Interview

Road to Connects London: Walking Squid's Kay Gruenwoldt on the changing face of in-game advertising

Walking Squid Advisory's Kay Gruenwoldt gives a sneak peek of his panel, What is the Future of Mobile Advertising?

Road to Connects London: Walking Squid's Kay Gruenwoldt on the changing face of in-game advertising

Pocket Gamer Connects London is only six days away, and PG.biz is excited to share insight into the panels and presentations on offer from the speakers themselves.

Kay Gruenwoldt, founder of Walking Squid Advisory, will be chairing a panel at PG Connects London exploring the future of mobile advertising. The variety of in-game advertising, from audio to disruptive ads, is only matched by the shifting, post-IDFA, privacy rules and parameters. If you want to know where the future of in-game advertising is going, do not miss this panel.

The full list of Pocket Gamer Connects London speakers and presentations is available through this link.

PocketGamer.biz: Can you give us a teaser as to what we can expect from the panel at Pocket Gamer Connects London?

Kay Gruenwoldt: I would like to look into the larger trends and get feedback from our highly knowledgable panelists on what they see happening in 2022. My goal is to get us some good insights and hands-on tips that developers and publishers should be aware of this year in regards to ads.

Are there any background details or context your audience should know ahead of the panel?

Just a general understanding of how ads work in and for games is a good starting point. We do always strive to speak to a broad audience and not just cater to a high-level experts only.

Key to in-game advertising is ensuring the implementation does not come at the expense of the core experience - or, better yet, adds value. What do you think are the most successful examples of in-game advertising?

There’s a ton of good examples lately, some of the better ones certainly being rewards-based ads. More and more games try a more sensible approach to layer in ads so they don’t interrupt the flow of the game, and I am sure that will reflect in more engagement and greater overall stickiness.

Much in-game advertising takes the form of seasonal or short-term branding. What opportunities are there to create lengthier, more involved campaigns?

That is a fantastic question, which I will take to the panel experts!

What are the most notable obstacles to the proliferation of in-game advertising?

The recent changes in privacy regulations certainly put a damper on things. There is a ton of good tech platforms and tools around now, which allow developers to work with ads. I would like to bring this question to our panel as well, as we have a pretty diverse group of experts that will have something to say to this for sure.

How much awareness is there among media agencies of the value of in-game advertising?

By now, I believe every decent agency should know of the gigantic market we are operating in games. Saying that though, I am sure there is still massive potential to create awareness among brands and products of how they could take advantage of the billions of players we are serving.

Finally, you have one sentence to persuade someone why they should come to the panel. What would it be?

This is a unique opportunity to hear from top notch experts in the business, and be able to ask them questions live! If you are involved or want to explore ads in games, it’s a must-attend.


Editor

Former editor of PocketGamer.biz, Khai can also be found on Vice, Star Trek, and in numerous scientific journals and publications.