Advergaming Playing to Win
From automobiles to personal hygiene, advergaming
can promote a product and capture the time and attention of potential
consumers of any age. While adult consumers have the disposable
income to spend, consumers under the age of 18 are big marketing
targets for companies and the millions of products and services
offered. There's no denying the influence a child has on the spending
habits of a parent, and advertisers are aware that pulling in the
kids pulls in the parents and their money.
According to a recent brandingvoodoo.com posting, nearly 33 million
kids and teens between the ages of 3 and 17 use the internet regularly,
and it is projected that number will grow to 38 million by 2008.
Further, between 72%-81% of kids ages 8-18 are playing online games
when they are using the computer.
While the kids may be playing the games, parents are very aware
of how their kids are spending their time on the internet. Most
parents check on their kids regularly to make sure kids aren't involved
in dangerous activities, so parents become aware of the games kids
are playing and the products they promote nearly as much as the
kids.
But kids aren't the only ones playing online games, which is one
of the big appeals of advergaming to marketers. In a recent study
conducted by the Interactive Digital Software Association, 42% of
frequent game players are over 35, while another 30% are age 18
to 35. With such a huge demographic, advergaming has just begun
to scratch the surface of its possibilities.
Advergaming isn't cheap, though. Advertisers spend an average of
$100,000 to $500,000 for a custom-designed game for use in an advergaming
campaign. Most marketers who use advergaming feel the benefits far
outweigh the costs, however. Advergaming eencourages repeat visits
to websites and has higher "stickiness rates" people play games
for longer periods of time than they would view other forms of advertising,
like pop-up or banner ads (which most of us consider very annoying),
or offline advertising (which is so non-interactive.) Many consumers
are parting with valuable minutes, even hours, of their working
days to play advergames. Advergaming simply captures consumers'
attentions longer, allowing greater education about new products
or product features.
Advergames can also be used to gather valuable consumer information
seamlessly. Players willingly provide email addresses and personal
information in order to play games and have the chance to win prizes.
Consumers also share the game with others, through challenges or
multi-player gaming, allowing viral marketing to work its magic.
As more innovative games are created that provide both an absorbing,
educational brand experience and seamless opportunities for rich
data capture, marketers will continue to use advergaming as a key
component for advertising campaigns.
By: Scott Heath
www.flashgamemasters.com
has a highly experienced and talented development team. Whose members
have assisted with the creation of some of the top online gaming
portal sites. Affiliated with www.bossdev.com
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