It's EPISODE 50! Before anything else, thank you to everyone who’s been listening, watching, sharing, and building with us along the way. What started as a conversation has turned into a weekly ritual, and we don’t take that for granted. Your support is the reason Brands In Play keeps showing up, digging deeper, and pushing this space forward.

This week on the show, Nic Hill and Albane Prioux sit down with Bastian Bergmann, Co-Founder & COO of Solsten and author of Press Play: Why Every Company Needs a Gaming Strategy. Bastian makes the case for gaming as a core brand channel and breaks down what most marketing teams still miss: you can’t win in games with demographic stereotypes or copy-pasted campaign thinking.

In the news, Why boring brands are failing in gaming, Coach inside The Sims 4, How Rockstar is legitimizing mod culture with an official UGC marketplace and Regal is turning Roblox play into real-world movie rewards in the US.

And for the Real-Time Review, Albane heads to London’s Outernet to break down Nike’s new immersive Nike Mind activation!

If you are liking the show, give us a follow. We break down how brands, platforms, and creators operate inside gaming, UGC Platforms and Immersive media.

The Brands In Play Episode 50 is now live on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Chapters:
Intro - 00:00
News - 02:56
Nike at London Outernet Real Time Review - 20:53
Bastian Bergmann Interview- 28:00
HIT, MISS & BET - 53:27

Purchase "Press Play: Why Every Company Needs A Gaming Strategy" on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Press-Play-Company-Gaming-Strategy/dp/1647826152

Follow Bastian Bergmann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bergmannbastian/

Follow Solsten - https://www.linkedin.com/company/getsolsten/

Follow Us:

Co-Hosts:
Nic Hill - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Albane Prioux - https://www.linkedin.com/in/albaneprioux/

Producer / Editor
Edward Regue - https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/

Creative Producer
Dr. Giovanna Casimiro https://www.linkedin.com/in/ggcasimiro/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay #pressplay

Episode 49 of Brands In Play is here and this week Nic Hill and Albane Prioux are joined by Charlie Melcher, founder of Melcher Media and The Future of Storytelling, and author of The Future of Storytelling.

In the interview, Charlie breaks down the rise of “living stories", plus what this shift means for brand storytelling, experience design, and how marketers should think about impact, memory, and measurement in immersive formats.

News this week: LEGO steals the spotlight at CES • Roblox rolls out a new advertising format • Chipotle taps into EA Sports College Football 26 • Fortnite flips the switch on in-island transactions

And for the Real-Time Review, Nic shares a first-hand look inside Cosm Los Angeles, the “shared reality” venue blending stadium energy with a dome-scale, courtside way to watch live sports.

If you are liking the show, give us a follow. We break down how brands, platforms, and creators operate inside gaming, UGC Platforms and Immersive media.

The Brands In Play Episode 49 is now live on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Chapters:
Intro - 00:00
News - 03:35
COSM Real Time Review - 18:17
Charles Melcher Interview- 27:56
HIT, MISS & BET - 52:46

Purchase "The Future of Storytelling" on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Living-Stories-Immersive-Entertainment-Modern/dp/1648293832

Follow Charles Melcher - https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesmelcher/

Follow Future of Storytelling - https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-of-storytelling/

Follow Us:

Co-Hosts:
Nic Hill - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Albane Prioux - https://www.linkedin.com/in/albaneprioux/

Producer / Editor
Edward Regue - https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/

Creative Producer
Dr. Giovanna Casimiro https://www.linkedin.com/in/ggcasimiro/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay #futureofstorytelling

Brands In Play kicks off 2026 with a predictions episode. Nic Hill and Albane Prioux center the conversation around three questions brands are already grappling with:

• Where people will spend time playing and socializing
• Which monetization models hold up under real pressure
• How creator-led economies are changing brand strategy.

This week in the news, Warner Bros. leans toward Netflix over Paramount, SandboxVR scales globally, FIFA deepens its Roblox strategy and NBA star Luka Dončić drives authentic engagement with a limited-time Roblox integration.

If you are liking the show, give us a follow. We break down how brands, platforms, and creators operate inside gaming, UGC Platforms and Immersive media.


The Brands In Play 2026 Prediction Episode is now live on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Follow Us:

Nic Hill - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Albane Prioux - https://www.linkedin.com/in/albaneprioux/
Edward Regue - https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/
Dr. Giovanna Casimiro https://www.linkedin.com/in/ggcasimiro/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay #2026predictions

This week on Brands In Play, Nic Hill and Albane Prioux are officially off for the holidays, so Episode 47 is a little different: we’re rebroadcasting one of our favourite podcasts, UNBOXING: Play and Profit for the Gaming Curious. Hosted by gaming-industry professors Laine Nooney and Joost van Dreunen.

If you work in gaming, media, or brand marketing, this is the kind of macro context that helps everything else make sense: where players are moving, how platforms really operate, and why certain business models win over time.

Consider it our holiday gift and a highly-recommended listen while we recharge for 2026.

Episode 47 is now live on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Follow Unboxing Podcast

Laine Nooney - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laine-nooney-a6726363/
Joost van Dreunen - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joostvandreunen/

Follow Us:

Nic Hill - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Albane Prioux - https://www.linkedin.com/in/albaneprioux/
Edward Regue - https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/
Dr. Giovanna Casimiro https://www.linkedin.com/in/ggcasimiro/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay #unboxingpodcast #newyear

This week’s episode is a different one: For our final show of 2025, Albane Prioux and Nic Hill press pause on the news cycle and pull together the big ideas that shaped a year of immersive marketing on Brands In Play. No guests, no real-time review, just a recap of the sharpest moments from 45 episodes.

From AR wearables moving into the mainstream (Snap Spectacles, Meta Ray-Bans) to the race between Roblox, Fortnite UEFN and Horizon to win creators and commerce, we trace how UGC platforms matured and why rewarded media, virtual economies and native dev partnerships are becoming non-negotiable.

We also revisit our guests’ best thinking on AI’s impact on creativity and production, and hold ourselves accountable by grading the predictions we made at the start of the year like Daft Punk in Fortnite and Roblox IP heading to Hollywood.

The Brands In Play 2025 Recap is now live on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Follow Us:

Nic Hill - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Albane Prioux - https://www.linkedin.com/in/albaneprioux/
Edward Regue - https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/
Dr. Giovanna Casimiro https://www.linkedin.com/in/ggcasimiro/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay #2025recap

This week on Brands In Play, Nic Hill and Albane Prioux sit down with Karl Stewart, SVP of Marketing & Head of the Imagine AI platform at IGN, to unpack how 30 years of gaming data is reshaping brand strategy: from Batman, Tomb Raider and Marvel to Roblox, Fortnite and Gen Alpha.

In the news, Netflix moves to acquire Warner Bros. film, streaming and games business, immersive OOH billboards steal attention, Meta signs multi-year AI content licensing deals with major news publishers, and Roblox launches its own YouTube series?!

For our Real-Time Review, Albane jumps into Crocs Quest on Roblox! Digging into what the experience nails, where it wobbles, and what brands can learn from how it’s built.

Follow Karl Stewart https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewartkarl/

Follow IGN Entertainment https://www.linkedin.com/company/ign-entertainment/

Follow Us:

Nic Hill - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Albane Prioux - https://www.linkedin.com/in/albaneprioux/
Edward Regue - https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/
Dr. Giovanna Casimiro https://www.linkedin.com/in/ggcasimiro/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay #ign

[NEW EPISODE ALERT]

Episode 44 of Brands In Play Nic Hill and Albane Prioux are joined by Joe Condon, founder of SEG3, where we dig into how sports, entertainment, and gaming collide around next-gen fan experiences. Joe walks through why he built SEG3, how the conference connects IP owners, brands, and developers in the same room, and the three big trends he’s watching across UGC IP, licensing, and fandom-driven ecosystems going into 2026.

In the news this week: Samsung launches its new “Game Break” ad model for connected TVs, Epic introduces a new IP approach on Fortnite, Meta’s stock climbs on reports of major metaverse cuts, and Discord rolls out in-game commerce inside official game servers.

For our Real-Time Review, Nic heads to the SEG3 conference in Los Angeles, sharing takeaways from the show floor IRL!

Follow Joe Condon https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-condon/

Follow SEG3 https://www.linkedin.com/company/seg3/

Follow Us:

Nic Hill - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Albane Prioux - https://www.linkedin.com/in/albaneprioux/
Edward Regue - https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/
Dr. Giovanna Casimiro https://www.linkedin.com/in/ggcasimiro/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay #SEG3

[NEW EPISODE ALERT]

This week on Brands In Play, Albane Prioux and Nic Hill unpack immersive holiday commerce in 2025. They cover everything from Target’s Alpine store makeovers and Walmart’s ambient-room shopping, to Amazon’s 3D “Beyond Rooms,” UGC gaming worlds and AI shopping assistants. We stress-test each one on whether it genuinely makes buying smarter and easier, or is it all gloss? Shop… or drop.

In the news, ChatGPT Goes Shopping, Adidas Enters Minecraft, Quentin Tarantino Reveals a Lost Kill Bill Chapter in Fortnite and Disney Plans a Live Animated NBA Game in Real Time.

And we wrap with a Real-Time Review of Formula 1’s new integration into Fortnite. So, how did one of the biggest sports in the world choose to enter Fortnite?

Follow Us:

Nic Hill - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-hill-6553873/
Albane Prioux - https://www.linkedin.com/in/albaneprioux/
Edward Regue - https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-regue-%C2%A9-44b0421b2/
Dr. Giovanna Casimiro https://www.linkedin.com/in/ggcasimiro/

Website: https://www.brands-in-play.com/

#brandsinplay #deepdive