The Electronic Entertainment Expo, E3, is recognized as North America’s largest gaming expo of the year and an opportunity for the most established and rising developers, publishers, and manufacturers in gaming to showcase and launch upcoming platforms, games and merchandise. Over the course of 4 days, we focused on how the evolution of gaming can impact brands, both inside and outside of the gaming industry. As ever, our goal was to find the ways to help brands achieve their business objectives through the benefits offered by gaming’s evolution.

1. Wrap Up Report

2. Carat @ E3 2019 wrap up
The Electronic Entertainment Expo, E3, is
recognized as North America’s largest
gaming expo of the year. Presented
and organized by the Entertainment
Software Association (ESA), the expo is
an opportunity for the most established
and rising developers, publishers, and
manufacturers in gaming to
showcase and launch upcoming
platforms, games and merchandise.
With 86% of internet users worldwide
gaming on at least one device monthly,
(92% between the age 16 to 24) the
business models behind gaming are
changing fast, reflective of emerging
technology, cultural trends and
platforms that have impacted so many
other categories.
Over the course of 4 days, we focused
on how the evolution of gaming can
impact brands, both inside and outside
of the gaming industry. As ever, our
goal was to find the ways to help brands
achieve their business objectives
through the benefits offered by
gaming’s evolution.
2Source: GlobalWebIndex, 2019

3. The ‘Netflix’ for games
Since 2014, subscription-based gaming
services have changed the way gamers
are able to play, giving unlimited access
to select games for a monthly fee vs
purchasing physical copies.
The approach is dominated by
PlayStation Now, Xbox Game Pass and
Nvidia’s GeForce Now and earned
$273M as a category in 2018.
This year, we saw major entrants,
including tech powerhouse, Google
enter the fray with Google Stadia, as
well as gaming publisher, Ubisoft (known
for games like Assassin’s Creed and
Ghost Recon)with Uplay+.
This increased competition to be the
‘Netflix of gaming’ stems from growing
consumer demand. According to
Deloitte, more Millennials subscribe to
video game services than cable, and
that 53% of 23-36 year-olds pay for
gaming services, vs 51% who pay for TV.
3Source: Nielsen, Deloitte
Implication for Brands
As subscription services for gaming become more popular, time spent gaming will
increase. Brands, who wish to connect with increasingly elusive Millennials and Gen Z
audiences will need to begin exploring how they fit into the growing ecosystem as a
result.

4. The rise of the Cloud
One of the hottest topics at E3 was
Cloud Gaming, also known as Gaming
on Demand.
The promise of Cloud Gaming is the
ability to play high-graphic, console-
level games on any device. Similar to
cloud computing, the processing and
rendering of a game will be done on a
remote server, allowing high quality
games to be streamed and played on a
phone or tablet. Once connected to
the internet, you can play at home, on
a bus, or in a café, on any device. This is
a game changer to the gaming industry.
While concerns exist, given its
dependence on a stable, hi-fidelity
internet service (i.e. 5G), the impact of
cloud is on its way. Options for gamers
will include Bethesda's Orion, Xbox
xCloud, Google Stadia, Playstation Now,
Nintendo Online, and NVIDIA's Geforce
Now.
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Implication for Brands
Cloud gaming increases the incentive for developing cross-device and platform
(e.g., PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo) games. Fortnite, a cross-platform game, already
proved how successful this can be.
As a result, gamers will leave a strong digital trail, as logging in will be required to
continue playing the game on a new or different device/platform. This presents
tremendous opportunity to better reach and retarget consumers with sequential
messaging.

5. Freemium
A recent BrightCove & YouGov survey
discovered that a free trial was the top
reason for consumers to try a new
streaming service, and the same could
be applied to gaming.
Fortnite, one of the most popular games
since its launch in 2017, provides three
low entry points for gamers– the ability
to play cross-device, cross-platform, and
free. With just a smartphone and a wi-fi
connection anyone can get
started. Between Fortnite’s merchandise
(such as character skins and special
weapons) and one-of-a-kind award
winning brand partnerships that keep
the game relevant, Fortnite's publisher,
Epic Games grossed a $3 billion profit in
2018.
An additional model discussed at E3
was the ‘free to join when a paying
customer hosts.’ With cloud gaming
coming down the line, this model will
likely flourish as playing a new game will
be as simple as clicking on a link.
5Source: BrightCove & YouGov, eMarketer
Implication for Brands
As cloud games grow and the industry increasingly relies on a free-to-play model,
advertisers will be courted to advertise in-game and around the game.
Key brand opportunities will be sponsorships for free-to-play games (adding value to
the overall ecosystem) or offers to access a pay-to-play game through a trial period
(adding value to individual consumers).

6. Streamers everywhere
On the E3 showfloor, there was one
constant - streamers. Every inch of the
show floor was covered by a
broadcaster sharing their opinions
directly to their audiences. Top
streamer, Dr DisRespect, was even
banned for excessive streaming,
including streaming live in the bathroom
of the convention.
For distribution, streamers tend to turn to
established game streaming platforms
including Microsoft’s Mixer and
Amazon’s Twitch; but general market
platforms, YouTube and Facebook, are
also a hotbed for streamers and talking
heads due to their vast reach.
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Implication for Brands
The connection gamers and consumers feel to streamers is
very much real and powerful, much like consumers feel a
strong connection to athletes. Brands need be conscious
of this and find ways to build on the connection they offer.
Two immediate options present themselves: (1)
Surrounding streamers and their content by partnering
with platforms like Mixer, Twitch and YouTube. (2) Partner
with specific streamers or a group of streamers for deeper
integration and effusive endorsements.
Key questions: What values matter to your brand? How
would you like to see those values come to life through
gaming? Ultimately, what do you want to say to gamers?

7. Continued growth of eSports
Endemic businesses, including Super
League Gaming and eLeague were the
first to jump on the eSports opportunity.
Now as eSports viewership and ad
revenue are expected to grow ~20%
annually - traditional media
powerhouses, gaming publishers, and
developers aren't planning to miss out.
• ESPN is currently expanding its eSports
offering by partnering with EA to host
two tournaments featuring the game,
Apex Legends (a Fortnite challenger).
• Following E3, Epic Games hosted the
Fortnight Creative Showdown, their
first major tournament for their Fortnite
Creative game mode. Additionally,
Epic Games will host the Fortnite Pro-
Am, in which pro Fortnite players will
team up with celebrities in 2-person
squads for a $3MM charity prize.
7Source: eMarketer
Implication for Brands
As with traditional sports leagues, there are multiple ways to leverage eSports to reach
and engage with your target consumers that enjoy healthy competition and gaming.
A brand can leverage a light touch approach, such as partnering with streaming
partners (e.g., Twitch, TBS) to simply be there as the action unfolds.
On the high touch end, a brand can integrate itself into the experience of an existing
eSports league/tournament or serve as the founding sponsor alongside a gaming
publisher.

8. IP crossover
The use of established and beloved
entertainment intellectual properties in
gaming has been around for some time.
Today, IP licensing continues to
generate more longevity and fandom
among films and game lovers alike:
• Some of the most anticipated games
of the year are based off films, with
Star Wars Fallen Order and Avengers
topping gamer's most wanted lists
according to an IGN survey during E3.
• Harry Potter, Dragon Ball Z, Stranger
Things, Pokémon Detective Pikachu,
and Blair Witch have also expanded
from the film world and into gaming.
• Conversely, Tom Clancy’s Ghost
Recon and The Witcher are games
being remade as films by Netflix to
create more content for gaming fans.
IP is not the only way to generate fan
excitement. Following its
announcement of Keanu Reeves as a
character, CyberPunk 2077 took social
by storm and is already a highly
anticipated game set for release in
2020.
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Implication for Brands
Game studios have a strong desire to leverage established and beloved IP. If you are
a well-known and/or beloved brand, there may be opportunity to leverage a
partnership with game studios to create one-of-kind engagements and associations
for your brand.
For example, can a QSR brand be the main source of food in the world of a game?
Could an in-game character be styled by a clothing or beauty brand as a reward?

9. Connecting with gamers
In order to reach the gaming audience,
brands don’t need to jump in head-first
into sponsorships and in-game
integrations. There should be a crawl,
walk, run strategy designed to
approach this desirable community that
fulfill brand goals and objectives. We’ve
distilled the complexity among effort
and investment into 7 gaming
activations into three tiers based on
each activation’s potential to move
your business.
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LEVEL 1
LEVEL 2
LEVEL 3
Easy entry point into gaming that can
exist as part of a general media plan
• Mobile Gaming Ads
• Gaming Content Sponsorships
Conscious display of investment to build
consistency with gaming audience built
on a targeted media strategy
• Streaming Platform Sponsorship
• eSports League Sponsorship
Higher cost & effort needed to display commitment
to gaming as a strategic comms pillar for brand
• Streamer Sponsorship
• eSports League Sponsorship
• In-Game Integration

10. Carat @ E3 2019 wrap up
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Ipalibo Da-Wariboko
Associate Director, Strategy,
Carat US
Michael Liu
VP Director, Mobile, Innovation
and Strategy, Carat US
Check out Carat’s podcast episode,
The Game: The Human Element
Contact Us:
www.carat.com/usa
carat.usmarketing@carat.com