Kira Chesalina: “In gaming, co-creating with influencers isn’t just a trend, it’s the future of marketing”

Written by Tappx

Created Feb 18, 2025 | 2 min read

Highlighted questions

As a Creative Director, what’s your approach to balancing innovative ideas with meeting business objectives, particularly in the gaming industry?
What trends are you seeing in influencer marketing for gaming, and how do you see these evolving over the next few years?
Matching brands with influencers can make or break a campaign. What factors do you consider most critical when pairing gaming brands with influencers?
With so much competition for audience attention, what creative formats or content types are currently most effective in influencer marketing for gaming?
AI is becoming increasingly prevalent in marketing. How is AAA Agency leveraging AI in influencer marketing campaigns for gaming? Are there any particular tools or techniques you find especially valuable?
What advice would you give to brands entering the gaming space for the first time and looking to create impactful storytelling campaigns with influencers?

In this exclusive interview, we have with Kira Chesalina, Creative Director at AAA Agency, to uncover the secrets behind crafting successful influencer marketing campaigns in the ever-evolving world of gaming. With a wealth of experience working across top platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok, Kira offers a fresh perspective on blending creativity with business objectives.

From co-creating with influencers to leveraging AI in campaigns, Kira dives deep into the strategies and trends shaping the future of influencer marketing in the gaming industry. Whether you’re looking to tap into gaming culture or optimize your brand’s presence, Kira’s insights will help you navigate the landscape with confidence and creativity.

As a Creative Director, what’s your approach to balancing innovative ideas with meeting business objectives, particularly in the gaming industry?

People may mistake creativity for frivolity — thinking creatives just sip overpriced coffee while making unnecessary, crazy AI visuals. But for me, creativity is finding the perfect solution for a client’s needs. In gaming, we work with a team of analytics and influencer managers to understand the audience’s pains and needs, find the perfect platforms, and speak their language. The creative process includes a lot of analytical work mixed with smart digital solutions. The key is the instrument, platform, or solution must be useful for our client’s goals.

What trends are you seeing in influencer marketing for gaming, and how do you see these evolving over the next few years?

I see a lot of co-creation between gamers (including gaming influencers) and publishers/studios. Game companies understand the importance of building a community in collaboration with their marketing teams. They offer early access to influencers for reviews, co-create characters, and let streamers develop their stories in the games.

I also see the importance of communicating with the audience and making the production team visible – it’s always a good idea to communicate in influencers’ comments or content and get valuable audience feedback.

Matching brands with influencers can make or break a campaign. What factors do you consider most critical when pairing gaming brands with influencers?

That’s a thought-provoking question! Well, you have to study your audience, because how you see them and how they actually look can be dramatically different. For example, in reality, the My Little Pony fan base has more adult males than little girls. So, you have to do your homework by studying the social demographics, behavior, and feedback.

At AAA, we usually do this before we start an influencer campaign so we can develop the best strategy for communicating with our target audience.

With so much competition for audience attention, what creative formats or content types are currently most effective in influencer marketing for gaming?

There is no one-size-fits-all solution: the gaming world is infinite. On the one hand, you have a millennial mom playing Candy Crush while waiting for a PTA meeting to start, and on the other hand, you have her kid playing Minecraft after school. So they’re both watching YouTube, but it’s a completely different YouTube for each of them. As I said, research is key: talk to the client’s marketing team, get the data from the back office, do the surveys, and then build the perfect strategy for your game and your client.

AI is becoming increasingly prevalent in marketing. How is AAA Agency leveraging AI in influencer marketing campaigns for gaming? Are there any particular tools or techniques you find especially valuable?

AI is a broad technology that really helps us in different areas of our work: for example, we sometimes use AI to better analyze and compile influencer data. On the other hand, we have created several campaigns using AI to enhance the visuals: we merged real influencers with AI-created game characters.

What advice would you give to brands entering the gaming space for the first time and looking to create impactful storytelling campaigns with influencers?

Study your audience, create a long-term communication plan (1 month is not enough), and don’t be a noob (just kidding). But if it sounds too much, you can always team up with an agency like ours — to get some help in crafting a GOAT campaign for your needs.