Rey Tiempo is a chief creative officer who turned his long-standing passion for gaming into two important enterprises for brands and agencies. He is the creator of Game On, the industry’s only content hub dedicated to gaming x marketing; of Co-Op Play, the creative gaming ecosystem agency; and of the In-Game Ads Awards, the first advertising industry awards celebrating entirely fictional ads for fictional brands within video games, judged by top creative leaders. 

Tiempo is a sought-after global thought leader, mentor, and speaker, representing the Philippines and leading gaming conversations on the most prestigious stages across Asia and around the world, most recently recognised as a Top 100 Global Creative Leader of the Year candidate by Creativepool. He has been ranked as the #1 creative director in the Philippines and has consistently placed among the top creatives in Asia Pacific. At ADFEST this year, he will hold the workshop, Plus Humans: The In-Game Ads Awards, Live Judging in Session where attendees will understand what makes in-game ads tick – then judge them; and he joins the panel discussion, Game On, Plus: Growing Asia’s First Gaming X Marketing Content Hub.

Here he talks about building a gaming-for-brands agency and ecosystem, the In-Game Ads Awards and how brands can tap into the opportunities that abound for them in gaming.

ADFEST: What is it about gaming that made you turn your attention away from CCO roles in mainstream creative agencies to build “an agency and ecosystem building full‑scale gamified experiences across media, content and PR”?

Rey Tiempo: I’ve been a gamer all my life, it’s always been my passion. Advertising is my passion as well, from the moment I entered the industry as a copywriter some years back. From the very beginning, I’ve always tried to merge my passions, to bridge worlds. Interestingly, it was never really about moving away from mainstream roles, but about ADDING to existing disciplines and paradigms.

I discovered early on (as a comparative literature graduate) that everything is text and subtext, operating through different languages and systems built on patterns. It wasn’t a big leap, then, to move from traditionally singular-path roles to one that merges worlds – in my case, gaming and creative advertising.

I remain endlessly fascinated by how these two worlds, these two disciplines speak entirely different languages and have since made it my mission to stand in the middle, acting as interpreter for both sides. Because while the creative advertising industry has begun recognising creative gaming work (and I’ve had the privilege of helping global award shows build gaming-specific categories) the space is still, surprisingly, in its very early stages of full brand adoption. It remains, in many ways, relatively uncharted territory (pun very much intended).

And to truly offer its value to brands, I had to build the structure from the ground up, devising proprietary frameworks anchored in an ecosystem approach, specifically designed to make creative gaming more accessible, streamlined, scalable, and, above all, replicable and measurable for clients. So far, the results speak for themselves. More mainstream brands are embracing the ecosystem model, and it can only get better from here.

Ultimately, on a personal level, it’s the desire and constant drive to improve, and to embrace things that have never been done before. Professionally, it’s about continuing to build, to truly evolve (and not just pay lip service to the idea), and to be fully immersed in the worlds our audiences inhabit. I believe the more than 3 billion gamers around the world would agree.

ADFEST: What was the trigger for launching the In-Game Ads Awards. Will you please describe them for the uninitiated.

Rey Tiempo: Well, again, it came from my drive to merge the best of the worlds I currently play in.

In advertising, I’ve been fortunate, and truly grateful, to work with industry award shows, whether organising and putting them together or being invited to serve as part of the jury. Meanwhile, in the gaming world, I’ve collected years’ worth of screengrabs from various titles. Most capture funny moments, unexpected achievements, or snapshots taken in photo mode (endless hours of fun and sometimes feels like a mini-game in itself).

In ultra-realistic game worlds that try to mirror reality as closely as possible (open-world games like the Spider-Man series are great examples, where a near-perfect replica of New York exists), I often encounter fictional billboards, signage, and posters for entirely made-up or parody brands. (Kudos to the dev teams who take the time to craft these in-game ads.) I screengrab them constantly. Some are hilarious, some are sharp and witty, and some just downright silly. And many are… well, boring ads too, just like in the real world. I’ve always imagined fictional ad agencies inside these video game universes, with fictional creative teams pitching and producing campaigns for fictional brands.

And that got me thinking…what if these fictional ads were judged by a real-world, seasoned awards jury?!

So, yes, I put two and two together. I gathered some of my favorite screengrabs of these fictional ads and began inviting real-world, award-winning creatives to judge them. The In-Game Ads Awards was born.

So far, we’ve invited some of the industry’s best and brightest to judge: Tay Guan Hin, APAC Regional Director for The One Club for Creativity; Chow Kok Keong, formerly of Innocean Indonesia; Valerie Madon, formerly of McCann Worldgroup APAC; Ted Lim of DIFF Creative Consultants; Alice Chou, CCO of Dentsu Creative Taiwan. We even staged a live judging session with creative leaders at the recent London International Awards Creative LIAisons. They’ve judged fictional work from diverse video game worlds such as the Spider-Man series, Infamous Second Son, Cyberpunk 2077, Dead Space, and Grand Theft Auto V. – and some of these fictional ads are admittedly better than the majority of real-world ads.

And now, with this workshop and session at ADFEST, I am bringing that same experience, giving delegates the chance to participate in a live judging session of more fictional video game ads. Looking forward to it.

ADFEST: Are there still untapped opportunities for brands in games?

Rey Tiempo: This is exactly why I built Co-Op Play, and the proprietary frameworks behind it, as a creative gaming ecosystem agency. It’s also why I continue to grow Game On as the industry’s Gaming X Marketing content hub.

Gaming has become the bedrock of pop culture. Its influence is undeniable. Its audience is unshakeable. Its creative potential is limitless. Its business trajectory is exponential, you only have to look at the latest industry reports; the numbers are everywhere.

The primary challenge for clients and brands, especially those non-endemic to gaming, lies in deep-seated myths rooted in misunderstanding. And I’ve witnessed this first-hand among some of the biggest brands in the world. At the core of it all is something I always go back to - misaligned language.

At Co-Op Play, our systems are designed to bridge that gap. With Game On, we speak those dual languages. We exist to overcome those barriers. And more importantly, to properly articulate challenges and ideas in ways that translate into tangible business outcomes. Understanding HOW a brand enters the space is just as crucial as WHY it should be there in the first place. The canvas is so massive, so new, that whatever our brands create will almost certainly feel unprecedented.

Untapped opportunities? Yes!

ADFEST: You are going to ADFEST this year to lead a workshop and join a session panel. What is it about ADFEST that made these decisions?

Rey Tiempo: I’ve always maintained this – ADFEST brings out the best in the APAC creative community. The vibe is inclusive, the festival attracts some of the warmest, most genuine people in the industry, and the work being celebrated is consistently excellent and truly representative of the region’s very best.

More importantly, ADFEST has been a tremendous supporter of creative gaming and my efforts not only to educate the industry and celebrate great work, but also to lead the conversation and point the way toward more meaningful, more excellent work - work that truly respects both gamers and brands.

ADFEST has been a significant part of my journey as an industry creative from the very beginning. I’m deeply grateful and always honoured that we continue to be on this journey together.