Telegram founder arrested, Perplexity takes on Google, advertising shrinks – Games Growth with Upptic

There have been significant developments across the tech landscape, with stories ranging from the legal troubles of Telegram’s founder to the advertising ambitions of AI search engine Perplexity and new insights into the gaming ad market from Mintegral. Each of these stories has implications for the broader tech, marketing, and gaming industries.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov faces legal challenges in France

Pavel Durov, the enigmatic founder of Telegram, finds himself at the center of a legal storm after being arrested in France on charges related to enabling illegal activities on his platform and failing to cooperate with law enforcement. Durov, who fled Russia years ago to escape government demands for user data from his previous platform, VK, is now navigating similar challenges in Europe.

Telegram, which has become a pivotal platform for web3 projects and gaming communities, is now under intense scrutiny. The platform boasts around 900 million users and has become synonymous with privacy and encrypted communications. However, as Games Growth with Upptic host Warren Woodward pointed out, this perception isn’t entirely accurate — Telegram’s default messaging is not encrypted, and its group chats are largely unprotected.

The case against Durov is part of a broader debate over holding tech executives personally accountable for the activities on their platforms. With Telegram implicated in various criminal cases in France, including child exploitation and drug trafficking, the legal outcome could set a significant precedent. This has raised concerns within the gaming and web3 communities that rely heavily on Telegram for communication and user acquisition.

As Durov awaits further legal proceedings, currently out on €5 million bail, the tech world is watching closely. The outcome could have ripple effects across other platforms, potentially impacting giants like Meta and X (formerly Twitter), especially in regions with stringent regulatory environments.

Perplexity AI eyes the advertising market with bold plans

In a move that could reshape the AI-powered search engine landscape, Perplexity, a rising competitor to Google, has announced plans to integrate advertising into its platform by Q4 2024. The news, highlighted by Digiday, reveals that Perplexity aims to offer brands a way to reach educated consumers through a variety of ad formats, including sponsored questions, video ads, and display ads.

The ambitious plan includes a target effective cost per thousand impressions (eCPM) north of $50, a figure that has raised eyebrows in the marketing community. As Games Growth with Upptic host Warren Woodward noted, promising high eCPMs while ensuring ads don’t disrupt the user experience is a challenging balancing act. The concern is that advertisers may be reluctant to pay premium prices for ads that aren’t prominently displayed.

Perplexity’s strategy also includes a potential revenue-sharing model with content publishers, addressing a key concern in the AI space — compensating original content creators whose work is used to generate AI-driven results. However, the platform’s current scale and revenue projections suggest it has a long way to go before it can rival Google’s advertising dominance.

As the AI search engine market continues to evolve, Perplexity’s early moves could shape how AI-driven advertising develops, offering both opportunities and challenges for marketers looking to leverage this emerging channel.

Mintegral’s 2024 report highlights shifts in the gaming ad market

Mintegral’s latest report, the “State of Games Media Buying Spotlight for 2024,” offers a deep dive into the trends shaping the gaming ad market. While the report excludes Chinese data, it provides valuable insights into the U.S. and other key regions like Southeast Asia, India, and the Middle East.

One notable trend is the stagnation in the number of app advertisers on Mintegral’s platform, with a significant drop in new advertisers over the past year. This mirrors broader trends in the performance marketing space, where economic conditions have led to a pullback in aggressive growth marketing strategies.

Another key takeaway is the dominance of video ads within the gaming ad ecosystem. Video ads account for the majority of ad impressions across most game types, with playable ads gaining traction, particularly in the hypercasual segment. Despite this, the hypercasual genre itself has seen a decline in ad impressions, reflecting its waning popularity among advertisers.

Warren from Games Growth notes that while video ads continue to perform well, playable ads offer unique opportunities for engagement, often outperforming traditional video ads when well-executed. The report’s findings suggest that as the gaming ad market matures, advertisers may need to adapt their strategies to maximize ROI, particularly as certain genres and formats fall out of favor.