Gaming Is The Next Streaming: Microsoft Advertising’s Lynne Kjolso

CANNES — For the advertising industry, the boom in video game advertising has always seemed to be just around the corner.

But the world of gaming is already rapidly evolving, and with it comes a massive opportunity for advertisers to reach a highly engaged and loyal audience.

With 3.4 billion gamers worldwide, the potential for in-game advertising is immense. Lynne Kjolso, VP of Global Partner & Retail Media at Microsoft, believes that gaming is the next streaming.

Gamer Character Profiles

“There are lots of misconceptions out there about who the gaming audience is,” says Kjolso in this video interview with Beet.TV. “In actuality, nearly 50% of gamers worldwide are women.

”The median age is 33, and all of those gamers are people who’ve been gaming since they were young.”

Gamers spend almost exactly the same amount of time playing as they do streaming, but the gaming experience is much more active and engaged. This presents a unique opportunity for advertisers to reach a highly loyal and leaned-in audience, Kjolso says.

Advertising Technology to Supercharge In-Game Advertising

Microsoft is aiming to bring together all of its owned and operated assets across Xbox, Windows, casual games, and new titles from Activision Blizzard King to make it easy to buy, sell, and activate on gaming inventory. “That’s a really big focus for us,” says Kjolso.

To increase in-game spending, advertisers need to be educated on the gaming audience and the opportunities available.

“Every time we talk about gaming, folks are very leaned in and we’re putting a big emphasis on custom playable custom experiences that really give brands a new canvas,” Kjolso explains.

The Role of AI in In-Game Advertising

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now emerging into in-game advertising equation, just as elsewhere in advertising. AI is used to create the right ad units in the gaming experience, ensuring that they are immersive and engaging without alienating gamers.

On the ad side, AI is leveraged to automate campaign creation and provide marketplace horsepower in a programmatic context. “AI is underlying all of that shift to in-game advertising,” says Kjolso.

She expects to see tools that automate marketing workflows, such as creative generation, creative review, and A/B testing.

“As we start to develop new consumer experiences for AI, like today, chat is very prolific and we provide very relevant ads in chat that consumers actually love and engage with,” Kjolso explains.

“As that starts to happen, I think that we will have more and more innovative ad formats that are powered by the AI engine.”