Report: Top Five Most Considered Brands Leverage In-Game Marketing

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YouGov’s most recent report covers CPG brands that are top of mind when consumers go shopping. We found that the top five food brands have accelerated in-game and gaming platform marketing in response to consumers’ brand loyalty coming up against inflation concerns.

Brands Matter—But So Do Consumers’ Budgets

There’s some good news for brands. Consumer loyalty is up slightly from 2021. According to Emarsys’ Annual Customer Loyalty Index, consumers stating that they are loyal to brands rose from 74 percent in 2021 to 79 percent in 2022. There’s some bad news as well: 60 percent of consumers report that inflation concerns have made them abandon brands that they were previously loyal to for cheaper alternatives. According to the survey, 58 percent of consumers state that discounts, incentives and rewards drive their loyalty, with just 42 percent stating that poor quality products and only 30 percent stating that poor shopping experiences would cause them to leave a favorite brand.

In fact, this may be an inflection moment for well-known name brands. A recent survey by IRI shows that inflation concerns may provide lesser-known “private” brands an opportunity to gain loyalty from consumers looking for bargains. It may also provide iconic brands with a pathway to solidify brand affinity by improving consumers’ perception of their value. The shares of consumers spending only with their favorite brands, on less-expensive “store brands,” or both are evenly distributed.

That means most consumers will still spend on the brand that offers them the kind of value they prioritize, regardless of the name on the label. Enter marketing and the new challenge brands, especially CPG food brands, face. 

The CPG Brand Challenge Amid Economic Concerns—And Who Is Winning

The 2023 FMCG report by YouGov ranks FMCG brands across 18 key international markets in terms of their level of consumer consideration: how readily consumers would choose a brand among others when deciding what to buy. The most competitive brands not only have the most to lose amid inflation as consumers hunt for bargains, but they also must avoid launching discounts that can negatively impact their bottom line when costs rise. Added to that is the pressure from stores that may resist rising prices for fear of alienating consumers.

“Supply chain slowdowns, in tandem with inflation-fueled cost increases, have further driven consumers to adapt their shopping behaviors,” the report reads. “Amidst these rising prices and product shortages, some people have started buying less, and some have switched from brands they typically buy.”

That adds pressure to the most popular consumer food brands to engage consumers with a new concept of value, not just offering discounts but reminding them of why they shop for their favorite brands in the first place. That’s marketing’s job, and we’ve found that each of America’s top five most considered brands in 2022 also amplified their efforts to engage consumers in new arenas, like gaming platforms.

Leading Brands Are Venturing Into Gaming To Connect With Loyal Consumers

Kraft, Hershey, Frito-Lay, M&M’s, as well as Campbell’s all launched marketing initiatives that appeared on gaming platforms or used mobile games as a platform to reach audiences within the past twelve months. 

Source: Campbells.com

“Launching a Chunky metaverse experience is another step forward for the brand to intersect sports and culture,” stated Marci Raible, Vice President, Integrated Marketing Campbell’s Meals & Beverages, in a press release. “As we leverage our 25-year NFL partnership, this activation allows Chunky to connect with the gaming audience and offer an innovative brand interaction.”

Kraft, in addition to other gaming-related promotions, created teams in Call of Duty and Overwatch in an effort to raise brand profiles in-game.

According to Statista, 65 percent of adults game, with over 3 billion gamers active globally for nearly six hours per week. Gen Z and millennials spend about 11 hours per week gaming, according to a Deloitte study. 

The Takeaway:

Reminding consumers of their connections to brands and why they’ve been loyal over the years may be hard in a 30-second ad, but perhaps easier when consumers are in lean-back mode, gaming or interacting with a branded gaming experience. While gaming holds only a 6 percent share of digital advertising spending, according to recent IAB data, brands are now turning to creative game marketing to recapture the imaginations of their audiences. 

Source: Research and Markets.

The Metaverse And Money: How Brands Are Driving Investors’ Virtual Habit

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The metaverse is more than Meta; It’s an amalgamation of all the technologies and tools that allow consumers and brands to interact efficiently in virtual spaces. It has been mocked as the exclusive domain of gangly avatars and semi-creepy AI chatbots, but a practical side is bringing investors and brands to the table.

Keanu Reeves’ naysaying aside, the Metaverse offers a lot more than freaky AI avatars. Investors see it as a tool for commerce and other practical, needful things—like medical training tools and expanded educational resources for developing nations. Big brands—like Walmart—are using metaverse-adjacent technology, like VR headsets, to reduce employee training time from eight hours to 15 minutes, without sacrificing results, according to a post by The World Bank. Brands’ potential to innovate in the space is driving billions in investment. 

Why Keanu Reeves Is Right—and Wrong—About The Metaverse

“It’s this sensorium. It’s spectacle,” Keanu Reeves said in a recent interview with AV Club. “And it’s a system of control and manipulation. We’re on our knees looking at cave walls and seeing the projections, and we’re not having the chance to look behind us. Or to the side.”

While the metaverse may be a little of all of that, it’s also a powerful tool for consumers to interact directly with brands, influencers and multi-sensory versions of the content that they love. Its power is in its immediacy and the user’s ability to choose how intense or how little immersion with a content experience they choose.

For many investors, the metaverse is more than a place some people game: it’s a reservoir of consumer data and a potential destination for all kinds of activities that go along with gaming platforms, like live-streamed events and shopping.

Roblox, for example, has accelerated its music label partnerships since 2020, with artists from Lil Nas X to K-Pop stars NCT 127 launching events on the platform. Roblox is also appealing to investors as it defies inflation fears by showing a 22 percent growth in in-game purchases. That boost has perhaps piqued the interest of brands like Walmart, who launched a branded content experience, Walmart Land, which features a Livetopia experience, virtual merchandise and concerts. Roblox stock soared recently based on its strong earnings.

According to a recent report by Grandview Research, the total addressable market for metaverse commerce is immense and growing.

The Metaverse is Actually Making Money—The Old Fashioned Way

A recent report by Statista shows that it isn’t just investors that are bullish on specific metaverse properties. Consumers are using virtual spaces for gaming, interacting with content in new ways and connecting with new retail experiences. Successful metaverse companies are actually earning much of their appeal to investors by delivering services and experiences consumers want.

“Metaverse e-commerce sales alone could grow to more than $200 billion by 2030 from currently just around $20 billion,” writes Statista’s Katharina Buchholz. “Gaming is expected to grow even more, from just around $10 billion as of now to around $163 billion in 2030. The next biggest applications for metaverse revenue are health & fitness, workplace, and education.” 

The Takeaway:

Marketers may be using certain platforms to target very young consumers. Still, due to the widespread popularity of gaming, brands can reach broad audiences that include millennials and even Gen Xers and up by investing in gaming platform partnerships. Because the majority of consumers game, a marketing strategy that leverages gaming platforms’ multi-generational appeal can help brands engage new audiences with hybrid retail experiences that introduce them to products or services that they may not go looking for otherwise. That means getting back to basics – building powerful and useful content experiences that consumers want to interact with on a regular basis.

According to a recent report by KPMG, the metaverse’s potential is enormous but difficult to navigate—especially for brands seeking to create compelling content in the metaverse.

“While the outlook for metaverse’s profound and fast-emerging impact cannot be overstated, access remains a work in progress for now,” reads a recent KPMG report. “Creating immersive content is difficult, and current XR hardware and software can pose friction points for today’s early adopters and first-time users. But barriers to entry are expected to fade quickly.”

How To Balance Brand And Performance To Drive Growth With Kristen D’Arcy, CMO At Homedics

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In this episode, Kristen and I discuss how she became the Chief Marketing Officer of Homedics, the state of the industry, and the way Homedics markets to the modern consumer through both DTC and traditional distribution channels. Kristen also outlines the recent brand refresh and the resulting captain that resulted in a rapid 80% D2C sales jump. Kristen credits this success equally to the creative, the media mix, and the improved website. Homedics plans to double its video efforts and is exploring opportunities for influencer partnerships in 2023.

Kristen D’Arcy is an agent of change and has intentionally guided her career path to gain the skills she knew she would need to be a CMO. She is driving growth at Homedics by emphasizing the importance of consistency across assets, the perfect mix of brand and performance investments, and the need to maintain that balance even during tough times. Kristen is a huge believer that the right marketing drives growth, and Homedics has incredible product lines and a unique family culture that empowers her to make amazing things happen.

 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • The details of Homedics’ brand refresh and the campaign that lead to an 80% sales jump
  • Why marketers need nerves of steel in hard times to ensure long-term brand success
  • Homedics’ plans for the future

 Key Highlights:

  • [01:30] Learning resilience from Geoffrey the Giraffe
  • [04:55] From CRM to CMO
  • [14:00] Homedics: the scope of the business
  • [16:55] Breaking down the campaign led to an immediate 80% D2C sales jump
  • [23:15] What is the brand plan for 2023?
  • [24:50] Balancing DTC and distribution partners
  • [29:40] How Homedics is helping Bring Change to Mind
  • [33:00] The hard conversation that taught Kristen an important lesson
  • [38:10] Where AI fits into marketing conversations
  • [40:00] Brands to watch
  • [44:00] The unique threat the economy is posing for marketers

Resources Mentioned:

 Follow the podcast:

 Connect with the Guest:

 Connect with Marketing Today and Alan Hart:

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 brand, customer experience, innovation, and growth opportunities. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies but is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine companies.

The Return Of ROI: Why Brands Should Rethink Earned Media Value

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With only a fraction of US digital ad budgets devoted to earned media, the ability to quantify and track EMV is causing some marketers to rethink their long-term strategies.

According to a 2022 report by the IAB, advertisers are spending more this year on digital advertising while reducing their spending on traditional media. Despite the budget rise, a recent survey by Kantar reports that only one in 10 marketers state that they have all of the data they need to judge the effectiveness of their marketing strategy. That means marketers will face more pressure to justify each dollar as businesses attempt to drive sales amid economic uncertainty. 

Added to that is the complexity of maintaining performance as the nation enters a period of uncertainty, even as the economy appears to be on an uptick.

Brands are increasing their ad spend and devoting the bulk of their marketing budgets to digital advertising. Yet only about 11 percent of their budgets are devoted to earned media.

While earned media lags behind traditional ad spend, its value is demonstrable.

Here’s how it worked for Rihanna:

  • From Saturday to Monday of the Super Bowl Weekend, Rihanna’s digital album sales increased by 301 percent.
  • “Pour It Up” (2012), a song she performed, saw a 1,387 percent increase in digital song sales and a 470 percent in on-demand audio streams.
  • “Where Have You Been” (2011) rose by a 1,272 percent boost in digital song sales and saw a 459 percent leap in on-demand audio streams.

Enter earned media value (EMV) measurement. When marketers can look at data connecting revenue to specific strategies, such as a tweet by an influencer, they can reallocate resources quickly, optimizing revenue opportunities.

Source: The IAB 2023 Outlook Survey

A Primer: How Earned Media Value Works

Earned media value (EMV) attaches a monetary value to the mentions or other publicity connected to a brand identity on earned media channels. This might include social media, public relations, influencer marketing and word-of-mouth. 

Earned media can help extend the value of more traditional forms of ad spending by helping brands penetrate untapped audiences, essentially for free. Fans can become brand ambassadors and deliver brand messaging with a click.

Earned media is often viewed as more credible than traditional ads, as audiences tend to trust social peers, readers, and influencers more than claims made in traditional campaigns. That human component can transform static ad campaigns into gateways to customer conversion when ads accompany a persuasive influencer’s content. 

Yet measuring EMV can be difficult due to the complexity of simultaneously tracking consumer behaviors and brand mentions. Since 2017, a.network has helped over 3,000 companies use their product, Social Index, to reliably measure earned media value (EMV) and campaign ROI.

Social Index 3.0 leverages the use of machine learning-powered algorithms to analyze vast proprietary and public data to help brands understand their customers and the brand’s power in the marketplace.

Users can integrate the Earned Media Values API with their existing analytics or data reporting suite to gain continual access to fresh EMV data.

According to Ayzenberg Chief Media Officer Vincent Juarez, Social Index provides marketers with the most comprehensive benchmarks for tracking earned media values (EMVs). As a result, Ayzenberg’s marketing and data science team is constantly monitoring the social media landscape to identify new and emerging platforms that matter most to marketers.

“Most platforms provide robust analytics in terms of video views, time spent, followers, likes, comments, and shares, among other metrics,” stated Juarez, at the launch of the latest iteration of Social Index. “Filling the void and providing marketers with earned media or advertising value equivalents (AVEs) for platforms like TikTok provides a foundation for testing, learning and optimizing future content efforts. It will also help standardize benchmarks to compare against other platforms.”

Sailor Moon: How A $13 Billion Franchise Leverages Earned Media And Brand Partnerships To Stay Relevant

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Sailor Moon, a global anime phenomenon launched in 1992 on TV Asahi in Japan, spawning early retail launches, ranging from themed cafes to public sexual health awareness campaigns and a permanent store in Japan’s fashionable Harajuku district. Today Sailor Moon is a $13 billion franchise that is leveraging brand partnerships and social media to stay top-of-mind among Gen X, millennials, and new Gen Z fans. The Sailor Moon approach to brand partnerships is an object lesson in courting multi-generational audiences.

Sailor Moon, Brand Strategist 

The Sailor Moon franchise has created an impressive roster of brand partnerships since 2020, including Colourpop, Uniqlo, Skechers, Casetify, and most recently Jimmy Choo. While its storyline is an anime classic, its appeal is multigenerational, with famous super fans like Lizzo and Sailor Moon-inspired trends on TikTok raising the brand’s profile for new audiences.

One reason for Sailor Moon’s brand partnership success could be the size of the market for anime-themed products, even in absence of a brand collaboration angle. While the cosplay costumes and wigs market is slated to grow by nearly 15 percent each year, consumers thirsty for more Sailor Moon gear will likely be open to discovering new products on social. 

Anime’s appeal as multigenerational content shows its cultural impact and potential as a vehicle to engage new audiences around new brand collaborations. According to Axios, global demand for anime-themed content rose by 118 percent between 2020 and 2022, and Sailor Moon is among the world’s most lucrative anime franchises.

What It Means For Marketers:

Anime fans are active consumers of content. According to Morning Consult, about one-quarter of Netflix’s anime fans watch content within the genre daily on the platform. Anime fans are also highly motivated to purchase themed and special edition merchandise, even when it appears in a new retail arena, like a luxury retail chain. While fans may be unable to afford shoes that cost over $1k, they will discuss it and post aspirational content that boosts brand recognition. That’s why brands are integrating content brands with powerful retail collaboration potential into their marketing strategy.

The takeaway? Working with content brands can provide a runway to new channels and hybrid branded content opportunities.

“Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is a unique global phenomenon,” Jimmy Choo Creative Director Sandra Choi stated in a press release reported by Gotham. “[It’s] a manga and anime that resonates, bridging cultures and languages, speaking to different generations, bringing us all together. That is what drew me to this project.”

Designing the Brand Experience: From First Exposure To Advocate With Nick Horan, Global Brand Experience Lead For Vanish At Reckitt

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Nick Horan is the Global Brand Experience Lead for Vanish at Reckitt. He is passionate about using design as a tool to drive intentional brand experiences and understanding the consumption habits of consumers to identify the touch point that will have the most impact. Nicks’s role is to craft the entire brand experience framework from first exposure to becoming an advocate and repurchaser and translate this vision into a cohesive experience across various touchpoints in over 70 countries.

In this episode, Nick and I discuss his thoughts on the future of Brand Experience, how he approaches e-commerce and digital marketing challenges at a fast-moving consumer goods company, and the importance of physical experiences to the overall brand experience. Nick notes that brands are expected to take a stand on larger social issues and tells how Vanish is purposefully rebuilding a brand experience that encourages conversations and fosters a community around shared values and views.

 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • What is Brand Experience?
  • How Nick approaches physical design for brand experience
  • Why marketers cannot personalize an experience without truly knowing the individual

 Key Highlights

  • [01:30] Nuclear Submarines and Product design
  • [03:05] Nick’s path to Reckitt
  • [05:20] How product design plays into Nick’s role as Global Brand Experience Lead
  • [05:50] What does it mean to be Global Brand Experience Lead for Vanish at Reckitt
  • [07:40] How Nick thinks about the function of brand experience overall
  • [09:55] How does brand experience translate to Fast-Moving Consumer Goods
  • [11:35] What Vanish is doing to decrease waste in the fashion industry
  • [12:50] How Nick is helping FMCG catch up with the deconstruction and reconfiguration of the historical business models
  • [14:00] How is Nick approaching e-commerce and digital marketing with an FMCG brand
  • [18:50] Examples of how physical experiences play into the overall brand experience
  • [20:05] Bridging the gap between physical and digital experiences
  • [20:55] QR codes and how to utilize them effectively
  • [22:45] The future of brand experience
  • [24:30] Why personalization doesn’t always equate to the richness in engagement
  • [25:50] Why Nick is so observant of how people interact with the world
  • [28:15] What advice would Nick give his younger self
  • [29:15] Marketers need to lean into creativity for the omnichannel world
  • [30:15] Brands to watch
  • [31:20] Opportunities and threats facing marketers today

Resources Mentioned:

 Follow the podcast:

 Connect with the Guest:

 Connect with Marketing Today and Alan Hart:

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 brand, customer experience, innovation, and growth opportunities. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies but is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine companies.

Cordless And Connected: 65% Of Gen Z Are Cord Cutters As Streaming Soars

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According to recent reports by Tubi and Samba TV, most Americans are not only cord-cutters; they’re “cycling” subscriptions and turning to ad-supported free channels. Gen Z Americans are the least subscribed demographic when it comes to viewing linear TV via cable or satellite services. 

Generation Unplugged: Gen Z Has Definitively Cut The Cord 

According to Samba TV’s State of Viewership Report, linear television viewership is at its lowest level in almost two years. The report, which presents findings from the analysis of approximately 47 billion hours of linear and streaming during the second half of 2022, reveals that only 48 percent of Americans reported that their household has a monthly cable or satellite TV subscription. Consumers are also watching less linear television: Less than half of U.S. households reported watching linear TV daily throughout the second half of 2022. 

Graphical user interface, application Description automatically generated

Source: Samba TV The State of Viewership

Gen Z consumers are the least likely to have a cable or satellite TV subscription or watch television that way. The survey shows that 65 percent of Gen Z do not have a cable subscription.

“We have reached a critical turning point in television and viewing consumption,” stated Samba TV CEO and co-founder Ashwin Navin. “For the first time in history, a majority of Americans report they no longer have a monthly cable subscription and are totally unreachable by traditional linear advertising.” Meanwhile, streaming has become ubiquitous among every age group and ad-supported streaming has gone fully mainstream with significant expansion across new platforms including industry leaders like Netflix and Disney+ entering the world of ads.” 

Subscription “Cycling” Is Still A Thing

While consumers may be turning to streaming services to get their fill of their favorite shows, they are not necessarily loyal to the platform. According to the Samba TV report, consumers sign up to watch their favorite shows and then cancel their subscription once they’ve binged or watched a season. They then replace that subscription with another, and the cycle repeats. According to the Samba TV data, 29 percent of consumers have cycled their subscriptions in the last six months, and 69 percent plan to do so in the next six months. With 71 percent of those polled describing themselves as “binge-watchers,” the report states that most new shows have a window of opportunity lasting just two weeks to capture a binge-watcher’s interest and keep them subscribed.

Surprise! Consumers Like Streaming Free

More than 225 million Americans streamed content last year, according to new research from Tubi TV. As consumers remain wary of the economy and inflation persists, consumers show a willingness to trade ad views for premium, on-demand content – especially when that content is free. Just over half of streaming consumers stated that they felt most comfortable with six minutes of standard format video ads per hour, a relatively light ad load. 

According to the report, ad spend on connected or streaming channels, which rose by 33 percent from $14.2 to $18.9 billion, between 2021 and 2022. Linear TV ad spend but by only a 4 percent, from $65.7 to $68.4 billion. According to the report, which quotes eMarketer data, ad-supported VOD services will likely continue to rise if consumers’ shift away from linear TV continues and streaming services see more subscriber churn.

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Source: eMarketer

What Marketers Need To Know:

According to the Samba TV report, 93 percent of all ad impressions reach just 55 percent of American households. Gen Z is the least likely to tune in to a linear broadcast according to this data, but they still watch “network” TV. That provides a significant opportunity for marketers to reach consumers on platforms or channels where they are following their favorite shows. Gen Z still watches shows on linear TV—just on the platforms and devices they choose. According to the Samba TV report, 89 percent of Gen Z and 85 percent of millennials stream entertainment content on their mobile devices. That means marketers who know what Gen Z watches and loves can reach them wherever they are via mobile devices and present a range of creative ad formats that are tailored to the mobile experience. It also opens up new possibilities for brand partnerships as streaming channels develop new methods of engaging fickle audiences.

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The New Branded Content: Decoding Netflix’s Next Moves

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Netflix is bullish on brand partnerships but within certain parameters—it’s all about the content. Here’s what brand marketers need to know.

‘Stranger Things’ Have Happened: Netflix Still Leads The Pack In Paid Streaming Content

Netflix’s recent partnership with GM and its new ads program signal new opportunities to access the company’s more than 220 million paid subscribers. That’s not including roommates, cousins, and significant others sharing passwords (something Netflix plans to crack down on). That opportunity comes with several caveats. Netflix is firmly in charge of how, when and for how long they will allow brands to access their audiences. The company has been riding a nearly uninterrupted year-to-year streak of revenue growth since 2011. Q4 2022 was the company’s first reported quarterly decline in revenue since the company’s founding. Additionally, Netflix’s subscription base is growing again after a brief dip in Q2 of 2022. As the most watched paid streaming service per Nielsen with the most streamed TV show of 2022, Stranger Things, Netflix is in a powerful position as a platform in control of some of the world’s most popular content and a trove of valuable user data.

Netflix Has Serious Branded Content Ambitions

According to Netflix, consumers’ shift towards streaming and away from traditional TV is likely permanent. The company is well aware of its power as a membership platform with the ability to showcase star-studded branded content that consumers, already in binge mode, will watch. “The one thing I’d point out is that what’s happening now and what’s going to be happening over the next couple of years is that the consumer is moving to stream,” stated Theodore A. Sarandos Co-CEO, Chief Content Officer & Director in a recent earnings call.

“I would say that this business is really completely about engagement, profit and revenue. So—and we’ve got to grow all of those things—and all those things are really tied to executing on that, on the content,” said Sarandos.

Credit: YouTube/GM/Netflix

For Netflix, “executing on the content” may also mean delivering star-powered ad campaigns, like the GM EV commercial slated to run during the Super Bowl featuring Will Ferrell. As Ferrell drives his vehicle through the sets of Netflix hits and appears in a reimagined scene from Squid Game, the campaign serves as an ad for Netflix’s envelope-pushing product placement capabilities. As a content studio with its own stars, immense membership base and heavyweight brand partnerships, the company is now signaling its interest in disrupting advertising with the tools it knows best.

Cookies Crumbled? Netflix Will See You Now

The company is bullish on its nascent ad business but maintains that its model is centered on ad experiences that do not diminish the user experience. Judging its ads strategy based on engagement, results are promising, said Gregory K. Peters, Netflix COO & Chief Product Officer, in the Q4 2022 earnings call.

“The product experience is good, and that’s really a testament to lots of hard work for both Microsoft and Netflix teams who worked very hard to make that happen, and it’s really rewarding […] to see,” stated Peters.“ The other, I’d say, the pretty significantly fundamental thing is around engagement, and we see that engagement from ads plans users is comparable to sort of similar users on our non-ads plan.” The ads perform double duty for the company, driving ad revenue and building subscribership.

“Furthermore, now, we’re seeing take rate and growth on that ads plan is solid,” said Peters. “It’s great because partly, that take rate and that growth is due to incremental subscribers coming into the service because we have a lower price point. I expect to see that continue to actually grow over the year.”

According to Peters, the demise of the cookie in 2024 makes Netflix’s ad opportunities especially attractive. The company is devoting resources to making improvements in targeting, ad delivery validation and measurement. 

“If you think about the targeting capability, the fact that we signed in fully addressable. If you think about the growing relevance of first-party data and how we do that, those are really big advantages that we can bring relative certainty to the traditional world,” said Peters.

Everybody’s Into Gaming, Including Netflix

Branded content opportunities in gaming have long been the domain of gaming-focused platforms. While gaming offers advertisers new audiences, it can also drive subscriptions, something Netflix must do to stay competitive in a crowded marketplace. While reports have surfaced that may have dozens of games in development, the company has launched a new gaming studio—its fifth—but according to the company, efforts are still in the seedling phase.

“We’re planting some seeds in terms of games and things like that, that if we execute well and we’re excited about the progress we’re seeing so far, will represent the future potential for us in terms of and more profit opportunities.” stated Peters. But the company appears to be squarely focused on developing “the best, most effective, highest quality premium connected TV ads experience as a win for consumers and advertisers and for us as a business,” according to Peters.

Marketing Agility And The Secret To Direct Sales With Terry Haley, CMO At Pampered Chef

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In this episode, Terry and I discuss his unusual path to marketing, what he learned on his journey through food and restaurants, and the unique challenges and benefits of marketing within a direct sales model like Pampered Chef. They talk about the history and mission of Pampered Chef, the importance of marketing agility, and the impact Covid had on the company.

Terry is CMO and Head of Product at Pampered Chef, where he leads a team of 50 across brand, digital, growth, creative, product, and industrial design. Terry has a background in consumer-packaged goods and restaurant marketing but tells us direct sales requires different muscles. Terry approaches marketing with an appreciation of the differences in all business models and a recognition of the foundations that remain the same. By relentlessly focusing on the consumer and delivering a product that solves their problems, Terry creates trust relationships with the Pampered Chef Contractors, who ultimately model the brand.

 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Challenges Terry went through early in his career and what he learned from them
  • The similarities and differences of marketing within different business models
  • How Pampered Chef is maintaining consistency while not diluting the authenticity

 Key Highlights

  • [02:00] The role of athletics and cooking in Terry’s life
  • [04:20] How a Poli Sci major became a CMO
  • [12:00] How embracing challenging roles shaped Terry
  • [13:30 The similarities and differences of marketing within various business models
  • [17:45] The benefits of coming in with fresh eyes and being willing to learn
  • [18:50] Pampered Chef business overview
  • [21:30] The competitive advantage of having brand consultants
  • [23:20] How Terry is maximizing Pampered Chef’s unique sales model
  • [27:00] How Pampered Chef’s sales force navigated the shift to digital through Covid
  • [32:15] Which Covid changes will phase out and which are here to stay?
  • [35:50] What Terry learned from a misstep early in his career
  • [42:25] Balancing patience and tenacity
  • [46:00] Why marketers need to build up broader business acumen
  • [50:00] Brands to watch
  • [52:30] Measurement marketing and proving value without losing the art

Resources Mentioned:

 Follow the podcast:

 Connect with the Guest:

 Connect with Marketing Today and Alan Hart:

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 brand, customer experience, innovation, and growth opportunities. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies but is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine companies.

Virtual Concerts Present A New Metaverse Pathway For Brand Marketers

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As brands assess the relevance of the metaverse to their marketing goals, sponsored virtual concerts present a novel consumer engagement opportunity.

Even after pandemic lockdowns ended, consumers were still interested in attending concerts virtually, at rates much higher than pre-pandemic levels. That shift has helped accelerate artists’ and music labels’ efforts to monetize virtual events. As a result, the global market for virtual events is projected to exceed $617 billion by 2030 due partly to consumers’ willingness to shift spending to virtual reality experiences, a market segment estimated to surpass $227 billion by 2029. Researchers estimate that by 2026, 25 percent of consumers will spend at least an hour each day in a metaverse space for work, shopping, or entertainment. In addition, a recent survey revealed that 56 percent of Gen Z and 61 percent of millennials are interested in attending a virtual concert.

Roblox And Warner Music Group Collaboration May Signal A Trend

Travis Scott’s nine-minute concert in the metaverse resulted in $20 million in revenue – twice what Amazon earned per minute that same year. Likewise, Ariana Grande’s Fortnite concert reportedly drew 78 million viewers, making her a seven-figure payday. The connection between gaming platforms and the prospect of millions of engaged fans in one spot is not an accident. Games like Fortnite give music labels access to millions of engaged fans and an opening to introduce artists to a diverse audience only found together when gaming. That trend has not been missed by entertainment brands seeking to capitalize on consumers’ growing interest in live virtual experiences.

Recently Warner Music Group (WMG) announced the launch of Rhythm City, a music-themed social roleplay experience for Roblox. Developed in partnership with Gamefam, Rhythm City will introduce Roblox audiences to new artists and music through social roleplay in tandem, granting them access to exclusive digital items.

“As our lives become increasingly digital, exciting opportunities are opening up for artists and fans to engage and interact,” stated Oana Ruxandra, Chief Digital Officer & EVP, Business Development at WMG, in a press release. “WMG is focused on facilitating the foundations of these new experiences by building and experimenting across evolving ecosystems. This partnership with Gamefam sees WMG creating a place for artists and audiences to unite to define and contextualize their communities within living spaces.”

Roblox users can role-play as virtual music producers, DJs, and other characters. In addition, WMG stated that Rhythm City would also host virtual concerts and events featuring WMG artists.

Recently, Fortnite raised $3 billion to expand its efforts to innovate within the metaverse. Investors, like the entertainment brands seeking to engage gamers on Fortnite, likely see gaming platforms as a unique opportunity to create brand affinity and test new options for driving revenue in virtual spaces. That led live music events like Coachella to launch Fortnite events and branded virtual merchandise and entertainment networks like IHeartRadio to launch virtual worlds on the platform. In addition, it has led to new concerts from other music labels, like the recent Kid Laroi concert on Fornite, where the artist released new tracks as the narration for a video experience that rewarded viewers with XP and exclusive DLCs. 

The Takeaway For Marketers

Millions of consumers game daily. Building relationships on these platforms requires marketers to develop content that feels native, immersive and engaging – just like a game. Music is powerful for igniting a sense of community and drawing fans to new platforms. However, the most successful live entertainment experiences don’t have to feature an Ariana Grande-level talent. Marketers have been building virtual experiences on Fortnite for years, and leveraging music fandom is a natural evolution to an intelligent engagement strategy.