Discord Quests and what they mean for Marketing
Discord Quests, a new feature described in a blog post by Discord’s own Senior Vice President Peter Sellis, has started to see use this April. This new feature has attracted significant coverage online and it aims to merge or integrate advertising with a kind of gamification element in a new modality not often seen in marketing in online platforms. Essentially, these quests are sponsored by the IP owners of various online video games including but not limited to:
When players log onto the Discord application from the web browser or via a dedicated desktop app, they will be met with an instance of a Quest. Like any objective in a video game, a Quest is composed of a setting (the game sponsoring the quest), objective (more on that later), and a reward (again, more on that later).
The player through this quest may learn about opportunities to earn various rewards from completing it and what to do to achieve them. Once a Discord user has opted into a quest and enters the process of completing it, their friends on the same platform may discover the same quest and either join or observe. It’s plain to see the potential in online advertising that this new modality represents, but let’s learn more about how this impacts players, sponsors.
What Makes Discord Quests Special?
They represent an unconventional means of reaching Discord’s large userbase of online gamers and one tailored to the ways in which they use and enjoy the platform. Most ads are static, non-interactive, and embody what is essentially an online hyperlink with graphic design. What this new feature represents for marketers and sponsors is a way to generate engagement from an active audience. A traditional ad can be viewed by a user, either clicked or ignored and forgotten while more interactive ads such as these can represent more commitment and time investment for the player and therefore more attention, more focus from a target demographic.
How do they Work?
Assume you are part of a game studio’s marketing division and decide to sponsor a discord quest to promote your firm’s new offering. Your goal is to entice a gamer’s circle to start engaging with your game and potentially try it out themselves or even promote it via word of mouth. Discord’s own website has useful information and and a form to fill out for those game developers thinking of signing on to have their quests. Once you the form is completed, you will reach out to discord and discuss the terms of your quest.
Once a Quest is online, a player may see one, find it interesting and work to complete it. How is a player matched to a quest? It would be silly if your innovative new puzzle game aimed for children is advertised to a hardened veteran of online military tactics games wouldn’t it be? Discord’s solution to this is to match games to users using information it knows about the user such as:
- The User’s Gaming Tastes
- Their Age
- Geographic Location
Users may of course opt out of having their information influence what quests they’ll be delivered as this is a form of Targeted Advertising that can make users uncomfortable.
The user may take on the quest, carry it out to completion and reap its rewards, sharing their achievements with their friends. A quest’s objectives usually involve playing the sponsored game and performing some action in it (such as stream it to a friend) which can increase attention and engagement.
In Conclusion
Discord Quests represent a new and interesting modality in game advertising and online advertising more broadly in a way tailored to and designed with regards for the discord platform’s primary demographic, gamers. Marketers and Game Developers would do well to pay attention as whtere or not this new modality succeeds there will be much to learn and improve over in the coming months.