Marketing Article Suggests Advertising Reach Teens in Games

Posted on January 11, 2006

An eMarketer article suggests marketers trying to reach teens try games and the gaming and gadget websites they frequent. This is no surprise because advertisers want to visit young people and many of them are playing games.

Significant percentages of consumers in the US and Canada between the ages of 12 and 21 are owners and users of entertainment-related consumer electronics, according to Forrester Research. Over two-thirds of people in this age group own PCs, DVD players, home stereos, mobile phones or handheld devices. Additionally, one-quarter own MP3 players and Internet-enabled or camera phones. But gaming presents the best opportunity for marketers who wish to reach this audience. Over 90% own a gaming device, and three-quarters play online and offline games on their PC.
Two main avenues are open for advertising through games: in-game advertising and advergaming. The former is an extension of the product placement common in movies and television, and can range from graphical representation of a product in a game to wholesale sponsorship of a gaming title. With the increase in open-ended gaming that allows a player to wander around a virtual world (such as the Sims or Grand Theft Auto), opportunities for product placement are numerous. Advergaming refers to a game, usually online, that is wholly intended as a promotional device.

The marketing article mentions advergames but it is questionable as to how helpful advergames are. Many advergames have weak playability and are maybe visited once for the novelty before gamers move on to something else. In-game ad strategies could work as long as the ads do not ruin the world they are place in -- for example an ad for McDonalds in a prehistoric game or science fiction game. It might work if the ad were adapted to match the game world itself but any marketing attempts that failed to please gamers would likely be scrutinized and mocked in the game blogs and forums in a manner that could be detrimental to the game publisher's brand.