Australia's First Gaming Attention Benchmark Report Reveals 20x More Engagement for 5% of Budget
by on 18th Nov 2025 in News
Gaming advertising delivers 20 times more engagement for just 5% of typical media budgets, according to Australia's first comprehensive gaming attention benchmark report released today by iion.
The benchmark study, titled "The Attention Advantage," analysed 50+ gaming campaigns across Australian mobile and tablet gaming environments, revealing significant efficiency advantages:
- Gaming attention costs USD$1.33-2.64 (£1.01 - 2.00) per hour vs digital display/video at USD$6.20-15.50 (£4.71-11.78).
- Gaming ads deliver 10-22 seconds of attention vs 1-5 seconds for traditional digital
- Strategic format-genre combinations drive substantial performance differences
"Robust local insights on attention in gaming environments help fill an important research gap," said Gai Le Roy, Chair of IAB Australia. "High attention, when achieved, offers marketers the potential to drive disproportionate impact from their investment."
The benchmark report includes a case study from Menulog, a leading Australian food delivery brand, which achieved remarkable results through strategic gaming placements:
- +788% lift in engagement rate (CTR)
- +76% lift in active attention
- +24% lift in video completion rate
- 99.89% viewability
"Gaming environments deliver high-quality, engaged moments that are rare in today's media landscape," said Fiona Bateman, head of brand and media at Menulog. "Attention has become a really useful lens for us in proving the value of strategic gaming placements."
"Gaming has been dramatically underinvested relative to its measurable performance," said Yun Yip, chief commercial officer at iion. "This benchmark provides Australian marketers with the local data they need to make informed decisions. When brands like Menulog achieve +788% engagement lifts, it demonstrates a significant opportunity for strategic early movers."
The research reveals that strategic portfolio management through format-genre intelligence offers brands a privacy-compliant, high-precision approach to gaming media planning. The study shows gaming rewards strategic thinking across hundreds of format-genre combinations.
"Early movers who master gaming's strategic complexity own a significant competitive advantage in an undervalued, high-impact media environment," Yip added.
The full benchmark report and Menulog case study are available here.
An IAB Australia podcast episode hosted by Gai Le Roy (CEO, IAB Australia) and featuring Yun Yip (chief commercial officer, iion) discussing the findings and strategic implications will be released in the coming weeks.
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