It's been a year since the messaging app Discord launched its own reward-based ad format called "Quests" for PC and game console users, and they're ready to celebrate its success.

"Discord has been around for 10 years, and the first nine years, we had no advertising," Peter Sellis, senior vice president of product at Discord, said at last week's PlayFronts event put on by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). "And so we really wanted to bring something to you all that would allow you to authentically appear in front of an audience that's difficult to be authentic to, and influence them in the ways that they actually want to be influenced."

In the last year, there have been over 70 Quests that have seen a 10% acceptance rate with millions of rewards earned, according to their internal data. Discord has found the incentivized ad format so successful that they announced Quests will be available on mobile starting this June.

Here's how they created the experimental ad format and what it means for their future.

Quest pro quo

Here's how Quests work:

• Advertisers invite users to perform a specific action—like watching a video, playing a game, and more— and offer a reward like in-game boosts or themed avatar decorations.
• Users complete Quests by performing the action and redeeming their reward.

Discord's first Quest, a partnership with HBO for a "Dune" trailer, had an 85% video completion rate, according to their internal data. And 100% of those who completed a quest redeemed their avatar decoration.

• Millions of people joined a Quest around the popular title Genshin Impact, which led to an 80% increase in user gameplay hours the week that the Quest was active.

"We really wanted to do something to gamify advertising, make it fun to meet our audience where it is right and where they are, something that engages them," said Adam Bauer, vice president of sales at Discord, at Playfronts.

In-messaging marketing

Reaching audiences who spend more time chatting with private messaging or on platforms like Discord has been a growing concern for marketers.

• 48% of 18- to 24-year-olds messaged someone on social media in the last week, per an October 2024 Ypulse survey.
• 62% of worldwide social media users use it to connect or stay in touch with family, friends, and colleagues, per a December 2023 YouGov survey.
• Meta's WhatsApp brought in over $1 billion in business revenue in 2024, per our December 2024 forecast.

For Discord, their association with video game players has proven to be both a strength and a challenge when approaching how to fold in advertising.

• 44% of US teens who self-identify as gamers use Discord, according to Pew Research.

Game playing users can create tight-knit communities that are prone to share and be impacted by what is shared—half of Discord users who play games stream gameplay to their friends, and 28% of those friends launch that same game within an hour, according to Discord's internal data. They are also a segment that is notoriously suspicious of ads and very sensitive to authenticity.

"This is a challenging landscape. You're talking about a set of customers who, since the day they were born, were pressing the 'skip ad' button," said Sellis. "And if you appear inauthentically to this group, if you're a poser, if you're lame, they're going to spot it from a million miles away."

Future Quests

Discord's expansion of ad products and the trumpeting of their success comes as the company preps for a potential 2025 IPO.

Discord needs to prove to partners that it can offer a strong, scalable ad business. And in doing so, it might also give marketers a dynamic ad format that can reach millions of users.

"200 million people monthly use the service, especially Gen Z," said Sellis. "This is how they gather. This is how they experience belonging. And our goal is to be the best place to talk and hang out and play before, during, and after gaming with your friends."

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.