Media Our bodies’ Sara Guerola at the energy of podcast advertising in video games

Pocket Gamer Connects, the main global convention sequence for the worldwide video games business hits London on January twentieth and twenty first, 2025. 

This must-attend match will unite greater than 2,750 business pros for 2 days of studying, pitching and networking. Attendees will dive into 20 expertly curated convention tracks exploring the newest developments in cellular, PC, console, web3, AI and past. 

Media Our bodies leader expansion officer Sara Guerola is ready to host a consultation at PGC London entitled: ‘Podcast Advertising and marketing: Insights and Methods for Good fortune’. She’ll proportion key formulation for luck from her intensive enjoy shaping podcast advertising methods for video games. 

From development range into the UA combine amidst converting privateness and information laws, to compelling treasured new person acquisition via robust opinion leaders and making improvements to the affect of conventional UA efforts, Guerola believes podcast commercials provide a key alternative for entrepreneurs to force impactful logo worth and ROAS within the brief and long-term.

Forward of the display, PocketGamer.biz stuck up with Guerola to talk about her position and acquire extra insights into podcast and influencer advertising in gaming.

PocketGamer.biz: What’s the commonest mistake you spot being made within the video games sector?

Sara Guerola: From a advertising and expansion viewpoint, and specifically with non-conventional UA channels, it’s no longer making an investment sufficient.

Diversification is so vital, however those selection channels can also be reasonably of a thriller to take on for the primary time with out the appropriate spouse. Entrepreneurs naturally wish to be wary, however in case you are no longer making an investment sufficient, even with the appropriate arrange, you can by no means see the advantages.

Then again, you do not need to hurry into spending with the incorrect spouse both. Get a faithful, clear guide or spouse to lead your efforts and be ready to take a position extra in case you are searching for sure ROAS. 

If you’ll want to give different cellular video games corporations one piece of recommendation, what would it not be?

Be affected person together with your marketing campaign effects if you end up running with unconventional UA channels. Channels like podcasts and influencer advertising don’t seem to be intended to be evaluated purely on non permanent affect.

At their perfect, they are able to force treasured new person acquisition by means of themselves and in addition strengthen the efficiency of conventional UA activations. However there is numerous optimisation that is going at the back of working out the appropriate arrange. Each marketing campaign is a chance to assemble information, derive your learnings, and evaluation and revise your route.

The place are the following large alternatives within the cellular video games marketplace?

Podcast commercials for person acquisition. We are at a spot the place influencer advertising has develop into extra solid and applicable, and Podcasts are the herbal subsequent step.

Podcast hosts themselves have large affect with their communities and the business has observed vital YOY expansion, with extra folks anticipated to hear podcasts in 2025 than in 2024.

Gaming was once additionally one of the vital quickest rising industries promoting on podcasts in 2024, so there is for sure numerous passion within the platform. This implies extra analysis, extra funding, and construction of higher tech, and in the long run larger and higher alternatives.

What’s a very powerful key efficiency indicator (KPI) for you and why?

This can be a difficult query to reply to, like asking me if I favor looking at Pals or The Place of job. On the other hand, if I truly have to select I would stick with retention charge.

It displays how smartly the sport resonates with gamers and the way enticing the enjoy is over the years. It has an immediate affect on different metrics akin to monetisation. And not using a robust retention, efforts in advertising are somewhat needless and a waste of cash.

What’s your favorite ever cellular sport?

I will’t make a selection only one! There’s a sport for each second — it depends upon my temper and what I’m searching for, whether or not it’s one thing stress-free, difficult, or simply natural amusing.

What do you revel in maximum about running within the cellular video games business?

The consistent evolution of the business helps to keep it thrilling, with all the time one thing new to be told.

Residing in Barcelona, a small town filled with gaming corporations, makes it simple to connect to fascinating folks. This setting ceaselessly ends up in treasured networking alternatives or even new friendships. Being a social extrovert, I like being a part of this.

What’s the most productive piece of recommendation you’ve ever gained that you’ll be able to go directly to others?

I’m no longer certain if it’s the most productive recommendation I’ve ever gained, however it’s for sure the person who involves thoughts when requested this query. A very long time in the past, somebody instructed me to not lose my innocence.

To me, this implies keeping directly to that interior kid all of us have. It’s recommendation that has stayed with me, and I attempt to remind myself of it ceaselessly. As I’ve grown older and skilled extra thrilling issues, I’ve come to look it as a reminder to stick thinking about the small joys in existence.

Maturity ceaselessly makes us extra ‘severe’ and ‘accountable,’ however for me, it’s about no longer dropping the facility to have amusing. I’m somewhat goofy, so if the time and second really feel proper, why no longer embody it?

What was once the basic enchantment of the cellular video games business that introduced you to it?

Truthfully, it was once somewhat of success. 13 years in the past, I sought after to make motion pictures, however by hook or by crook, I stopped up promoting video games — and I’ve liked it ever since!

What subjects do you need to listen to extra about at business occasions?

I’d love to listen to extra about inventive thought ideation and the processes at the back of producing contemporary, enticing concepts.

Moreover, I’m all the time occupied with studying how groups keep related by means of exploring methods past conventional person acquisition strategies.

Can folks get in contact with you on the match? What kind of folks do you want to connect to?

Completely! I am all the time prepared to speak to folks inside of advertising and expansion and change insights. In case you are interested by making an attempt and trying out podcast commercials or influencer advertising for the primary time, or want to transfer up your method, do not hesitate to achieve out.

I have been running with those channels for over a decade throughout my time at Socialpoint, FunPlus and Bandai Namco Cellular, so I have most likely labored via each worry, hurdle, or problem you can be experiencing — whether or not it is convincing stakeholders to take a position, switching up your inventive, or generating sure ROI.

That stated, I am an extrovert and a lover of video games, so I’m all the time satisfied to fulfill any new buddies throughout all spaces of the business!

When no longer making/promoting/taking part in video games, what do you do to loosen up?

For sure, my two go-to actions to floor myself once I really feel like I’ve been pulled too deeply into regimen are cooking and working. I in finding each extremely stress-free.

Cooking permits me to both disconnect via repetitive duties or center of attention totally on one thing else once I’m seeking to innovate and experiment with new recipes.

Working is helping me reconnect with my frame; it’s my method of hitting the reset button each mentally and bodily.