Once dismissed as a pastime for teenagers, gaming is now as central to culture as sports, music, or film. Yet most brands still haven’t caught up. Livewire, the global gaming marketing company building the next-gen attention platform, is on a mission to bring brands and their media agency partners into ‘next level’ gaming opportunities.
The market leading gaming marketing and gametech company, which operates in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, SEA, Canada and the UAE, hosted more than 100 media buyers and marketers in Melbourne recently to unveil its latest products and partnerships.
The event featured a host of Livewire executives, including Co-Founder and Co-CEO Indy Khabra, Co-CEO Fiona Mellor, APAC GM Adam Fischer, and Chief Strategy Officer Gareth Leeding, alongside Foxtel Media CEO Mark Frain, and gaming influencer Steven ‘Bajo’ O’Donnell.
They revealed the state of play in gaming, and how embedded it has become as a source of entertainment for Australians.
According to IGEA’s Australia Plays 2025 report, eight in ten Australians – roughly 21 million- are gamers, 17 million of those over the age of 18. The report also noted that 90 per cent of Aussie households own at least one gaming console.
Even though gaming has been a mainstream staple for years, brands are still slow to realise the potential the industry holds as an immersive platform to reach a highly engaged audience that averages 35 years of age.
Livewire co-CEO Fiona Mellor said: “Our upfronts are our way to showcase our case studies, highlight the entry-point we facilitate for brands wanting to connect with gaming audiences and the highly interactive measurement scores and brand uplifts giving brands the confidence to engage this mass audience.”
Gaming also has the unique ability to connect Gen X and millennial parents with their children- a recent Livewire “Game time is Prime Time” study found three quarters of parents regularly game with their kids.
This family connection underscores gaming’s evolution from a niche pastime to a mainstream media channel—and brands are taking notice.
Globally, Livewire has grown revenues by 311 per cent over the past two years, with client spend spread across seven industries: technology, entertainment, telecoms, gaming, food and beverages, government, and retail, while fashion and toys are quickly emerging.
Livewire co-founder and global Co-CEO Indy Khabra told B&T that Australia is especially well-positioned to seize this opportunity.
“Australia is an innovative, progressive market. The size of the ad industry and dynamics makes it a competitive landscape which drives innovation, and gaming is at the forefront of that,” he said.
“What’s so exciting for Livewire is that gaming isn’t just crossing over with sports, music and entertainment – it’s becoming the foundation that ties them together. Gaming is now the cultural engine room, where audiences spend real time and attention. Brands are leaning in and recognising that this isn’t just an add-on to strategy or media buying but a priority pillar.
“Gaming has become the transmedia IP of our era, the way comic books once expanded into film and global culture, gaming is now eating social, commanding real attention, and removing the risk of passive consumers through its very nature of engagement and dwell time.
“As global leaders, we continue to invest in building the next generation gametech platform enabling brands and agencies to reach audiences with authenticity and impact.”
Livewire brings brands into the gaming ecosystem through immersive integrations on platforms like Fortnite and Roblox, in-game partnerships within popular titles such as NBA2K, and real-world activations at major gaming events.
This year, three major announcements at Livewire’s Upfront caught media buyers and planners’ attention, including:
Gamer.ID: Livewire’s privacy-first identity framework that lets brands reach gamers without cookies. It gives marketers access to 14 million verified gamer profiles across PC, console, mobile, CTV, esports, and retail media. With Gamer.ID, brands can run in-game and rewarded video ads, activate on streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube, and link those campaigns directly to online and in-store purchases.
Foxtel Media Partnership: Foxtel Media chief executive Mark Frain unveiled a partnership between Foxtel Media and Livewire that will integrate Foxtel’s ‘Characters’ audience segments with Livewire’s Gamer.ID identity framework, enabling privacy-safe, precision targeting of gaming audiences across multiple platforms.
The partnership will also launch a virtual Kayo Stadium in Roblox, bringing Australia’s biggest sporting codes into the hit game and creating immersive, branded experiences for Australian sports fans.
NFL Partnership: Ahead of Melbourne hosting the Super Bowl champion LA Rams next year, Livewire has partnered with the NFL to launch NFL Race to the End Zone (see trailer below), a weekly entertainment series, tapping into the millions of NFL fans who play video games and consume gaming content. Each episode brings together the league’s top players with some of the biggest gaming creators shaping Gen Z culture for some serious fun, on – and off- the field. Optimised for YouTube and amplified across TikTok and Instagram, each instalment of the 21-episode series drops every Friday throughout the season, and airs on NFL YouTube (@NFL), with clips and interactive drops on Instagram and TikTok. The season culminates with NFL Race to the End Zone LIVE—a 19-team Pro-Am event during Super Bowl LX week.
Industry reaction: ‘A game changer’
Media agency executives who attended Livewire Upfront believe the announcements are game changing and expect more brands to take their interest in gaming to the next level.
“I’ve been preaching for a while that I really feel like everyone is a gamer, but many people—including those who are buying ads—still have this perception that gaming is for teenage boys,” Havas head of programmatic and platform investment Tracey Heong said.
“The partnership with Foxtel really caught my eye because I believe that will open up gaming to more traditionally minded marketers and Livewire is the best gaming partner to educate our clients about the gaming opportunity.”
Foxtel Media’s partnership was a highlight for Kinesso’s national head of planning and investment Charlie Allatt, who told B&T that Foxtel’s focus on gaming should have “every marketer paying attention”.
“They see this as a way to bring Kayo to an entire generation of new audiences – and the sporting codes who’ve aligned with them are clearly in agreement,” he said.
“The other thing that’s been percolating for me is this concept of gaming “eating” big digital platforms from within. A ton of consumption in games media exists across social platforms, and I think it’s such a clever way to break out of a platform or channel focused paradigm and do something multi-channel that feels organic and achievable for brands.”
He describes gaming as a media opportunity that as a “rich big canvas” that’s been underutilised when compared to the audience opportunity.
After all, gaming ticks all the boxes: “It’s video, it’s display, it’s creators, it’s content”.
Allatt said that brands can easily lean into the element of plan that is inherent in gaming, and reach passionate, enthusiastic audiences in relatively untapped spaces.
“Playing in passion-inducing environments where people lean in tends to work well—look at sport—and I think gaming can match that, if we can overcome our historical perceptions of the audiences as buyers,” he said.
For UM’s head of media planning Michael Mellington, Livewire did an excellent job of explaining how gaming fits into a total ecosystem.
He also believes that some brands put gaming in a bucket of “some bloke in their mum’s basement playing games all day”, but Livewire’s research and presentation proved that gaming as a channel is much more multifaceted featuring influences, content creators and a myriad of people who view it as entertainment.
“They did a really good job to reframe some of those misconceptions and show that there is a total ecosystem play within the gaming landscape,” he said.
“If you look at that ecosystem, there is a role for social with creative content. There’s a role for screens, and for those who are using it as their entertainment platform. As a channel, it’s hard to define exactly where gaming would sit on a media plan because it can play multiple roles, for non-endemic brands, they’ve got a real opportunity to find an incremental, engaged audience and get cut through.”
All media executives agree that the biggest challenge they face in getting clients on board is education and providing case studies that prove the power of gaming.
Livewire presented two case studies, including one campaign that cleaned up at the recent MFA Awards, including the coveted Grand Prix.
Samsung – Clash of Commuters
In partnership with Clemenger BBDO (then CHEP Network)
When Fortnite was banned from the Apple and Google app stores, Samsung stepped in with Clash of Commuters— an on-the-go mobile gaming competition waged across Australia’s public transport networks, where 44 per cent of Aussie gamers play.
From OOH at bus stops and train stations, audio in rush hour playlists, and videos in their daily social feeds, commuters were called to defend their route in a bespoke, Aussie-themed Fortnite experience. Along the way they got a taste of Samsung’s latest device, the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the ultimate gaming phone that, unlike our competitors, you can actually play Fortnite on.
The campaign reached six million gamers – nearly a quarter of Australia – and was featured on Epic Games’ coveted ‘Epic Picks’, putting it on the front page of gamers for money-can’t-buy exposure. It smashed expectations, with gameplay numbers coming in nearly 10 times higher than predicted.
Maybelline – Under the Avatar
In partnership with HERO
It’s no secret that gaming can be a toxic environment, with 1 in 2 female gamers experiencing abuse online. Maybelline New York’s Under the Avatar campaign tackled this issue head-on by raising awareness of the so-called ‘bystander effect’ — research shows 71 per cent of male gamers who witness abuse choose to ignore it. At the heart of the campaign was a powerful social experiment: male gamers played a multiplayer game unaware that the female players facing abuse were actually their close friends.
This eye-opening twist transformed bystanders into allies, encouraging the gaming community to call out toxic behaviour and fight gender discrimination online.
To deepen the impact, Maybelline partnered with Youthline, bringing trained counsellors on-stream to provide real-time mental health support and open conversations about online safety and wellbeing. This integration ensured the campaign didn’t just raise awareness; it offered practical help for anyone impacted.
The campaign exploded across Twitch, TikTok, and YouTube, with more than 30 influential streamers organically sharing the message. Coverage spanned national and international media, reaching over 10 million gamers, garnering 3.5 million minutes of film watched, and hitting #1 on YouTube Gaming — turning a moment into a movement for safer, more inclusive gaming spaces.
Final Thoughts
For Kinesso’s Charlie Allat, the key message that landed is that it is time for brands to move beyond an extended test and learn and embrace one of industry’s untapped final frontiers.
“Livewire’s upfront brought an energy and expectation that gaming really is about to have its moment…and 2026 could be the year it comes together,” he said.
“Gaming is ready to hit the mainstream. In other words: it’s time to play.”
Photos from Livewire’s Upfront 2025
