Two weeks ago, we attended the Gamesforum conference in Seattle, swapping notes with other gaming industry professionals on the current marketing & business buzz—from UA and ASO, to the ins and outs of ad monetization and the latest online trends.

And our very own Chris Brownridge gave a talk on leveraging AI in video production and showing off some of the cool AI tools we use here at Flixr.

(👀 Spoiler alert: we’re working on a blog series on how AI can assist in video production. With an incredibly mighty but incredibly small team, we produce 6000+ videos a year — and we’re gonna share how AI aids us in the process! So, stay tuned – you don’t want to miss the behind-the-scenes on this one! The best way to make sure you get notified when we release this is to sign up for our newsletter.)

Anyway, that’s enough about us 😉 What we really wanna do here is share with you our biggest learnings from the Gamesforum conference:

1) User-Generated Content is King!

UGC is not just a leading creative trend—it’s the zeitgeist of our digital era.

And we all expect it to grow even more EOY and into 2024. 

This, of course, works perfectly for us, as we’re predominantly focusing on producing UGC video creatives for our clients, with creators, influencers, and actors from all over the world. 

2) UGC = Relatability

Let’s be real – people are tired of glossy, high-budget ads. What grabs them are stories they can relate to.

And that’s what UGC is –  it’s raw, it’s real, and it’s reshaping the ad landscape.

When people see content from relatable individuals rather than a faceless brand, they see their own reflections – their likes, dislikes, humor, and challenges.

So UGC is not about the slick production quality of traditional ads – it’s that authentic vibe that turns viewers into fans because it showcases stories that resonate on a personal level. 

That’s all well and good, but what does that mean for companies that want to advertise apps and games?

It’s simple – this means that you’ll wanna create ads that don’t look like ads. (Btw, for tips on how to do this, check out our articles on UGC Concepting & UGC Scripting. We cover all this in detail.)

3) Interrupt the Pattern; Stop the Scroll.

The fact that you need to ”Hook them or lose them” is not news to anybody in the digital landscape, and that’s one of the things people discussed at the conference. 

”Scroll Stopping” and ”Pattern Interruption” were the buzzwords, and it’s clear why – in the fast-paced arena of online content, capturing your audience’s attention in those first 3-4 seconds is a make-or-break deal.

So the key to creating a winning UGC is to start with a hook that captivates instantly. This isn’t just about what you’re saying in the video; it’s the unexpected sounds, the snappy transitions, the vibrant locales, and the relatable faces that shatter the scroll-trance. 

4) Test, Test, Test. And then Test Some More. 

Our longstanding belief in the power of testing & iterations was reinforced at the conference.

What it comes down to is that honing the ultimate user experience isn’t about intuition; it’s about informed iteration!

By tweaking elements—from hooks, locations, and tone of the scripts, to actor gender, vibe, ethnicity, and accent, to different CTAs and end-cards—and then analyzing what works, you can learn what your audience responds to and then either pivot or keep doing what you’re doing, if it proves effective!

5) AI is 🔥HOT🔥

Yes, AI is getting hotter and hotter. In fact, it’s so hot right now that many people are afraid it might burn! 

Many of the biggest companies in the gaming and marketing industries are not allowed to use AI because of company policies.

While the whole AI debate is a grey zone currently – in a practical, moral, ethical, and legislative sense, one thing’s certain – AI’s not going anywhere anytime soon, and with new tools popping up daily, it’s poised to become an integral part of our personal and professional lives in the future. 

However, we at Flixr don’t believe that it’s gonna replace people & teams. But what we do believe is that, in time, people & teams that use AI will replace those that don’t.

And we’ll talk more about that in our upcoming article series on AI and its applications in video production! Sign up for our newsletter to get notified when this series comes out!

For more tips and tricks, and handy tools for your video ads, check out Flixr’s resource center!