Brands In Play

First Ever Hologram Ad Network

In Episode 66 of Brands In Play Morgan Pomish and Nic Hill are joined by David Nussbaum, Founder and Chairman of Proto Hologram. We unpack the world's first always-on holographic advertising network and how brands are turning malls and public spaces into immersive channels. We also get into AI agents, holographic storytelling, and whether these systems become infrastructure rather than novelty. News headlines this week:  • Lay's uses WhatsApp as part of its FIFA World Cup sponsorship strategy  • EA Sports and Visa announce a major multi-year in-game partnership  • Fortnite brings animated moms into the Item Shop for Mother's Day  • GameStop attempts to acquire eBay but fails For this week's Real-Time Review, we're heading to the Think LA Gaming Brunch to hear directly from industry leaders, marketers, and gaming executives on one question: What can gaming offer marketers that no other channel can? Expect perspectives on attention, participation, community, and why gaming still remains one of advertising's most under-invested spaces. 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 66 is now live on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere else! Chapters: Intro - 00:00  Announcements - 01:30 News - 03:09 ThinkLA Brunch 26 - 14:33 David Nussbaum Interview - 19:26 Subscribe - 51:42 Follow David Nussbaum  - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dnussbaum/ Follow Proto Hologram - https://www.linkedin.com/company/portl-inc/ Follow Us: Co-Hosts: Nic Hill -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/ Morgan Pomish-  https://www.linkedin.com/in/morganpomish/ Producer / Editor  Edward Regue -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/ Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/ #brandsinplay  #protohologram #thinkla

Brands Are Spending in the Wrong Places

What happens when attention moves… but brand budgets don't? This week, Nic Hill and Morgan Pomish sit down with Zoe Soon, Head of Creator and Gaming at the Interactive Advertising Bureau.  Zoe unpacks why outdated assumptions about "gamers" are still shaping brand decisions, why interactive media hasn't yet earned the measurement standards it needs to unlock serious budget, and why creators are better understood as media ecosystems than sponsorship line items. The bigger question running through all of it: will advertising catch up to where culture already is? Also in this episode: The week's biggest news, including Meta's 10% workforce reduction, Webtoons and Genies bringing AI characters to mobile, Porsche's move into League of Legends: Wild Rift, and Roblox increasing creator payouts by 42% for 18+ content. And in the Real-Time Review, Nic heads into Fortnite to break down the Star Wars activation and content drop! A fascinating case study in UGC, creator tooling, and what entertainment IP feels like in a playable world.  If you are liking the show, give us a follow. We break down how brands, platforms, and creators operate inside gaming, UGC Platforms and Immersive media. The Brands In Play Episode 65 is now live on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere else! Chapters: Intro - 00:00  Announcements - 02:03 News - 03:41 Star Wars on Fortnite - 19:57 Zoe Soon Interview - 29:43 Subscribe - 47:39 Follow Zoe Soon - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-soon/ Follow The IAB - https://www.linkedin.com/company/iab/ Follow Us: Co-Hosts: Nic Hill -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/ Morgan Pomish-  https://www.linkedin.com/in/morganpomish/ Producer / Editor  Edward Regue -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/ Creative Director  Ben Caro https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroprofile/ Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/ #brandsinplay  #brandsinplay  #iab

IGN Entertainment Generations In Play Audience Report

This week on Brands In Play, Nic Hill sits down with Karl Stewart, SVP of Worldwide Marketing and Head of IMAGINE AI at IGN Entertainment, Tate Fiebing, Senior Director of Business Intelligence at IGN, and Brent Koning, Global Head of Gaming at Dentsu, for a sharp breakdown of the new Generations In Play audience insights report. Want the full IGN Entertainment Generations In Play Audience Report? Get the FULL REPORT at https://www.ign.com/special/generationsinplay/ The conversation looks at how different generations engage with entertainment, where habits overlap, where they sharply diverge, and what marketers continue to misunderstand about gaming audiences at scale. It’s a grounded look at audience behavior, platform choice, and why gaming now sits at the center of modern media strategy rather than at its edges. In the news this week: Overwolf launches Gamer Grid, The Walt Disney Company employees are increasingly using AI tools internally, IKEA builds a branded store inside  Pokémon Pokopia  and new social media restrictions in Indonesia could have a ripple effect for Roblox. For our Real-Time Review Nic takes a closer look at GoGo SqueeZ’s new activation on Roblox - Go-go Climb. He breaks down what works, where the engagement hooks are, and what brands should notice about how players are being guided through the experience. And as we move into May, this is our final episode with @Lee Keebler! Thanks for holding down the fort Lee.   The Brands In Play Episode 64 is now live on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere else! Chapters: Intro - 00:00  Announcements - 02:33 News - 07:19 Go Go Climb on Roblox - 25:55 IGN Entertainment Generations In Play Audience Report - 31:51 Subscribe - 01:28:18 Follow Karl Stewart  - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewartkarl/ Follow Tate Fiebing  - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tate-f-23332432/ Follow Brent Koning - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentko/ Follow IGN Entertainment - https://www.linkedin.com/company/ign-entertainment/ Follow Dentsu - https://www.linkedin.com/company/dentsu/posts/?feedView=all Follow Us: Co-Hosts: Nic Hill -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/ Lee Kebler -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/leekebler/ Producer / Editor  Edward Regue -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/ Creative Director  Ben Caro https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroprofile/ Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/ #brandsinplay  #brandsinplay  #sawhorseproductions  #IGNEntertainment #dentsu

Roblox Explains the Controversial Ad Revenue Share

Episode 63 of Brands In Play goes straight to the source. Recorded live at World Builders Summit, Nic Hill and Brandon Iverson sit down with Roblox leaders Julie Piskin and Nick McLachlan for one of the clearest conversations yet on where immersive advertising is heading. From why creators should be valued like media companies, to Roblox’s controversial new ad revenue share model, to the bigger push toward measurement standards that unlock traditional media budgets. Don’t miss out! In the news this week we cover Sanrio launching its own gaming studio, Roblox officially leaning into the word “games” over “experiences,” and a bold prediction on whether GTA 6 could become the most overhyped launch in entertainment history. For this week’s Real Time Review, the team breaks down FIFA Super Soccer on Roblox, including Adidas’ branded Football Festival integration, why FIFA’s always-on platform strategy is smarter than short campaign bursts, and what happens when brands stop building one-off worlds and start embedding themselves inside proven games with scale, retention, and community already built in. If you are liking the show, give us a follow. We break down how brands, platforms, and creators operate inside gaming, UGC Platforms and Immersive media. The Brands In Play Episode 63 is now live on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere else! Chapters: Intro - 00:00  Announcements - 02:38 News - 04:36 FIFA Super Soccer - 16:44 Roblox Interview - 21:43 Hit, Miss, Bet - 52:24 Follow Julie Pisken  - https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliepiskin/ Follow Nick McLachlan  - hhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nickmclachlan/ Follow Roblox - https://www.linkedin.com/company/roblox/posts/?feedView=all 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/ Creative Director  Ben Caro https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroprofile/ Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/ #brandsinplay  #worldbuilderssummit #roblox  #sawhorseproductions

AI Is The Product. Infrastructure Is The Moat

In Episode 62 of Brands In Play Lee Kebler and Nic Hill are joined by Cathy Hackl, CEO & Founder of Future Dynamics and Futurist in Residence at Nokia.  Cathy reframes the entire AI conversation away from models and toward networks. Positioning companies like Nokia as critical to enabling agentic and physical AI. The key idea: AI doesn’t scale without connectivity, and that’s where the real moat is forming. This week in the news: Walmart enters AAA gaming with FC 26 integration, Allbirds pivots to AI infrastructure as “NewBird AI”, Roblox introduces new child safety account tiers + creator subscription model and Snapchat pushes conversational commerce as a TikTok alternative.  For the Real-Time Review, Lee takes us into Dove’s “Beauty Machine” activation! An IRL installation designed to challenge standardized beauty norms by contrasting algorithmic “ideal faces” with real human diversity. If you are liking the show, give us a follow. We break down how brands, platforms, and creators operate inside gaming, UGC Platforms and Immersive media. If you are liking the show, give us a follow. We break down how brands, platforms, and creators operate inside gaming, UGC Platforms and Immersive media. The Brands In Play Episode 62 is now live on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere else! Chapters: Intro - 00:00  Announcements - 02:53 News - 08:00 Dove Beauty Machine - 30:07 Cathy Hackl Interview - 36:14 Subscribe - 01:02:27 Follow Cathy Hackl  - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathyhackl/ Follow Future Dynamics - https://www.linkedin.com/company/futuredynamicslab/ Follow Nokia - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nokia/ Follow Us: Co-Hosts: Nic Hill -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/ Lee Kebler -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/leekebler/ Producer / Editor  Edward Regue -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/ Creative Producer Dr. Giovanna Casimiro https://www.linkedin.com/in/ggcasimiro/ Creative Director  Ben Caro https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroprofile/ Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/ #brandsinplay #marketingpodcast #cathyhackl #nokia