon team at NMSU this fall.

Other seniors honored during the Secret City Esports awards ceremony include:

  • Tristan Von Reyn, who Joined Fall 2024 and played one season on the Splatoon team
  • Tony Mishler, who Joined Spring 2024 and spent three seasons on the SSBU, Street Fighter, Valorant, and Pokémon Unite teams.
  • Felix Lorenc, who joined Fall 2022 and played three season on the Valorant, Apex Legends, Overwatch, StarCraft, and Mario Kart teams.
  • Jacob Castro (jacthesnake), who joined Spring 2024 and played three seasons on the Hearthstone and Street Fighter teams. He will be attending Eastern New Mexico University in the fall.
  • Joe Dale (blockfusster), who joined Fall 2023 and played four seasons on the Mario Kart team. He is planning to attend New Mexico Tech.
  • Miles Iverson (MilesAway), joined Spring 2022 and spent five seasons on the SSBU, Production, Splatoon, Mario Kart, Valorant, and Pokémon Unite teams. He is headed to Colorado State University.
  • Stringfellow (AET_Rise), who joined Spring 2022 and played for seven seasons on the SSBU, Valorant, Splatoon, Overwatch, and Pokémon Unite teams.
  • Kaden Colson (wooms), who joined Spring 2022 and played for seven seasons on the SSBU, Apex Legends, Splatoon, Overwatch, Mario Kart, & Pokémon Unite teams.

This year’s Esports team took 2nd place overall in the Class 4A Team State Championship. The Rocket League, Splatoon and Mario Kart teams took first place, while Hearthstone garnered a second-place finish. Street Fighter and Smash Bros both placed fourth.

The team was recently ranked the number three program in the United States by USA Today. This is the second year in a row making the top 25.



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Tenino esports team wins state championship to cap off perfect debut season

May 21—Philip Harrington knew fairly quickly that the Tenino High School “Rocket League” esports team could be a championship contender. After all, he understands what it takes to build a championship team. Harrington came to Tenino last year from Oklahoma, where he developed multiple state and national championship-winning esports programs. Advertisement His vision for the […]

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May 21—Philip Harrington knew fairly quickly that the Tenino High School “Rocket League” esports team could be a championship contender.

After all, he understands what it takes to build a championship team. Harrington came to Tenino last year from Oklahoma, where he developed multiple state and national championship-winning esports programs.

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His vision for the Tenino squad was ultimately correct.

The quartet of freshman captain Dawson Williams, eighth grader Weston Frank, eighth grader Nathan Pye and junior Eric Bowe Jr. took home the top prize in “Rocket League” at the Washington state Scholastic Esports Association High School State Championships on Sunday at the Lynnwood Event Center.

The Beavers competed in three different best-of-five matches through the playoffs for a total of 13 games to claim the trophy. Tenino swept Silas in three games, outlasted Selah in five games and triumphed over reigning back-to-back champion Kennedy Catholic in five games.

“They are organized, motivated self-starters,” Harrington said of his team. “Skill and talent will only get you so far. Dedication, teamwork and cooperation are what win matches. More often than not, we won against players this weekend who are, on paper, better than us.”

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In his sixth year as an esports coach, Harrington said he had never seen dedication from a student athlete like Williams, who created a spreadsheet in the dawn of the regular season to track competitive rankings of all the players he could find information about.

“He wanted to scout ahead and see what opposition we had coming up so they could better prepare for each weekend,” Harrington said. “This is my sixth year as an esports coach, and I’ve had very few students over that time that would have, on their own, gone and made an organized spreadsheet. He’s one in a million.”

Williams knew the competition would be stiff throughout the season, but the Beavers had a hardworking bunch that had put in many hours of practice at school and late at night in pursuit of glory en route to a perfect 10-0 record.

“After I saw everybody’s rankings with the spreadsheet I made, I figured out that we were one of the best teams. All of our starters were all top 10, and Eric wasn’t too far behind,” Williams said.

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Each teammate credited Pye for their interest in playing “Rocket League” as Pye is the top-ranked player in the state.

“Nathan is sort of the reason all of us are in ‘Rocket League.’ He helped teach me how to play ‘Rocket League’ early on, which made it more fun for me to continue on,” Williams said.

Bowe, the team’s alternate, said Frank and Williams passed on what they learned from Pye, and the starters praised Bowe for his contributions during the state playoffs.

“Dawson and Weston put me through the ringer and sat with me for almost three hours just grinding ‘Rocket League’ and showing me what I need to learn and what I should do,” Bowe said.

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The Beavers were motivated during the state competition by their friends and parents in attendance cheering them on, especially in the championship-clinching match. With so much on the line, the players enjoyed the experience playing alongside each other at the highest level.

“It was an awesome experience. There was a lot of pressure, but because of Dawson’s spreadsheets, we knew they had some pretty good players,” Pye said.

Harrington was proud of how his team handled the pressure and communicated efficiently through the ups and downs of the long day of competition.

“In the middle of a match, what you’re thinking about is the plays going on in the match in front of you and literally nothing else. There’s no room in your head for nerves,” he said. “We’ve drilled really hard that the play that just happened is over and move on. We just focus on the now.”

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The young team is hungry for more trophies to add to their collection and instill fear in opposing teams.

“We’re going to have to do so much grinding over the summer,” Frank said.

Harrington’s goal with the program is to push the players competitively and give them opportunities to pursue not only competition in the state and across the country but also potentially at the collegiate level.

“I want schools to be like, ‘Oh no, Tenino is here. We’re going to have a hard time winning,’ but I also want them to be like, ‘Oh great, Tenino is here. They’re a bunch of great people and great sportsmen,'” Harrington said. “I want us to have both a feared and loved reputation: feared as competitors and loved as young people and student athletes.”

Centralia High School’s “Super Smash Bros: Ultimate” team placed third at the state championships, bouncing back from a shutout loss to Southridge in the semifinals to beat Nooksack in the third-place match.



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Flagler Takes Down North Georgia to Advance to Women’s Tennis Semifinals

Story Links ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLA — The fifth-seeded Flagler Saints upended fourth-seeded North Georgia 4-0 to advance to the semifinals of the NCAA women’s tennis national championships on Thursday morning at Sanlando Park. With that win, the Saints (23-5) will meet top-seeded Barry in the national semifinals on Saturday at 9:00 am […]

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ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLA — The fifth-seeded Flagler Saints upended fourth-seeded North Georgia 4-0 to advance to the semifinals of the NCAA women’s tennis national championships on Thursday morning at Sanlando Park. With that win, the Saints (23-5) will meet top-seeded Barry in the national semifinals on Saturday at 9:00 am with a ticket to the national finals on the line.

The all-Peach Belt affair was a rubber match between the two, who met for the first time at the ITA Indoor National Championships in February with North Georgia winning 4-3. Flagler returned the favor with a 4-3 win on the road in their regular-season matchup in March.

On Thursday, the two teams began battling from the first serve with Flagler edging out the doubles point. The #1 team of Dana Heimen and Anastasia Nikolova defeated UNG’s Angelina Linnikova and Carolina Reis 7-5. UNG’s Emily Bush and Linn Goerdes beat Flagler’s Laura Jepescu and Adela Latalova 6-4 at second doubles, leaving the deciding match at #3.

The third doubles set was tied at 6-6, forcing a tiebreak. Flagler’s Sofia Balsera and Eryka Kruk picked up key points and defeated Ashley Moinard and Vasiliss Kupriyanova 7-5 in the tiebreak to take the point.

Boosted by their doubles performance, the Saints picked up three quick points in singles to put the match away. Nikolova swept Moinard 6-3, 6-0 at second singles while Balsera beat Reis 6-2, 6-3 at fifth singles. Flagler got their final point at #4 singles where Kruk defeated Goerdes 6-1, 7-5.



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