Advergaming and in-game advertising has become a unique advertising vehicle within a broad and growing medium, involving the use of online, computer and console games. Advertising in and around games offer brands an enhanced level of consumer involvement – reaching consumers in an uncluttered environment when they are in a focused mindset. 

TWO TYPES OF ADVERGAMING

Each type of video game platform offers a variety of advertising opportunities. Below are a couple of distinct opportunities, in-game advertsing and advergames, each with unique characteristics and core audiences.

1.)  In-Game Advertising
Online or console games with ads (branded banners or integrated sponsorships) around or within online gaming sites (Pogo, PopCap, EA Games) or console games (X-Box 360, PlayStation 3).

Advertisers have two options when using in-game advertising.

• Branded display banners/videos surrounding popular online games. This strategy allows for geographic and demographic targeting. 
  Ex:  A brand’s display banner ad above or around either of the games below.

• Brand is incorporated within online/console games. 
  Ex:  A brand’s logo displayed inside either of the games below.

The examples below illustrate how Empower executed in-game advertising strategies for Red Robin Restaurants and Sharpie Highlighters, using both options 

2.)  Advergames
Games, either online or console, specifically created/designed to promote a brand or product.  This allows advertisers with the option of developing custom online/console games that also communicate key messages regarding their brand. 

The examples below are online advergames Empower created for Red Robin and Sharpie.  The Red Robin “Deal-Liciousness” Instant Win Game promoted menu items and provided gamers with an opportunity to win Red Robin gift cards.  The Sharpie ”Bust Out” Game launched the Sharpie Mini by offering players a chance to play and win a mini Sharpie for themselves.

KEY FACTS AND TRENDS

• Advertising spending within advergaming and in-game advertising combined is expected to hit $665MM in 2008, up 25% from 2007 and 48% from 2006.

• According to a 2007 Ipsos Public Affairs study, 69% of US adult video game players, online or console, play 1 hour or more a week, with 10% of these players logging more than 10 hours a week.

• Among all online gaming, casual games such as word puzzles are the most widely played.

• 72% of Millenials (persons 13-24) and 68% of Generation Xers (persons 25-41) visit online gaming sites.

Factors Driving the Growth of Advergaming Include:
• Growth of video game playing across multiple demographics. It’s not kids, but their moms who are the fastest growing online gamers.

• Increasing realization among advertisers that games are a viable way to reach their targets in an engaging way.

• Increase in advertising opportunities in and around games.  Games played online via broadband Internet connection allow advertisers to change the advertisements within the games at any time. This is referred to as dynamic in-game advertising.

• Broadband Internet connections allow gamers to interact with and compete against one another from anywhere in the world. For example, a gamer in Ohio can play a football video game against someone in New York and talk with them the entire time, instead of playing the game against a “computer-controlled” team.

WHERE ADVERGAMING TAKES PLACE

Online
According to eMarketer, the weekly playing of online video games by US Adult Internet users doubled from 2006 to 2007 from 19% to 34%, making it a more popular online weekly activity than watching short video clips or visiting social networking sites.

Online games are not only wildly popular, but they are addicting! Nielsen/NetRatings stated that, “Online gaming was the ‘stickiest’ content category on the Web last month, with users spending an average of two hours per session, outpacing sports and news categories.”

Consoles
Video game consoles are currently in 41% of all TV households (45.7 million), according to Nielsen Media Research. 4.4 million of these consoles are connected to the Internet, allowing for dynamic in-game advertising for advertisers. During any given minute 1.6 million people are using a video game console in the United States.

In addition, video game consoles are finding themselves being used for much more than video games. They are multimedia hubs, serving as DVD (or Blu-Ray) players, CD players, online social-networking hubs, or as places to store downloadable videos and content.

Mobile
Video games are no longer limited to consoles, computers, and handheld video game devices. Mobile gaming is sure to increase from the 70.4 million adults 18+ who have already played a mobile game in the past three months. Mobile gaming offers advertisers a non-traditional medium to engage consumers anywhere and at anytime and is growing faster than console and handheld video game markets.

ARE ADS WITHIN GAMES OK?
Yes!  Research shows that gamers do not seem to mind the advertisements in the game. A Nielsen report found that 82% of gamers find games just as enjoyable with ads present, and 70% said they had a more positive image about the brands than they did before playing. In-game ads raised recall 44% when compared with awareness before playing the game and positive brand attribution increased 33%.

According to consumers, a brand’s presence in video games should:
• Enhance the gaming environment
• Be relevant to the game
• Feel like a natural part of the game
• Be customized

More consumers are picking up the controller or going online to play video games everyday. Empower can help you think of video games as an effective medium to reach target audiences while they are engaged, entertained, and focused. Time to get in the game and empower your brand!

By: Kyl Boggs, Media Innovation Strategist & Taylor Wiegert, Media Innovation Associate