11 execs connecting gaming to marketing

The gaming industry keeps on extending its already massive influence on culture and commerce. Brands increasingly realize that many of their customers are gamers, and have stepped up efforts to authentically show up in spaces such as Fortnite and Roblox, Twitch streams, esports tournaments and mobile games.

Gaming has strongly resonated with Gen Z, an audience that is typically harder to reach via traditional media. To show the investment is worth brands’ budgets, there have been efforts to improve measurement around gaming ads, including NBCU partnering with gaming advertisers like Anzu, and Frameplay creating a new mobile-gaming metric.

Here, we take a look at 11 executives who have been leading the way in bridging the worlds of gaming and marketing.

Chris Brandt

Chief marketing officer, Chipotle

Under chief marketing officer Chris Brandt, Chipotle has tested out partnerships with Fortnite, Minecraft and Roblox.

“A big part of our marketing strategy is to keep Chipotle relevant in culture, so being a part of gaming in the right way is a key objective for us,” Brandt said.

In October 2021, the restaurant released a Fortnite speedrun game. This March, the brand partnered with YouTuber and Minecraft player Karl Jacobs for a limited-edition burrito.

Chipotle also first experimented with Roblox in October of last year with a “Boorito” event, which included a maze, Chipotle-themed avatar items and entree codes. Although Roblox experienced a significant outage amid the campaign, that didn’t deter Chipotle’s longer-term relationship with the platform. 

In April, the brand created a virtual version of the original Denver location where players could “make” their own burritos for National Burrito Day. Players could earn virtual currency to be traded in for entrees in the brand’s app or website.

Most recently, the brand used Roblox to alert customers to a new protein option: garlic guajillo steak. Roblox players could try the steak a day before the general public by playing the Chipotle grill simulator. The first 100,000 players got a free entree code.

Craig Brommers

Chief marketing officer, American Eagle

In the last year, American Eagle Chief Marketing Officer Craig Brommers has tapped into various platforms and gaming channels to connect with Gen Z. 

This March, the apparel retailer announced its own “Members Always Club” in Livetopia, a Roblox game. In April, American Eagle announced a docuseries focusing on Twitch streamers, the first of which featured Sydeon, a streamer with 313,000 Twitch followers. The brand has added streamers to an impressive influencer roster including  Coco Gauff and Addison Rae.

“When we look at the numbers, the time spent and the engagement Gen Z has around gaming and related digital activities can’t be ignored,” Brommers said in April.

For the brand’s latest back-to-school campaign, customers could watch a behind-the-scenes video of the campaign photoshoot via Meta Quest 2 set up in eight store locations. 

Read more on American Eagle’s partnership with Twitch. 

Rishi Chadha

Global head of gaming partnerships, Twitter

Twitter often serves as a second screen for live sports, which has made the platform attuned to supporting esports and gaming. There were over 1.5 billion tweets about gaming in the first half of 2022 alone.

In his five years at Twitter, Rishi Chadha, the platform’s global head of gaming partnerships, has helped forge several partnerships within the gaming community. For instance, since 2018, Twitter has worked with Riot Games, the maker of popular titles Valorant and League of Legends, and Activision Blizzard, the company behind Call of Duty. This year, Riot Games made custom Twitter banners for esports fans, and Activision Blizzard made a watch guide of Twitter-exclusive content to keep fans up to date on Call of Duty league news. Twitter also hosts “Visionaries,” a podcast by esports journalist Jacob Wolf, in Twitter Spaces, as well as Spaces related to Overwatch League. 

“I think there has been this notion that brands need to ‘be authentic’ or find a 1:1 match in order to successfully enter into the gaming space, and while I agree with these guidelines to some extent, I would actually go as far as saying that brands looking to break into the gaming industry should first identify a credible partner or multiple that they want to work with,” Chadha wrote in an email. “From there, organizations breaking into the space can let their partner(s) manage the creative process for them. Partners could be a game publisher, an esports league or even individual gaming personalities, but the important lesson here is to let them tell your stories in their own creative way, so that you can borrow their equity to establish yourself in the space.”

Sheena Dougher

Senior director, marketing communications, Jack in the Box 

Sheena Dougher knows a thing or two about restaurant marketing, serving as marketing manager at Rubio’s Restaurants before joining Jack in the Box almost seven years ago, where she is now senior director of marketing communications. In the last year, the brand has stepped up its efforts on Twitch to reach a wider audience.

In May 2022, the brand launched a virtual drive-thru via Twitch for viewers to visit and claim free food and rewards on their way to watch their favorite content creators’ streams and channels. Now the brand is taking it to the next level by looking for an in-house gamer, dubbed Gamer Jack. The brand plans to add a content creator who will be responsible for developing and executing a social media and content creation strategy, including weekly livestreams and video-on-demand content. Gamer Jack will also collaborate with gaming personalities and other streamers.

“Twitch is one of the largest and fastest-growing platforms in the world, and we believe that if a brand has a natural connection to its audience, this is a great community to be a part of,” Dougher said. “In short: don’t try too hard—this community will call you out!”

Alyson Griffin

Head of marketing, State Farm

Just a year into her role as head of marketing at State Farm, Alyson Griffin has used gaming to place the brand in unexpected places. 

“We know insurance isn’t the sexiest category or top of mind,” Griffin told Ad Age last November. “We, like a lot of brands, care about that under-40 demographic. So we wanted to show up where those future customers could be.”

In October 2021, the brand’s spokescharacter, Jake from State Farm, appeared in the video game NBA2K22. The activation included the game’s first branded, non-playable character and included a virtual shop for players to buy the character’s iconic red polo and khakis. That same month, the actor who portrays Jake hosted livestream game tournaments on Twitch.

“We see gaming as a natural avenue to meet younger customers where they are,” Griffin said.

Most recently, State Farm collaborated with iHeartMedia to appear in Roblox. State Farm Park is an “outdoor” venue located at the center of iHeartLand where users can interact with Jake from State Farm, complete Jake’s daily quests and play minigames to win iHeartBucks, which can be used to purchase virtual merchandise for avatars—including, you guessed it, a red polo and khakis.

Toto Haba

Senior VP, marketing and communications, Benefit Cosmetics

Consumers may not readily associate gaming with makeup, but Toto Haba, senior VP of marketing and communications for Benefit Cosmetics, is working to change that.

Under Haba, the beauty brand has been connecting with female gamers. Last year, Benefit launched its own Twitch channel as part of its Game Face campaign, which showed female gamers putting on makeup before they start streaming. 

“Everyone has their ritual, be it a favorite meal, pump-up music, or putting on makeup,” Haba told Ad Age in July. “That camera prep felt like a natural place for us.”

In April this year, the brand sponsored nine tournaments for female players.

Read more on how female-centric brands are using gaming in their marketing strategy. 

Valéria Herzer

Senior director, global gaming, influencers and new platforms, Coca-Cola

After several years as the brand director for Coca-Cola at Havas’ sports and entertainment arm, Valéria Herzer is now the brand’s senior director of global gaming, influencers and new platforms. 

Under Herzer, Coca-Cola signed a global partnership with Riot Games’ title League of Legends: Wild Rift (the mobile version of League of Legends) in March. The beverage behemoth hosted watch parties for tournaments, including in the host city Singapore, where fans also had the opportunity to see the trophy up close or play a test match on the professional competitive stage. 

“We certainly see the excitement and incredible global growth of gaming as one of the biggest passions of young people today and an opportunity to establish connections with Gen Z players and fans alike in a meaningful way,” Herzer wrote in an email. “We see ourselves as an ally to gamers—uplifting and refreshing them while playing, watching or attending their favorite gaming experiences.”

The partnership builds on Coca-Cola’s previous work with League of Legends: from 2014 to 2016, Coca-Cola was a major sponsor for the LoL World Championship. In May 2022, Coke launched Coca-Cola Byte, a “pixel-flavored” drink that was tied to Pixel Point, an island in Fortnite. 

Read more about Coca-Cola Byte and its Fortnite activation. 

Phil Hruska

Media department head, American Honda

Honda has been using gaming for a while as a way to reach younger, first-time car buyers. In November 2020, the automaker debuted its then-new Honda Civic via Twitch with a mix of gaming and musical acts. It followed the same tactic in April of last year by livestreaming a H.E.R concert via Twitch as part of its Civic Tour.

In an email, Phil Hruska, media department head for American Honda, offered this advice to marketers looking to reach gamers: “As a non-endemic sponsor, listen to your expert partners that are in the gaming space and ensure that the content you are creating for gaming and esports fans is authentic and resonates with the audience.” 

This year, under Hruska, the brand launched a new Twitch channel called Honda DreamLab—a variety show of sorts meant to capture a wider audience. On the esports side, Honda secured naming rights for esports organization Team Liquid. The automaker also launched the Hondaverse on Fortnite over the summer, and launched Honda Fan Cup, a series of gaming tournaments available through the Xbox Game Pass.

Read more on Honda’s Twitch channel.

Tina Liu

Director of U.S. marketing, Maybelline New York

Brands often aim to go big in gaming, partnering with streamers or esports teams. But Maybelline New York’s Tina Liu, instead looked to mobile screens.

Earlier this year, Maybelline entered the gaming space through a partnership with Zynga, a social video game developer. The makeup brand wanted to reach a larger audience through casual games, rather than esports or streaming. According to Newzoo, 80% of Gen-Z and millennials play some form of video games, and 46% of those gamers are female.

“​​We wanted to maintain accessibility, given our commitment to makeup that is ‘made for all’,” said Liu, who is director of U.S. marketing for Maybelline New York. “Even with New York being such a strong part of our brand equity, your most unexpected consumer is likely a hyper-casual gamer. This was key to our success with the campaign this year.”

Maybelline created a play-to-earn minigame called Maybelline Mascara Merge, which ran in Zynga games including Hair Challenge, High Heels and Blob Runner. Maybelline’s game features three mascaras from the brand, allowing players to earn points that can give them more lives in the main Zynga game they are playing.

Paul Mascali

Head of esports and gaming, PepsiCo

Gaming has traditionally had an association with chips and soda, which has worked as a natural inroad over the last few years for Paul Mascali, PepsiCo’s head of esports and gaming.

Mascali has helped spearhead gaming partnerships, such as the tie-up between PepsiCo’s Mtn Dew and esports organization OpTic Gaming. And energy drink Mtn Dew Game Fuel was a sponsor for the Call of Duty league.

Over the summer, Mtn Dew hosted a virtual and in-person esports watch party—fans could go to a Call of Duty tournament at the King’s Theater in New York City, or watch in Decentraland. More recently, PepsiCo announced the Mtn Dew Real Change Challenge, which will sponsor a nationwide HBCU esports Call of Duty Tournament. HBCU teams will compete for $500,000 in prize money starting this November.

Even before Mascali, the CPG giant has had a decade-long partnership with NBA 2K games. NBA 2K features a Gatorade training facility and a Mtn Dew three-point shooting contest, whileMtn Dew-sponsored influencer and streamer Dr Disrespect is now a non-playable character.

“We know that consumers across our different brands are avid esports and gaming fans who regularly show up in that space” Mascali said. “In all of our gaming approaches, we look at our individual brand objectives and who their consumers are and then match those against that of the different esports and gaming demographics and develop a playbook accordingly.”

Brieane Olson

President, PacSun 

PacSun is squarely aimed at Gen Z, which has prompted the brand to explore several gaming avenues. Last June, under the direction of its president, Brieane Olson, the chain introduced digital items on Roblox so players can dress their avatars in PacSun clothes. It expanded its Roblox footprint by opening an entire virtual mall called PacWorld, where the goal is for players to run and operate the mall profitably. The retailer also recently launched its own video game, “Pacsun the Game,” through the Pacsun App, where players can explore underwater worlds—a nod to the brand’s beachy spring/summer 2022 campaign.

“We recognize the importance of being where our consumers are, and that is why the gaming space is significantly important to our strategy,” Olson said. 

Read more on PacSun’s PacWorld activation.