In Episode 81: Mattel is building a game studio, Netflix is closing two, Sony launches a glossy PS5 campaign and the comments turn it into a protest over physical game discs. A viral hit born on Roblox gets officially licensed into Fortnite. Then Battlefield adds Top Gun and, against all odds, its players are actually into it.

Nic Hill and Matt Daly get into the common thread: gaming companies want more mileage from IP, but the audience still decides what belongs. When an integration respects the game, players accept it. 
When it doesn’t, the comments section takes over the campaign.

#BrandsInPlay #GamingNews #ImmersiveMarketing #fortnitefunny  #Roblox #Battlefield6 #TopGun #Mattel #NetflixGames #PlayStation 

Follow Us:

Co-Hosts:
Nic Hill -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Matt Daly - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalymatt/

Producer / Editor 
Edward Regue -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay

Episode 80 of Brands In Play features Josh Pool, Partner Manager and Entertainment Lead at Xbox Media Solutions. Ever wonder how Xbox helps brands activate? Josh talks Nic Hill through Xbox’s work with advertisers, from Hershey’s and KitKat to Monster Energy’s Call of Duty partnership and Predator: Badlands. 

He explains how the team finds the right audience and builds campaigns around the way people already play.

EVERY brand has gamers as part of its customer base. The challenge is understanding where they play and earning the right to meet them there.

#BrandsInPlay #Xbox #GamingMarketing #BrandPartnerships #ImmersiveMarketing

Chapters:
Intro - 00:00 
Xbox Media Solutions Interview - 01:20

Follow Joshua Pool - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshrpool/

Follow Xbox Media Solutions - https://www.linkedin.com/company/xbox-media-solutions

Follow Us:

Co-Hosts:
Nic Hill -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Matt Daly - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalymatt/

Producer | Editor 
Edward Regue -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay

Episode 79 of Brands In Play with Nic Hill and new guest co-host Matt Daly features David Sheldon-Hicks, CEO and co-founder of creative studio Territory Studio.

David takes us inside Territory’s work across Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, Need for Speed and the new 007 First Light. He explains why a cutscene should never feel like filler, how Territory approaches game cinematics differently from film, and why forced product placement quickly loses players.

For brands, his advice is to get closer to developers and stop treating gaming like another media format. The interesting work happens when brands create something custom, strange and specific to the game.

Nic and Matt also cover GTA VI’s Netflix premiere, Payday’s move into Fortnite and film, a new movie campaign built as a playable Discord game, and the unofficial KFC UGC gaming content that attracted over 70 million visits on Roblox! 

#BrandsInPlay #GamingMarketing #BrandIntegration #AAAGaming #TerritoryStudio #GameDevelopment #ImmersiveMarketing 

Chapters:
Intro - 00:00 
Announcements - 02:19
News - 05:58
Live Nation | Livewire Interview - 21:50
Subscribe - 45:17

Follow David Sheldon-Hicks
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-sheldon-hicks/

Follow Territory Studio - https://www.linkedin.com/company/territory-studio/

Follow Us:

Co-Hosts:
Nic Hill -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Matt Daly -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalymatt/

Producer / Editor 
Edward Regue -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay

Episode 78 of Brands In Play, hosted by Nic Hill and Ely Santos, features Anubhav Mehrotra of Live Nation and Ryan Dow of Livewire, who break down the strategy behind Music Festival Tycoon on Roblox.

The persistent game lets players build stages, book artists and create festivals of their own. Its latest integration introduces Lollapalooza as the game’s first real-world festival and CORTIS as its first featured artist.

As Anubhav explains, the team “built the fun before we added the fame.” They focused on creating a game people wanted to play before introducing major artists, festival IP and brand partners. The result is what Anubhav describes as a publishing strategy rather than a marketing strategy. An established experience that brands can enter without needing to build and maintain their own Roblox game.

In this week’s news, Nic and Ely also cover Disney opening its IP catalogue to TikTok creators, the privacy backlash facing Meta’s smart glasses, Netflix’s new branded mini-golf game and Apple’s reported focus on fitness for its future glasses.

#Roblox #GamingMarketing #ImmersiveMarketing #BrandedEntertainment #SmartGlasses


Chapters:
Intro - 00:00 
Announcements - 01:24
News - 03:00
Live Nation | Livewire Interview - 16:24
Subscribe - 41:16

Follow Anubhav Mehrotra - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anubhav-mehrotra/

Follow Live Nation Entertainment - https://www.linkedin.com/company/live-nation/

Follow Ryan Dow - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rrdow/

Follow Livewire - https://www.linkedin.com/company/livewiregroupintl/

Follow Us:

Co-Hosts:
Nic Hill -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Ely Santos -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ely-santos-tech/

Producer / Editor 
Edward Regue -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay

Episode 77 of Brands In Play features a special rebroadcast from our friends at This Could Work https://www.youtube.com/@saylor_agency

Host Will Trowbridge sits down with Monica Austin, SVP and CMO at Blizzard Entertainment, to explore her career across Fox, Facebook, Netflix, Calm and Blizzard and the creative risks behind each move.

Monica also discusses why gaming IP is becoming the foundation for the next generation of entertainment franchises, the power of established communities and what brands can learn from serving fans who care deeply about the worlds they inhabit.

Watch / Listen to the full episode now.

Follow Will Trowbridge - https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-trowbridge/

Follow Monica Austin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-austin-07a9403/

Follow Saylor - https://www.linkedin.com/company/saylor-agency/

Follow Blizzard - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blizzard-entertainment/

Follow Us:

Co-Hosts:
Nic Hill -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Brandon Iverson -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-iverson11/

Producer / Editor / Social Media Manager
Edward Regue -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#GamingMarketing #BrandStrategy #EntertainmentMarketing #BrandsInPlay

Episode 76 of Brands In Play explores why Discord is becoming bigger than gaming.

Nic Hill and Brandon Iverson are joined by Adam Bauer, Vice President of Advertising Solutions at Discord, to discuss how the platform is connecting community, discovery, commerce, entertainment and play.

Adam breaks down how Discord Quests reward participation, why brands need a clear reason to build a server and how campaigns for Mission: Impossible and The Odyssey turned entertainment marketing into interactive community experiences.

The episode also explores why most fans do not build anything and why brands should empower the small group of creators who carry a community. Plus, Aston Martin’s digital-only Call of Duty vehicle, Discord’s Trending Games page and Fortnite’s Hot Bat Summer.

Is Discord becoming the infrastructure behind the gaming industry?

Watch the full episode now.

#Discord #GamingMarketing #GamingCommunities #CommunityMarketing #ImmersiveMarketing

Chapters:
Intro - 00:00 
Announcements - 01:40
News - 03:46
Adam Bauer Interview - 15:24
Subscribe - 39:38

Follow Adam Bauer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamrbauer/

Follow Discord - https://www.linkedin.com/company/discord/

Follow Us:

Co-Hosts:
Nic Hill -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Brandon Iverson -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-iverson11/

Producer / Editor 
Edward Regue -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay

The billboard is no longer stuck to the ground.

In Episode 75 of Brands In Play, Nic Hill sits down with Kevin Prince, Co-Founder of Heads In the Sky and SkyAd, to explore how drone technology is turning the night sky into a new canvas for brands.
Kevin has spent his career chasing attention. Now, he is doing it hundreds of feet above Hollywood.

From breaking Guinness World Records to bringing Godzilla and Skeletor to life through thousands of drones, Kevin explains what separates an unforgettable spectacle from another oversized ad. He also breaks down SkyAd, a new approach designed to bring the traditional billboard into the earned-media era.

Before the interview, Nic and Ely Santos discuss how Spider-Man: Brand New Day is giving brands narrative real estate inside its wider story, Lenovo’s move from XR toward AI glasses, Fox and Toonstar’s plans for AI-powered branded entertainment, and whether AI scraping could undermine Reddit’s advertising business.

Is the sky the future of out-of-home advertising, or will the spectacle lose its impact once every brand starts looking up?

Episode 75 is out now.

#BrandsInPlay #DroneMarketing #ImmersiveMarketing #BrandStrategy

If you're enjoying Brands In Play, make sure to follow the show. Every week we break down how brands, platforms and creators operate inside gaming and immersive media.


Chapters:
Intro - 00:00 
Announcements - 01:12
News - 02:23
Kevin Prince Interview - 16:46
Subscribe - 30:10

Follow Kevin Prince - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kdprince/

Heads In The Sky - https://www.linkedin.com/company/heads-in-the-sky/

Follow Us:

Co-Hosts:
Nic Hill -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Ely Santos -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/meta-ely/

Producer / Editor 
Edward Regue -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay

Episode 74 of Brands In Play features hosts Nic Hill and Ely Santos as they break down the biggest stories shaping gaming, immersive media, and brand innovation before Nic sits down with Rory Byrne, Founder of the creative innovation studio LocationXR, to explore why the future of immersive marketing will be built around places people already gather.

Rory shares why "the metaverse was a destination with no address," how entertainment retail complexes are changing the way brands think about physical spaces, and why creating memorable experiences will always outperform simply delivering messages.

We also cover this week's biggest headlines:

Meta launches Pocket, an AI-powered social feed built around user created mini games.

Xbox signals a major shift as Minecraft moves closer to becoming a creator or UGC gaming platform.

Smart glasses startup Even Realities reaches unicorn status with a privacy-first approach.

Claire's partners with Roblox creator Lana Ray, showing how physical retail and digital rewards are becoming one connected experience.

If you're enjoying Brands In Play, make sure to follow the show. Every week we break down how brands, platforms and creators operate inside gaming and immersive media.

Brands In Play Episode 74 is now live on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere else!

#BrandsInPlay #LocationXR


Chapters:
Intro - 00:00 
Announcements - 01:14
News - 02:02
Rory Byrne Interview - 18:14
Subscribe - 35:05

Follow Rory Byrne - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rory-byrne/

Location XR - https://www.linkedin.com/company/locationxr/

Follow Us:

Co-Hosts:
Nic Hill -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Ely Santos -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/meta-ely/

Producer / Editor 
Edward Regue -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay

This week on Brands In Play, we're joined by gaming journalist, creator, and cultural connector Gerard "HipHopGamer" Williams for one of our most energetic conversations yet.

We unpack why every company should have a gaming division, why relationships always matter more than follower counts and how brands like Chase are making a positive impact through their game marketing strategy. Gerard also shares his thoughts on representation in gaming, the future of creator marketing, and drops exclusive insights into what players can expect from GTA VI.

This week's news:

• PUBG Mobile kicks off its FIFA World Cup integration.

• Claude Opus 5 returns after Anthropic patches major security concerns.

• Sony invests $100 million into immersive entertainment company Cosm.

• Samsung's upcoming smart glasses leak ahead of launch.

Real-Time Review:

We break down McDonald's new Snapchat World Cup AR activation with a special guest appearance from Frank Shi, Co-Founder of Paper Triangles, the studio behind the experience. He explains how the campaign was built, why low-friction AR experiences outperform traditional ads, and where immersive brand marketing is heading next.

If you're enjoying Brands In Play, make sure to follow the show. Every week we break down how brands, platforms and creators operate inside gaming and immersive media.

Brands In Play Episode 73 is now live on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere else!

#brandsinplay  #hiphopgamer

Chapters:
Intro - 00:00
Announcements - 01:30
News - 02:36
Paper Triangles McDonalds Snap Lens  - 16:10
HipHop Gamer Interview - 21:05
Subscribe - 54:59

Follow HipHopGamer - https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@hiphopgamer⁩  

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hiphopgamer/

Follow Us:

Co-Hosts:
Nic Hill -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Ely Santos -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/meta-ely/

Producer / Editor 
Edward Regue -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay

This week on Brands In Play, Nic Hill and Ely Santos sit down with Chris Mann, SVP of RevXP at sports marketing agency rEvolution. Chris takes us behind the scenes of major branded activations with Chipotle and more, explaining why authenticity, community trust, and understanding gaming culture are now essential for brands.

This week's headlines:

• Meta launches its first smart glasses line beyond Ray-Ban with a new Kylie Jenner collaboration.

• GTA 6's launch plans are revealed, including pricing and release strategy. 

• Apple is reportedly targeting 2027 for its own smart glasses.

• Dentsu expands its global fandom intelligence platform. 

Real-Time Review:

Ely Santos breaks down Adidas' ambitious World Cup inspired collaboration with Brawl Stars. From in-game tournaments and exclusive digital rewards to physical apparel, loyalty integration, and live fan experiences. This campaign has everything!

If you're enjoying Brands In Play, make sure to follow the show. Every week we break down how brands, platforms and creators operate inside gaming and immersive media.

Brands In Play Episode 72 is now live on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere else!

#BrandsInPlay #rEvolution #Chipotle #Supercell

Chapters:
Intro - 00:00 
Announcements - 01:21
News - 04:32
Adidas in Brawl Stars  - 18:23
Chris Mann Interview - 23:56
Subscribe - 49:04

Follow Christopher Mann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismannsports/

Follow rEvolution - https://www.linkedin.com/company/revolution

Follow Us:

Co-Hosts:
Nic Hill -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Ely Santos -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/meta-ely/

Producer / Editor 
Edward Regue -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay