In this day and age, companies are being presented with more and more options for advertising. It seems that with modern technology, these options can help in your quest to reach an audience that is becoming increasingly difficult to engage. One of the new forms of advertising that has come about recently is called advergaming.
What Is Advergaming?
Advergaming is basically a video game, which integrates advertising for a company’s products or services. Some companies create their own games that are essentially based around what message they are trying to convey to their audience. They then distribute the game for free to the masses and use it as a marketing communication tool. In other cases, companies attach their advertising to a mainstream, popular video game, displaying their messaging within the game. An example of this would be a character in the game wearing a company’s branded apparel, or a sign could be displayed within the context of the game that promotes a certain product.
Why Are Companies Using It?
Companies today are constantly on the lookout for methods to reach their desired demographic. For those that target males ages 18-34, advergaming has become a viable option for them in their marketing plan. Businesses know that these people are playing games, and want to maximize their exposure to them. If nothing else, and increasing amount of companies are trying advergaming as a test and are measuring results to gauge effectiveness.
What Types of Advergaming Are There?
There are three types of advergames that companies can look into as they decide how they want to deploy this type of campaign. The first type actually integrates lifestyle associations where a game character’s actions can be linked with an actual product. The second type is where your advertisements appear naturally within the game’s environment. For example, an auto racing game that takes place in a downtown city could have billboard advertisements. The last type is demonstration, where the consumer is able to use your particular product in the game.
How Is It Effective?
The primary goal with advergaming is to help establish brand recall amongst consumers by incorporating your key brand messaging into the games that they will remember down the road. Like with any marketing tactic, the goal is to stay top of mind with your consumer. This helps with both immediate buying decisions, and for recall down the road when the opportunity to purchase from you becomes more prevalent. Advergaming essentially takes a popular digital medium and infuses your brand into it. It is not dissimilar to product placement in movies and television shows which has been practiced for many years. With the rise of mobile and tablet technology, gaming has become more accessible and popular over recent years. Advergaming is a great way to tap into this successful medium.
AlphaGraphics is more than just a printing company in San Francisco. We provide a wide range of marketing services to help businesses increase their reach and build brand awareness. Give us a call or stop by today.
