Emotional Attention: Why Gaming Is Emerging as a Strategic Lever for Brands
A study conducted by Gameloft for brands demonstrates, using biometric data, the superiority of video games over traditional digital environments in terms of attention and emotional engagement. Romain Devichi, Head of Sales Western Europe at Gameloft for brands, and Pierre Acuña, Head of Gaming at Havas Play, break down the key findings of this research — published in the whitepaper Attention and Emotion in Play — and its implications for advertisers.
What the study reveals: data that changes the game
To objectively measure the real impact of gaming on consumer attention, Gameloft for brands deployed advanced eye-tracking technology. Participants wearing glasses capable of precisely tracking eye movements and pupil dilation were placed in a simulated living room environment, complete with typical distractions such as a TV, movement, and multiple sources of stimulation. Three sessions were then compared: a gaming session, a YouTube session, and a web browsing session. The collected data was analyzed by specialists in facial and vocal emotion recognition, and cross-referenced with a Brand Lift survey measuring brand recall and affinity.
The results are clear. Gaming generates twice as much positive attentive exposure as traditional digital formats, with sustained attention peaks reaching 92%. Emotional responses are 22.3% higher than those seen during pre-roll video exposure, and moments of happiness occur 2.2 times more frequently. From a business performance perspective, the study reports: +91% ad recall, +29% brand consideration, and +24% purchase intent compared to standard digital media.
“Attention alone, what does it really mean?” asks Romain Devichi. “There is a difference between seeing a screen and actually looking at it. And does what we look at necessarily get remembered?” The study provides a clear answer: not always. And this gap between exposure and real impact is one of the blind spots of today’s media strategies.
A media market under pressure
The context makes these findings even more significant. According to the TGI France 2025 study, 47% of respondents say they never pay attention to ads on social media. Ad avoidance behaviors have become increasingly sophisticated: skipping, unsubscribing, closing apps, and using ad blockers. Advertising saturation has created its own resistance mechanisms.
“People are browsing hundreds of platforms and seeing thousands of ads every day, so they no longer really pay attention to much,” explains Romain Devichi. The first response, he argues, is simple: go where brands are less present. But scarcity alone is not enough — the real challenge is identifying environments where attention remains genuinely strong.
This is where gaming comes in, with a fundamentally different dynamic from other media.
Why gaming changes the equation
In France, between 70% and 72% of the population plays video games, compared to around 20% twenty-five years ago. Gaming has quietly become as popular as, or even more popular than, traditional passions such as music or football. Yet it remains underrepresented in media plans, often still categorized as “innovation.”
Pierre Acuña sees this as a cultural lag. “At Havas Play, we talk about passions and interests. On average, people have about five hours of available time per day for these activities, once work, sleep, and household tasks are removed,” he explains. “Our belief is that brands should speak to people within those five hours, where attention is at its peak.”
The key difference in gaming is simple: the player is not a spectator, but an active participant. “In gaming, the user is in control — nothing progresses without their action, which creates a unique level of engagement,” says Romain Devichi. “There is no passivity: the player must remain mentally present at all times.”
This active posture transforms the very nature of advertising reception. And it comes with an advantage that agencies still underestimate: the diversity of audiences that can be reached. Far from the stereotype of the teenage gamer, mobile gaming has massively won over seniors through card and puzzle games. “Advertisers are now coming to us to reach these audiences in a different way, with innovative formats, playables, and branded mini-games,” observes Romain Devichi.
Emotional attention: a key concept
Gaming outperforms other media because it combines two elements that are often difficult to align: sustained attention and positive emotional engagement. Pierre Acuña refers to this as “emotional attention.”
“There are environments, such as sports, that generate an enormous amount of attention — so much so that we forget what’s happening around us,” he explains. “When we experience a victory, for example, we forget the brands; we’re fully focused on the moment itself. In the end, that emotional intensity is a double-edged sword, because we fall into a kind of black hole and become completely amnesic.” Gaming, by contrast, creates what he describes as “the right balance of attention and emotion, meaning that when we look at the results, the message comes across clearly and is well remembered.”
Rewarded advertising formats push this logic even further. Instead of enduring advertising, the player willingly accepts it in exchange for a tangible in-game benefit: an extra life, a resource, or a bonus. “Today, if I watch a pre-roll ad on YouTube, I don’t get a reward — only the ability to watch the video I originally clicked on,” notes Pierre Acuña. The result: completion rates exceeding 90%, and a transformed relationship with the brand. “Over the years, audiences develop a particular connection with the brand. It gives you something, it rewards you. That’s a huge advantage when it comes to message acceptance.”
Mature and accessible formats
Once considered complex, in-game advertising has become significantly more accessible and structured. Through COMBO!, Gameloft for brands’ global in-game advertising network — reaching 1.3 billion monthly active users — brands now have a standardized entry point into the ecosystem.
Beyond traditional in-game advertising, integration possibilities have multiplied. “We now have the ability to create our own experience or integrate into an existing one” within platforms like Fortnite or Roblox, explains Pierre Acuña. MODs — modifications created by gaming communities — offer another territory for expression. And new spaces are opening up in premium titles such as EA Sports FC 26, where stadium panoramic displays are becoming advertising inventory in their own right. “We’re in a phase where integrations and media placements are becoming increasingly obvious and increasingly accessible,” he summarizes.
For brands with more complex messages — banks, insurance companies, or institutions such as Caisse des Dépôts — gameplay offers an additional advantage. “Thanks to video games, we have the ability to translate a message in a simpler, more digestible way,” explains Pierre Acuña. “The consumer is not just a spectator, but also an active participant, a player, who can truly engage with and appropriate the advertiser’s message.”
Measurement and the next frontier
One decisive challenge remains in firmly establishing gaming within the standards of major brands: measurement. This is precisely the focus of the work being carried out by Gameloft’s branded entertainment division through the systematic integration of Brand Lift Surveys and post-campaign studies. “We need to add criteria that also capture this performance-driven emotional engagement,” argues Pierre Acuña. “Right now, many ad networks can guarantee a number of impressions, for example, but they cannot claim to guarantee emotional attention.”
The argument is intended to become a key factor in future media decisions: “When you have two proposals with similar media performance, but one stands out because it demonstrates stronger emotional attention performance, any rational decision-maker will lean toward that proposal.”
At a time when advertisers are looking for channels capable of combining scale, quality of attention, and measurable impact, gaming is gradually moving beyond the realm of innovation to become central to media strategies. Emotional attention — now increasingly documented and measurable — could well become the new currency of the next generation of media plans.
This article was originally published in The Media Leader in French. You can read it directly here.
