In-Game Advertising
In-game advertising is hardly a new phenomenon, but according to a new study commissioned by in-game ad firm Massive Inc. it is becoming one of the most effective branding mediums.
“The study, conducted by Nielsen Entertainment, found that across four prominent ad categories (automotive, consumer packaged goods, fast food and technology) brand familiarity increased by 64 percent among users who had been exposed to ads served into live games by Massive, which is owned by Microsoft.”
Given the untapped potential of the market (2005 spending was $56 million according to Massive, and they predict it could reach $2 billion by 2012), it was no surprise to see major players quickly snap up in-game ad firms. Microsoft struck first in May 2006 when they acquired the aforementioned Massive Inc., and Google followed this past February with the purchase of Adscape Media for $24 million.
In-game ad spend will likely take off once publishers are able to provide advertisers quantifiable data regarding who’s playing the games in which ad inventory is available. This will allow advertisers to target their ads more efficiently and accurately measure the success of their campaigns. Steps are currently being taken to provide this data, as Sony and Nielsen media have recently teamed up to develop standard metrics to better segment the market. You can read more in depth about the process here.
This is another great opportunity for marketers to allow users to interact with their brands. Framing your brand/product as a solution to the in-game characters problem could be one of many creative ways for brands to get positive exposure. Imagine if a Papa Johns box was a power-up, or finding a new pair of Nike’s made you run faster, jump higher, etc.
This is also a chance for brands to alienate potential customers by placing their ads in areas where they are not relevant or interfere with game play. Because gamers spend an average of 47 hours (as of 2006) per title, there’s plenty of opportunity for brands to create evangelists or enemies. Hopefully the industry can police itself and make sure the ads are not obtrusive. If games were available for free, there would be much more tolerance for spammy ads. But as long as most new titles cost in excess of $50, publishers and advertisers need to make sure that in-game ads add (no pun intended) to the game, not make it worse.