Video Game Advertising

Marketing through games has become a popular channel as gamers have take to multiple channels to engage; computers, consoles, and even handheld mobile devices have become gaming devices.  Recently there has been a shift in console gaming away from violence filled games aimed at young males and now aimed towards the entire family.  This has caused marketers to spend more advertising dollars on gaming as the target market has skewed dramatically.  Advertising and marketing through video games can be grouped into two major categories; Advergaming, and In-Game Advertising.

            Advergames – Advergames are games developed by a company solely to promote a specific brand or product.  According to a news article on CBS News most of these games are aimed at youth because they can hold their attention longer than a typical ad and build loyalty for the future.  These games are typically short in duration, require no capital investment, and can be played by all skill levels.  Some examples you may be familiar with have come from Orbitz Travel and began with a pop-up ad which allowed users to sink a putt, hit a home-run, or flick a field goal.  The advergame went so well that Orbitz started a website dedicated to the games, Orbitz Games.

            In-Game Advertising – In Game Advertising consists of advertising built into video games with pre-existing narratives.  This advertising can be static such as a billboard for McDonalds that remains in a video games environment, regardless of where the user is playing. 

This type of advertisement works well for national brands but will not work well for regional or local companies.  A second approach to in-game advertising can be through dynamic advertising targeting local consumers who are connected via the internet for gaming.  This can allow companies to target specific regional areas based on connection.

The picture on top is an advertisement for State Farm on MLB Live that appears based on connectivity, the actual field is below and show the billboard does not exist in real life.

            Both of these types of marketing will continue to prevalent in the near future as marketers look for alternate ways to reach a more captive audience.