Niklas Bakos is the founder and chief strategy officer at Adverty, a company that helps put advertisements in video games. In this episode, Bakos and I discuss what in-game advertising looks like and how esports has exploded in popularity.
The conversation starts with why Bakos founded Adverty. Having spent most of his career in the gaming industry, he saw a huge opportunity for marketers to easily reach their target audiences and do it “at scale.”
They discuss the esports revolution, why in-game advertising is more insightful than real-life street advertising, and how a marketer should be thinking about it.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How mobile gaming is the leading platform for advertising
- How in-game advertisements are more insightful than real-life advertisements
- Why esports is the next gaming revolution
Key Highlights:
- [01:12] Niklas’s “big fat cat”
- [01:51] Why Niklas founded Adverty
- [03:26] What is Adverty
- [04:27] What in-game advertising looks like
- [09:06] The brain impression algorithm
- [14:37] The future of ad placement and pricing
- [15:48] How to think about esports and its future
- [19:00] Why mobile gaming has such a far reach
- [21:12] Who is doing in-game marketing well
- [22:43] The future of esports and in-game marketing
- [24:18] An experience that defines Niklas, made him who he is today
- [25:52] Niklas’s advice for his younger self
- [26:30] Niklas’s recent impactful purchase
- [27:28] The brands, companies, and causes Niklas follows
- [29:28] What Niklas says is today’s biggest threat and opportunity for marketers
Resources Mentioned:
- Adverty
- Niklas Bakos
- Virtual Reality (VR)
- Augmented Reality (AR)
- Mobile Gaming market size
- eSports
- Counter Strike
- Critical Ops
- League of Legends sponsorship by Mastercard
- OMD and Activision Call of Duty campaign in Critical Ops
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Alan B. Hart is the creator and host of “Marketing Today with Alan Hart,” a weekly podcast where he interviews leading global marketing professionals and business leaders. Alan advises leading executives and marketing teams on opportunities around brand, customer experience, innovation, and growth. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies, but he is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine startups.
