Advertising & Gaming Overview 2025: The Keys to Reaching a Massive and Engaged Audience!

Video games, once regarded as mere entertainment for teenagers, have now become an essential medium for brands. With 38.3 million players in France—50% of whom are women—gaming offers unique opportunities to connect with a massive, engaged, and intergenerational audience. Notably, 84% of players are over 18, with an average age of 37. To help brands and agencies navigate this seemingly complex landscape, Alliance Digitale has unveiled the latest edition of its Advertising & Gaming Overview, a comprehensive guide to integrating video games into your media strategy.

Advertising & Gaming Overview 2025: A Better Understanding of Gaming Opportunities

Led by the Alliance Digitale eGaming Working Group, co-chaired by Adrien Lepage, Managing Director of Choreograph (GroupM), this updated overview addresses the barriers that still deter some brands from exploring gaming. Contrary to common misconceptions, advertising in video games is not exclusively for teenagers, is not prohibitively expensive, and no longer involves insurmountable technical challenges.

The overview is designed for all brands and agencies, whether new to gaming or experienced, and includes:

• A segmentation by generation: detailed player profiles by age group (children, Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers), their habits, favorite games, and the most effective ways to engage them.

• An activation journey aligned with brand objectives: practical guidance on identifying the most suitable formats (in-game, display, interactive, audio, etc.) based on goals such as awareness, consideration, or conversion. This is illustrated with case studies and an assessment of the complexity of each approach.

With 70% of French people playing video games at least occasionally and 52% playing regularly, gaming offers diverse engagement formats—from in-game banners to sponsored events—that can address the entire marketing funnel, from awareness to conversion.

“Two years after the publication of our initial findings, it was time for an update. This overview reflects the market's evolution, its innovations, and its unique characteristics. It serves as a practical, educational, and actionable guide for getting started in gaming.”
Emphasizes Adrien Lepage, Managing Director at Choreograph, a GroupM/WPP Company and Co-leader of the Gaming Working Group.

MAAF Home Run: When Fortnite Becomes a Road Safety Training Ground

In France, 18-24-year-olds make up 8% of the population but account for 16% of road fatalities. This alarming overrepresentation makes road accidents the leading cause of death and disability among this age group.

Traditional road safety campaigns have struggled to reach young people, with 40% of young drivers admitting to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. To address this, MAAF took a bold step by leveraging Fortnite, one of the largest online communities in the world, predominantly composed of young players. Rather than simply adding gaming to a traditional media plan, Fortnite became the cornerstone of MAAF's strategy, offering an immersive and interactive way to raise awareness about road safety.

To engage young people aged 15 to 25, MAAF launched a unique experience on Fortnite: "Home Run, the First Game That Can Really Save Your Life." This innovative format was fully integrated into the daily habits of young players. Home Run is a custom map accessible via Fortnite's Creator Mode, designed primarily as entertainment. Beyond capturing attention, the real challenge was maintaining it.

The game features an obstacle course simulating the journey home after a night out, with players facing challenges that test their reflexes and judgment. To improve their scores, players often repeated the experience multiple times, ensuring repeated exposure to key road safety messages.

The initiative achieved remarkable results:

• An average game time of 35 minutes—twice the length of a typical Fortnite session (18 minutes, according to Epic Games)—resulting in a total of 35,000 hours of gameplay to date.

• 9.7 million campaign impressions.

• 77,000 engagements.

• 2.3 million estimated prevention messages delivered.

• 60,000 players reached.

"Home Run" not only raised awareness about road safety among young people but also reinforced MAAF's modern and socially responsible image.

Gaming: A Marketing Opportunity Not to Be Overlooked

The Advertising & Gaming Overview 2025 and the MAAF Home Run case study highlight the immense potential of gaming as a marketing tool. Whether through large-scale initiatives or programmatic campaigns, gaming offers a wealth of opportunities for brands ready to explore this dynamic medium.

Are you ready to embrace gaming? Contact us to learn how GroupM can support your strategy.