Walmart and Amazon are among those brands using Roblox paid ads.
In 2023 Roblox rolled out immersive advertising, which included billboards and portals. The billboards are standard display ads, similar to what you would see in real life. The portals are a combination of a billboard and a doorway that can transport you to another experience on the platform.
These ad units are appealing for brands because they provide guaranteed ways to get in front of highly coveted Roblox users.
For those brands who build custom experiences on the platform, portals provide a simple but effective tool to drive traffic to that destination. For this reason, most branded experiences I'm seeing launch on the platform today also run some amount of portal ads.
For those brands who have not built a custom experience, billboards offer an effective way to reaching Roblox players with top of funnel messaging. I saw billboards for the latest installment of the Trolls movie franchise in Roblox last year.
In order to learn more about Roblox ads, I reached out to Evan from Turning Tables Games and Banana Studios for their thoughts on Roblox ads. Both of these creators have been running ads in their Roblox experiences, so they are seeing what's happening on the platform firsthand.
What Brands are Advertising on Roblox?
Stephen: What types of brands have you seen advertise in your experience via the Roblox ads platform?
Evan: I see all sorts of brands advertising in my experience via billboard and portal ads using Roblox's ads platform. Big brands like iHeartRadio or Walmart, all the way to music artists like Imagine Dragons.
Banana: So far we have seen Walmart, Meta, Migration and Amazon Prime. There are probably quite a few more that we haven't seen with smaller budgets.
Stephen Note: Several brands I've seen advertise on Roblox include e.l.f. Cosmetics, Amika haircare, Sonic Superstars video game, Lionsgate's Hunger Games, and Universal's Trolls.
Players Reactions to Roblox Advertising
Stephen: What feedback have you gotten from players about the ads in your experience?
Evan: With how we have the ads implemented in my game, Avatar Outfit Creator, most players find it to be additive to the gameplay rather than being a nuisance. This is because our game focuses on avatars, and many of these brands that are advertising give in to that same thing, so players like to see the ads in our game to know what brands are giving away or selling UGC accessories.Â
Banana: The feedback we have received so far has been positive. Our ad placements don't detract from the game but instead help to improve it, and in a way provide players with entertainment while they are playing!
Brands Doing Well at Roblox Advertising
Stephen: What brand(s) do you think are making the most compelling ads on Roblox? What about their ads do you think works well?
Evan: The best ads that I've seen are the ones that give players an action item or tell them about something they genuinely care about. Nobody wants to see a standard ad for a product they aren't interested in, but as soon as they get something from it, like a free UGC accessory, that's when players seem to be more keen to interact with that brand.Â
Banana: Personally so far I think Walmart has done the best job. They're integrating Roblox characters that the community uses into their advertising and I think that makes players much more interested in what they have to offer as its able to connect with them as a player!
Brands That Should Start Advertising on Roblox
Stephen: What brand(s) do you think would greatly benefit from advertising on Roblox? Why?
Evan: The brands that would greatly benefit from advertising on Roblox are the ones that are specifically trying to target the next generation. Roblox has the highest concentration of Gen Z and Gen Alpha kids in the world, and any brand such as an up-and-coming social media app, makeup or fashion company, or gaming-related brand should be on Roblox to interact with their next generation of customers before it's too late.
Banana: Any brand really can benefit, but those in the entertainment industry I think can benefit particularly well. Many games on Roblox are already created for entertainment and having ads centered around entertainment integrates seamlessly into the environment around it!
Stephen Dypiangco is the CEO of Metaverse Marcom, a strategy and consulting firm helping entertainment and sports brands enter Roblox.