AdWeek Launches First-Ever Gaming Summit, Spotlighting Esports and Brand Marketing

Next week, advertising and media executives will meet for the first-ever Gaming Summit at AdWeek. This new event will look at how brands can reach people through gaming and other interactive entertainment.

The one-day summit will be on Tuesday, October 7, as part of the larger AdWeek New York 2025 conference. There will be panel discussions, case studies, and brand showcases at the event that focus on esports, livestreaming, user-generated content, and immersive digital worlds.

That overlap between esports, advertising, and real-time audience interaction is also changing how betting sites grow. As tournaments get bigger, betting companies are finding ways to ante up the game. Coverage from esports betting USA points out that this shift is about how fans and brands meet in the same digital space. For users, that means betting and watching are blending into one experience, where engagement happens second by second instead of after the game ends.

The programming is overseen by an advisory board led by Rhiannon Apple, who is the senior vice president of client services at Super League (NASDAQ: SLE). The board includes executives from L’Oréal, Publicis Media, YouGov, and Walton Isaacson. The agenda for the summit is being put together by Super League, a gaming media company that focuses on playable ads and virtual engagement.

Apple said in a statement announcing the lineup, “Together, we’ve shaped a program that highlights the latest trends in gaming while showing brands how to engage these audiences authentically.”

The summit will start with a keynote speech called “Playable Audiences,” which will look at how the demographics of gamers are changing. Throughout the day, there will be sessions that look at how businesses use streaming and gameplay platforms to build communities and keep customers.

The event comes at a time when gaming is changing the way we market entertainment. According to Newzoo data, industry experts think that global gaming revenue will reach more than $189 billion by 2026. They also think that esports viewership will reach more than 650 million people around the world. For advertisers, this industry is both a creative and business opportunity, especially since younger people spend more time on gaming platforms than on regular social media.

Super League has had financial problems with its stock price dropping 87% over the past year, according to Investing. The company sees the summit as part of a larger plan to show off its network of gaming creators and digital campaigns to advertisers. Evo Fund recently made a $10 million strategic equity investment in the company, and the company plans to raise up to $20 million more this fall.

In a different announcement, Super League said it was expanding its partnership with Meta-Stadiums Corp. to launch a branded TikTok creator network later this year. This shows that the company is still moving toward campaigns that are driven by social video and influencers.

This is the first time that AdWeek has held a separate conference just for gaming culture. They have also expanded their coverage of streaming and the creator economy. For people who work in the industry, the event shows how gaming has gone from a niche form of entertainment to a major part of media strategy, with brands, developers, and fans all sharing the same digital space.