Marketing tools : Advergames, a publicity magnet.
Mayl
8th, 2007
Advergames are used for brand positioning and advertising purposes.
How do we break through the advertising bombardment and at the same time draw attention to our product or service? An innovative way on the internet, that combines video games with commercial advertisement, promises to achieve this and much more.
We are talking about advergames, an advertisement method that merges computer games, video game consoles and cell-phones, and in which the brands are the main characters.
Advergames can be used in different forms: promotional games, web games and games for events.
Promotional games can be distributed over the internet or by CD (as gifts to customers and potential clients) communicating the promotional message of the products, services and brands involved.
Web games add value to the company web site since they provide entertainment and interaction to the visitors.
Games designed for events allow the attendants to participate in amusement activities that reinforce brand image. This involves the use of state of the art technologies such as virtual reality.
Fun Consumption
Most advergames are designed for PC and video game consoles. Depending on the type of product or service that one wants to promote (and the available budget), there are several options concerning entertainment development. Interactive individual games are the most basic option. They are simple and intuitive. Users interact with multimedia terminals that use touch screen technology. They are ideal when it come to getting in touch and entertaining the customer in the point of sale. Their purpose is data collection (sole condition to participate).
Within this group we can find the casual games likeTetris or Packman. These games are easy to use and allow the player to relax as he performs other tasks such as talking on the phone.
We can also find group games, a more complex version of the casual games, where several numbers of players can participate competing with each other. They not only serve as an entertainment but act as a public magnet where people approach just to watch de competition.
Last but not least, the most sophisticated games, from a technical point of view, are those which use virtual reality. They require special hardware such as a helmet that allows seeing in 3D.
As in the movies
The development of an advergame involves several specialists such as computer programmers, web designers, visual artists, musicians, photographers and even film makers and actors. The costs vary with the complexity of the project and the targeted market. In the U.S. sales reached the US$ 17 billion dollars in 2004 in the video game industry of high added value.
by María Naranjo |
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The Keys
Entertainment for all ages
According to professionals there are several myths involving video games. One of them states that these games are only used by kids. This is completely false. Nowadays the great majority of users in the world (62%) are over 18, with an average age of 30.
Women are gaining ground
It is also false that these games are only used by men. Women represent the 43% of the total gamers in the world and 43% of the registered users in Yahoo! Games.
Each session lasts 40 minutes
According to the statistics, each session lasts approximately 40 minutes.
Advantages
Game suppliers state that video games have several advantages. For example, they allow feedback between the user and the company and promote the return of the user to the web so that he can keep on playing. It is also possible to measure the impact of the online marketing campaign since every session gets recorded and sometimes coupons can be printed to be exchange for products and services. |
