Month: August 2023

Is esports winter real? Not as far as MasterCard is concerned.

As other brands threaten to pull away from esports, MasterCard is going full speed ahead on competitive gaming in 2023. August 21 marked the credit card brand’s fifth anniversary as a global sponsor of “League of Legends” esports; in June, MasterCard increased its investment in competitive gaming through a global sponsorship of “Valorant,” Riot Games’ other major esport. Chances are, this wasn’t cheap, given how much these deals can cost — a Riot Games representative declined to share the specific value of the sponsorship agreements, but brands’ past partnerships with major esports leagues have reportedly cost between $17 million and upwards of $144 million for multi-year deals.

MasterCard’s growing involvement in Riot Games’ esports ecosystem is a ringing endorsement of the game developer’s long-term plans for competitive gaming. Riot views esports as the “future of sport” — an entertainment product that will one day be as lucrative and popular as traditional sports such as baseball and basketball — and MasterCard is ready and willing to buy into this vision, at least for now.

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Stagwell-owned business agency Gale on Tuesday formed a strategic partnership with gaming agency Moonrock Labs to expand its efforts around branded gaming experiences, from building in-person activations to in-game media opportunities.

The gaming solutions partnership will allow both parties to leverage Moonrock Labs’ game development and design capabilities and Gale’s integrated marketing approach and client base. The two agencies have had ongoing collaborations involving clients such as Wells Enterprises, Bomb Pop and Truth Initiative.

Ben James, Gale’s chief innovation officer, believes gaming is still an untapped market for brands — especially when it comes to creating content with the communities and creators on popular platforms.

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To make it easier for developers to create WebAR experiences, Niantic’s 8th Wall platform debuted support for “GenAI Modules” that will allow teams to quickly add tech from Inworld AI and OpenAI to their projects. Niantic said GenAI Modules “remove the development overheads that typically stand in the way of adding this powerful technology to…

The squeeze on pharma begins, and the effects won’t be what President Biden claims.

The 2024 winnowing starts with the Mayor of Miami’s fine example.

Sixty years after the March on Washington, reflect on what blacks have done for themselves.

The Kremlin kingpin is good at being a crime boss but a failure as a war leader.

His policies and team of advisers suggest he favors some form of indoctrination.

And fully 60% of U.S. CTV households now have no cable/satellite service– up from 37% in 2019.

What can you learn from TikTok about the evolution of multicultural marketing? As we navigate the ever-changing landscape, the conversation around multicultural marketing has shifted. The days of surface-level demographic targeting are behind us. Today’s approach is all about understanding consumer behavior, intersectionality, attitudes and, of course, creating long-term connections. In today’s episode, Jennifer Rivera-Vega…