Discord on turning ads into rewards – and how Gen Z are actually asking for them | The Drum
Discord has spent the last decade building one of the most active digital communities in the world, connecting gamers, creators and fans through voice, video and chat. Now, that same sense of participation is powering something new – an advertising business designed around what its users already love doing. Just over a year into launching its ads division, Discord is rethinking how brands can show up inside a space built on community and choice. Instead of forcing ads into feeds, the platform has introduced Quests, interactive experiences that reward users with in-app currency or digital items for watching, playing or taking part. “Advertising wasn’t part of the original plan,” says head of global ad sales Adam Bauer. “We focused on product and community first.” With more than 200m monthly active users and 90% of them playing games, Discord is showing that respect for the audience does not have to come at the expense of revenue. Quests are the centerpiece of Discord’s new ad model. Eac