Vindication on In-Game Advertising
My article about In-Game Advertising definitely came out at the right time. This appears to be the topic of the moment and -once again- too many people seem to be missing the point.
From some marketers I hear that a lack of control over the content and context in which an advertisement may appear is a deterrent. This really annoys me for a couple of reasons. The first is that violent/uncontrolled content is exactly what brings gamers to a particular game in the first instance. The second reason is that In-Game advertising promises to be the very pinnacle of context aware advertising. This means that depending on your player/character profile, no two gamers will be exposed to the same combination of advertisements.
I was recently contacted by AdNews regarding the potential I saw for Australia and New Zealand to capitalise on In-Game advertising. Are there any companies in our little corner of the world that are offering/plan to offer In-Game advertising? Who cares? It is context aware advertising. There is nothing stopping you from asking your agency to book it through a company in outer Mongolia -just specify that those players with either New Zealand or Australian IP addresses are the only ones who get access to your advertisements. Star Wars Galaxies recognises no national boundaries!
Perhaps more surprising than marketers missing the point (everything is more surprising than marketers missing the point) is that some gamers are as well. The supremely valuable MediaPost delivered to my inbox a column/blog/rant a few weeks ago from some gaming expert or another claiming that a) gamers will reject in-game advertising and b) advertisements for modern products will appear ridiculous in MMORP like Galaxies or World of Warcraft.
Well... Yes, they will. Which is why you won't see billboards for Pepsi in Azeroth -but will will see context aware advertising on the back end of the gaming experience: Player screens, start pages, etc. All this tells me is that few people have grasped the notion that this is an entirely new way of having end users interact with your brand.
And as for the first point -that gamers will reject in-game advertising- it was only this last Thursday that MediaPost delivered another little gem: In-Game Advertising Not a Deterrent to Most Gamers. Games sites reach almost 50% of the Internet universe -that's 76.9 million consumers. Nearly half of the Heavy Gamers felt that in-game advertising was an inevitable part of the future of their play.
Vindication. You heard it straight from the gamers' mouths. In-Game advertising is inevitable and effective. Just like I said.
I think that is why I am so interested in this advertising category. Gamers have a healthier sense of co-ownership of the content than, say, regular newspaper readers. They also seem less inclined to bitch about every little thing.
From some marketers I hear that a lack of control over the content and context in which an advertisement may appear is a deterrent. This really annoys me for a couple of reasons. The first is that violent/uncontrolled content is exactly what brings gamers to a particular game in the first instance. The second reason is that In-Game advertising promises to be the very pinnacle of context aware advertising. This means that depending on your player/character profile, no two gamers will be exposed to the same combination of advertisements.
I was recently contacted by AdNews regarding the potential I saw for Australia and New Zealand to capitalise on In-Game advertising. Are there any companies in our little corner of the world that are offering/plan to offer In-Game advertising? Who cares? It is context aware advertising. There is nothing stopping you from asking your agency to book it through a company in outer Mongolia -just specify that those players with either New Zealand or Australian IP addresses are the only ones who get access to your advertisements. Star Wars Galaxies recognises no national boundaries!
Perhaps more surprising than marketers missing the point (everything is more surprising than marketers missing the point) is that some gamers are as well. The supremely valuable MediaPost delivered to my inbox a column/blog/rant a few weeks ago from some gaming expert or another claiming that a) gamers will reject in-game advertising and b) advertisements for modern products will appear ridiculous in MMORP like Galaxies or World of Warcraft.
Well... Yes, they will. Which is why you won't see billboards for Pepsi in Azeroth -but will will see context aware advertising on the back end of the gaming experience: Player screens, start pages, etc. All this tells me is that few people have grasped the notion that this is an entirely new way of having end users interact with your brand.
And as for the first point -that gamers will reject in-game advertising- it was only this last Thursday that MediaPost delivered another little gem: In-Game Advertising Not a Deterrent to Most Gamers. Games sites reach almost 50% of the Internet universe -that's 76.9 million consumers. Nearly half of the Heavy Gamers felt that in-game advertising was an inevitable part of the future of their play.
Vindication. You heard it straight from the gamers' mouths. In-Game advertising is inevitable and effective. Just like I said.
I think that is why I am so interested in this advertising category. Gamers have a healthier sense of co-ownership of the content than, say, regular newspaper readers. They also seem less inclined to bitch about every little thing.
posted by Gordon White at 3:43 pm
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