MASTER IN DIGITAL MARKETING IN PILLS: Successful Advergaming

14
Sep

MASTER IN DIGITAL MARKETING IN PILLS: Successful Advergaming

Written on September 14, 2009 by Manuel Alonso Coto in E-MARKETING, Master in Digital Marketing

There is a new star coming up… Actually it is not new, but old. It is just that marketers did not pay much attention to it outside of US. Up till now… And as we always do, we consult the numbers:

advergaming1

Advergaming offers a different approach to marketing and reaching another demographic with the following advantages:

User engagement
Brand integration
Measurability
Two way communication

But what is really advergaming and what are the types of this channel? A good explanation of the subject at hand can be found here. And the channels are:

Console gaming
Computer gaming
Online gaming
Mobile gaming

All these channels can be used as an additional tool to build brand equity and brand awareness.

But what are the keys for successful advergaming? For the purpose of answering this question, I will be taking Turbo-Ice.com a branded game website that BrandGames created for Dunkin’ Donuts’:

Do not forget that not only kids and particularly males ones are playing games!

advergaming3

Do not forget that your goal is to engage the user with the “brand experience”! – the Turbo Ice Coffee is in the focus of the game
Virality – foster easy share with friends and peers
Language – speak to the targeted demographics in their own language
Instructions – lay down the rules and functionality in a understandable way
Technology – remember that not everyone has the latest versions of hardware or software. Make it accessible to as many people as possible.
Uniqueness – offer something new, fun and emotionally engaging
Monitor, gather consumer data and analyze… And most importantly take an approach that makes the user happy – lucky draw for answering a questionnaire for example

And other points not touched by this game, but also essential:

Availability – offer multiple platform access – console, mobile, online and offline (BurgerKing Games)

Interactivity – let the user select their own characters, scene setting and control on story development.

Did I miss anything? Let’s blog about advergaming!

(Post by Bobby Kiprin, MDMK 2010)

Best

Manuel A. Alonso Coto

Comments

Susanne Flug September 17, 2009 - 4:05 pm

To underline the growing importance of the gaming market in general, and the new possibilities of advergaming in particular I would like to share some facts with you.

The Nature of the Gaming Discipline

The gaming industry differentiates between …
- Various platforms: PC/ Online, Console, and Mobile
- Different experiences: casual, moderate and core
- Placement types: around game and in game environment, as well as in game immersive ads
- Several formats: i.e. advergames, sponsorships, in-game ads, inter-level ads and so on
- Different types of measurement: hard facts (such as number of players/ plays/ purchases/ subscriptions etc.) as well as soft facts (opinions about the brand, experiences, spreading)

A Game and Gamer Market Overview

The Gaming Industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world of entertainment. A study from the Frank N. Magid Associates has revealed that “58% of Americans do play some kind of computer or videogames.” Worldwide revenues of around $25 billion Dollar have been generated, whereas over 120 million play video/computer games, 80 million are into online games, and 6.9 million spend their time with consoles/online.
Those developments resulted in an enormous increase of advertising spending. Overall ad spending was measured with $370 million in 2006 with the expectation to future increases. In 2007 advertising executives allocated 3.6% of their media budget to video games. A report forecasted the worldwide online game market to grow from $3.4 billion in 2005 to $13 billion in 2011.

Gamer Stereotype

Coming to the advergames, the ESA report analyzed that the “average game player is 33 years old”, whereas the ones who play video games are slightly younger. Nearly 38% of gamers are female, which equates to the fact that the audience grew 6.5 times faster than the Internet audience the last 12 months. Gamers are generally very communicative, social and connective.

Advergame Characteristics

Advergames are custom-made for a particular product, do have a highly engaging factor for the brand, are likely to be marketed viral, and have a lasting gaming rather than advertising experience. Marketers do have several possibilities to advertise their products, for instance with so-called AroundGame (placed on the website) or InGame Ads (pre-rolls, small falsh banners etc.). The BurgerKing example is a best-practice example as it was made to penetrate the BurgerKind brand in a simply fun way.

Source of data:
Interactive Advertising Buerau: Game Advertising Platform Status Report (10/2007, http://www.cedro.org). From: Frank N. Magid Associates (www.magid.com)
American Advertising Federation (11/2006)
ICFAI Business School: Gaming – An Emerging Opportunity. Businessweek.com (08 June 2008)
Story, Matt: Marketers Must Get Past the Gamer Stereotype (04/2008)
CemScore Media Metrix

Michal Acler September 21, 2009 - 9:25 pm