Advergaming is not just a buzzword. It’s a revolutionary approach to modern marketing that leverages gaming to engage consumers.
Conventional advertising takes a broadcast approach to deliver marketing messages to audiences. Its return on investment (ROI) is notoriously difficult to measure.
It has been proven that interactive games can engage and convert potential customers.
Swiss kitchenware manufacturer Kuhn Rikon increased its year-over-year (YoY) web page sessions by 131% using gamification. The brand saw a 76% conversion rate on their interactive game.
If you are looking for innovative ways to connect with your audience, the advergaming approach offers a unique avenue to do this while gathering invaluable data and insights.
In this article, we delve into:
- The definition and description of advergaming
- The development of advergaming and the psychology behind it
- Various types of advergames and their pros and cons
- The benefits and challenges of an advergaming strategy
- Examples of successful advergaming marketing campaigns
- How to implement advergames
- Your next steps
After reading this article, you will have the knowledge and tools to successfully integrate advergaming into your marketing strategy.
What Is Advergaming?
At its core, advergaming is the fusion of advertising and gaming.
It involves the integration of branded content into games to promote a product, service, or brand message.
This marketing strategy leverages the immersive and interactive nature of games, allowing brands to engage consumers in a unique and memorable way.
Key Characteristics Of Advergaming:
- Interactive: Unlike passive advertising methods, advergaming requires active participation from the user, leading to deeper engagement and retention of the brand message.
- Immersive: The immersive nature of games means players are wholly focused on the content, making them more receptive to integrated advertising messages.
- Longevity: Games, by design, can have a longer shelf life than traditional advertisements. A well-designed advergame can remain relevant and playable for years, providing continued brand exposure.
- Targeted: Advergames can be tailored to a specific audience, allowing for highly targeted marketing campaigns. For instance, a brand targeting a younger audience might create a simple, colorful game, while one targeting adults might develop a more complex strategy game.
- Nostalgic: Many advergames tap into the power of nostalgia, utilizing elements reminiscent of older games or cultural references from a specific era. This can create an immediate bond with players. When a brand is successfully integrated into a nostalgic gaming experience, it can benefit from the positive emotions evoked by the game.
- Habit-Forming: A cornerstone of effective advergaming is creating experiences that players instinctively return to. This could be due to compelling game mechanics, reward systems, daily challenges, or competitive leaderboards. The more often a user engages with the game, the more consistently they are exposed to the integrated brand messages, enhancing the advertisement’s effectiveness.
Advergaming is not merely about plastering your brand’s logo within a game. It’s about creating an experience where the brand and the game narrative intertwine, resulting in a powerful blend of entertainment and marketing.
The History And Evolution Of Advergaming
- The 1980s – The Dawn Of Advergaming
- The 1990s – The Rise Of Personal Computing And Web Games
- Early 2000s – The Internet Boom
- Late 2000s To Early 2010s – The Smartphone Revolution
- 2010s And Beyond – Immersive Gaming Experiences
The concept of advergaming can be traced back to the early eighties when gaming arcades were at the pinnacle of their popularity. Brands realized the untapped potential of using games for marketing.
With the advent of the internet and smartphones, the scope of advergaming expanded exponentially.
Initially confined to simple web-based games, today’s advergaming ecosystem includes everything from sophisticated console games to mobile apps with seamlessly integrated brand messages.
Take a quick walk through the history of advergaming below:
The 1980s – The Dawn Of Advergaming
In 1982, one of the first recorded advergaming instances occurred when Atari released Pepsi Invaders.
Coca-Cola commissioned the game as a modified version of the popular Space Invaders, replacing alien antagonists with letters spelling “PEPSI.” This bold move by Coca-Cola marked a significant first step in the world of advergaming.
The 1990s – The Rise Of Personal Computing And Web Games
With personal computers becoming household items, brands saw the potential for engaging consumers directly on their PCs at home. Companies like Pepsi and Chex released PC-based games that prominently featured their products.
PepsiCo has a history of involvement in gaming. One notable example is Pepsiman, a game released for Sony PlayStation 1 in 1999.
The late ’90s also saw the emergence of Flash animation, which allowed for the creation of simple, web-based games and animated advertisements. Flash software also opened the door for smaller brands to get involved in advergaming.
Early 2000s – The Internet Boom
With the rise of the internet and its increasing accessibility, online advergames gained popularity. Websites dedicated to these games became popular, with brands sponsoring entire portals.
A notable example is Candystand.com, initially launched by Nabisco. It became a hub for numerous advergames, promoting everything from Life Savers sweets to Trident gum.
Late 2000s To Early 2010s – The Smartphone Revolution
The launch of Apple’s iPhone in 2007 and the subsequent explosion of the App Store ushered in a new era for advergaming.
Brands could now engage users directly on their mobile phones.
Mobile games optimized for touchscreens became increasingly sophisticated. Popular games like Angry Birds collaborated with other brands to release special-edition advergames. Examples of this include unlockable characters in Roblox and the Angry Birds movies.
2010s And Beyond – Immersive Gaming Experiences
Desktop and mobile advergames are increasingly being employed as a marketing tactic, with many types of games being released for various brands. Some of the most impactful Game Concepts brands use for marketing include:
Besides encouraging customer engagement and enhancing customer experience, successful advergames also help marketers collect data and measure conversions.
This data-driven marketing approach has been a game-changer (pun intended) for forward-thinking companies looking for new ways to reach their target market.
The journey of advergaming from its humble beginnings to its current sophisticated state illustrates the adaptability of advertising. The way brands connect with their consumers evolves with technological advances.
Brand-focused games are an exciting domain to explore in marketing and advertising. Let us look at the psychology behind this marketing method and why it works.
The Psychology Behind Advergaming
Advergaming capitalizes on several psychological factors that drive user engagement.
Unlike traditional ads, which are often passively consumed, advergames demand active participation from the consumer. This involvement increases the time spent interacting with the brand, amplifying recall and recognition.
Interaction fosters emotional connection, making consumers more likely to remember and feel positively about the brand.
Games that are enjoyable and align with the brand’s values can also increase consumer trust and loyalty over time.
Psychology Concepts At Play In Advergaming:
- Operant Conditioning: At its most basic, many games (including advergames) operate on the principle of reward. Players perform actions and are immediately rewarded, creating a positive association. When brands integrate their messages or products as a part of these rewards, they benefit from this positive reinforcement.
- Flow State: Proposed by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the concept of “flow” refers to being completely immersed in an activity to the point of losing sense of time. Engrossing advergames can induce this state, ensuring users are deeply engaged with the branded content.
- Social Proof: Many advergames have social elements, like leaderboards or sharing features. When users see others engaging with the game or brand, it validates their participation and can enhance their positive feelings towards the brand.
- Endowment Effect: This psychological principle suggests that people place a higher value on things they own or interact with. As players invest time and possibly resources in advergaming, they begin to feel a sense of ownership or connection to the game and, by extension, the brand.
- Reciprocity Principle: Offering a free game can invoke a sense of indebtedness in players. This principle suggests that we naturally want to return the favor when someone does something for us. In the context of advergaming, players might feel a subconscious inclination to engage with the brand outside of the game.
- Sunk Cost Fallacy: Players who invest more time and energy into a game are likelier to continue playing even if the rewards diminish. This is because they feel committed due to the time (or money) already spent. This continuous engagement ensures prolonged exposure to the brand.
Types Of Advergames
- Product Placement
- Branded Games
- Interactive Ads
- Sponsorship Games
- Social Media Games
- VR And AR Games
- Mini-Games
Understanding the various types of advergames will help you plan and execute a tailor-made marketing strategy. And you do not need to be skilled in game design to benefit from these types of advertising.
Using a drag-and-drop gamification platform like Brame, you can create an entire game based on pre-designed templates.
Whether for promotional purposes or to drive customer engagement, Brame offers a library of Game Concepts to deliver marketing messages in truly rewarding and interactive ways.
Let us look at some of the prevalent forms of advergames available to brands below.
Product Placement
This type of advergame entails the strategic and seamless integration of a brand’s products within a game environment.
This form of mobile game advertising often subtly blends advertising in games, from native mobile applications to browser games, to enhance brand visibility and recognition without disrupting the gaming experience.
Pros And Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Increases brand visibility among a dedicated audience | The brand may get overshadowed by game elements |
| Integrates the brand naturally into the game, minimizing annoyance to players | Not suitable for conveying detailed or complex brand messages |
| Takes advantage of the high engagement levels of games | Raises questions about transparency, especially with younger audiences |
Branded Games
Marketing games are created with the exclusive intention of promoting a specific brand. The entire gameplay revolves around the brand, offering players a deep and engaging brand-centric experience.
Pros And Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Facilitates a rich, immersive brand experience for players | Can be expensive to develop, depending on the platform |
| Allows for clear and compelling brand communication | If the game is not enjoyable, it may lead to negative brand perception |
| Players will likely remember the brand due to the focused and continuous exposure | It may only appeal to a specific group of gamers, limiting reach |
Interactive Ads
To provide players with brief interactive experiences, interactive ads are often embedded within other games or form part of a larger marketing campaign. These ads invite players to engage directly with the brand, enhancing their connection and recall.
Pros And Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Offers a dynamic and engaging user experience | The brief nature might provide limited brand exposure |
| Fosters direct interaction with the brand | It may interrupt the gaming experience if not well-integrated |
| Interaction can lead to better brand recall and recognition | Requires careful design to ensure effectiveness and engagement |
Sponsorship Games
Co-branded experiences by two or more companies enable sharing promotional space and potentially merging customer bases. Sponsorship game development is a collaborative strategy to broaden the reach and impact of advergaming.
Pros And Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Access to a wider audience by merging customer bases | Potential for brand message dilution or confusion |
| Shared development and marketing expenses | Need for alignment in brand values and image |
| Potential for more creative and diverse game development | Requires seamless collaboration and coordination across companies |
Social Media Games
Crafted specifically for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and others, social media games provide an engaging gaming experience while seamlessly incorporating brand messages or products.
These games leverage social media platforms’ extensive reach and interactive nature to enhance brand visibility and engagement.
Pros And Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Access to the extensive user base of social media platforms | Bound by the rules and limitations of social media platforms |
| Users can easily share and promote the game within their networks | Competing with diverse content on social media may limit engagement |
| Direct insights and feedback from players for continuous improvement | Risk of overwhelming users with excessive branding |
VR And AR Games
In advergaming, VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) leverage cutting-edge technology to provide deeply immersive brand experiences. These games transport players into virtual or augmented worlds, creating memorable and impactful brand interactions.
Pros And Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Offers a highly immersive and engaging brand interaction | Requires users to have access to VR or AR technology |
| Memorable experiences lead to enhanced brand recall | Expensive to develop and maintain compared to online games |
| Projects a cutting-edge and innovative brand image | Not all consumers have access to or interest in VR/AR technology |
Mini-Games
This type of advergame entails smaller, single-level games embedded within websites, apps, or digital advertising. They aim to provide short-term engagement, enticing users to play games that are quickly accessible and straightforward.
Mini-games create a direct route for customer interaction and first-party data collection.
Pros And Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Easily accessible online video game experiences for users | Not suitable for the long, strategic game format |
| Opportunity to gather valuable first-party data | May lack the depth and appeal of more complex games |
| Can be integrated into various digital advertising platforms | Risk of getting lost in the clutter of digital advertising |
While not traditionally classified as advergames, “playable ads” on platforms like Google Ads are also gaining momentum. These ads let users sample a game or application before downloading it, increasing the conversion likelihood.
The Benefits And Challenges Of Advergaming
While an advergaming strategy can significantly increase brand awareness, enhance customer relationships, and boost sales, it is not without its challenges.
This section provides a balanced overview of advergaming, exploring the advantages and outlining the potential obstacles. This will help you make an informed decision about integrating advergaming into your marketing strategy.
Benefits Of Advergaming
- Increasing Brand Awareness: Advergames offer a novel way to capture consumer attention and make your brand memorable.
- Strengthening Customer Relationships: The interactive nature of advergames fosters emotional connections, which can turn casual consumers into loyal customers.
- Aiding Data Collection: Collecting data can help provide insights into customer behaviors and choices and aid in personalized marketing. It will also help you determine your current target market and how you may expand your market reach.
- Driving Conversions And Sales: Gamifying your advertisements and marketing efforts can streamline the buying process and provide a positive, memorable shopping experience.
- Cost-Saving: Depending on your chosen platform and game design, advergaming offers cost-saving opportunities compared to other traditional marketing tactics, such as events and sales calls. Using Brame’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, you can customize game templates to create immersive branded games.
Challenges To Advergaming
- Ad Blocking: The increased use of ad blockers means that not all intended audiences can be reached if you are using pop-ups or game ads.
- Receiving Negative Publicity: If poorly executed, advergames can turn off consumers rather than engage them. This is usually due to poorly defined target audiences and marketing goals.
- Incurring Low ROI: Measuring your advergames’ effectiveness in terms of ROI can be challenging. If your goal is to increase brand awareness, you will need to implement ways to measure success.
Examples Of Successful Advergaming Marketing Campaigns
While the theoretical aspects of advergaming offer a compelling narrative, real-world implementations provide the most convincing evidence of its effectiveness. Many brands have successfully employed advergaming campaigns to reach their business goals.
We looked at a few examples earlier, namely the old Pepsiman game and the more recent Angry Birds franchise. Here are a few more notable examples:
OBI Switzerland
This German DIY retail chain opened its first store in Switzerland in 1999. Since then, another 10 branches were opened nationwide and many Swiss consumers have come to trust the brand. Recently, OBI Switzerland sought to activate customers and increase sales using gamification.
They implemented various seasonal promotions using Memory and Spin The Wheel Game Concepts.
OBI Switzerland’s Summer Memory Game attracted 4,000 unique players and collected about 3,000 new leads in only two weeks.
Swisslos
The Swiss Lottery is not only a gamified experience itself but also invests in the community. Swisslos used various activations to gain more interest, including a “Guess the Picture” campaign for the Football (Soccer) World Cup.
With over 10,000 advergames played during the World Cup, Swisslos’ lead conversion rate was an impressive 58%.
Würth
German fastening and assembly manufacturer Würth is a long-standing and trusted brand. The franchise sought to enhance its in-store experience with interactive touchscreens. These touchscreens were meant to engage consumers and help them discover products.
Würth noticed low engagement with the touchscreens and gamified the experience using Brame’s platform, offering a chance to win special discounts on in-store products with a Spin The Wheel game.
The campaign achieved more than 62% conversion rate and an even higher newsletter conversion rate of nearly 80%, providing Würth with high-quality leads.
Each of these campaigns leveraged unique gamification strategies to engage users, reflecting the versatility of advergaming. Are you ready to try advergaming for your brand’s marketing and advertising?
Follow our guide below for implementing advergames at your company.
How To Implement Advergames In Your Marketing Strategy
Stepping into advergaming can seem daunting, but with the right strategy, it is feasible and rewarding.
- Define Your Objectives
- Know Your Audience
- Balance Branding And Gameplay
- Gather Data And Iterate
- Consider ROI
1. Define Your Objectives
Are you aiming for increased brand awareness, user engagement, or data collection? Knowing your goal is paramount.
Begin by delineating what you wish to achieve. Are you focusing on broadening your brand awareness, boosting user engagement, or honing in on data collection?
Setting clear, concise goals will guide your advergaming strategy, ensuring your efforts are targeted and effective.
2. Know Your Audience
Ensure the game resonates with your target demographic. Consider their preferences, habits, and gaming platforms of choice.
Conducting market research will help you glean insights into their gaming habits. You can use this information to tailor an advergame to captivate their interest and produce the desired results.
3. Balance Branding And Gameplay
While your brand is central, gameplay should not be compromised. It is essential for the game to be enjoyable to retain user interest.
Strike a delicate balance between promoting your brand and offering captivating gameplay. An engaging game ensures sustained user interest and positive association with your brand.
4. Gather Data And Iterate
Use analytics to gather data on player behaviors. This will provide insights for further refining the game or for future campaigns.
Analyzing this data will provide a nuanced understanding of what works and what does not, enabling you to refine the gaming experience continually and optimize it for your marketing goals.
5. Consider ROI
While advergaming can be cost-intensive, its potential returns regarding brand recognition, loyalty, and data collection can be substantial.
You can regularly assess your returns to ensure the endeavor stays profitable and aligned with your overall marketing strategy.
The Future Of Advertising Gamification
The world of advergaming is continually evolving. With advancements in technology and a deeper understanding of consumer behavior, the future looks promising.
Technology Advancements
The continuous advancements in technology have paved the way for more innovative and immersive advergaming experiences. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) stand out as pioneering technologies revolutionizing the advergaming landscape.
With AR, brands can create interactive advergames that merge the digital and physical worlds, offering consumers a unique and engaging experience that can heighten brand awareness and loyalty. AR advergames can be accessed on smartphones and tablets, making them accessible to a broad audience.
VR takes it a step further by providing a fully immersive gaming experience. Brands can craft detailed and interactive 3D worlds where consumers can experience the brand in a novel and memorable way. VR advergames require specific hardware like VR headsets.
Role Of Analytics
Effective advergaming goes beyond just creating an engaging game. It requires comprehensive data analysis to understand player behavior, preferences, and interactions within the game.
Marketers can glean valuable information about their target audience by analyzing data from advergames. This includes understanding which game elements resonate most with players, assessing the effectiveness of in-game advertising, and gauging overall user satisfaction and engagement levels.
These insights are invaluable for making data-driven decisions that enhance the advergaming experience, ensuring it aligns with player expectations and preferences.
Aanalytics offer a window into the return on investment for advergaming campaigns. By tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) such as user acquisition, retention, and lifetime value, businesses can measure the success of their advergames and determine the overall impact on their marketing goals and objectives.
Growing Significance In A Digitized World
As people spend more time online and gaming becomes more mainstream, advergaming will be essential for brands aiming to remain relevant.
The global move towards digitization has accelerated, making the online world an integral part of individuals’ daily lives. With the significant increase in online activity, from shopping to socializing and entertainment, the significance of advergaming in a digitized world is growing exponentially.
Advergaming is immersive and interactive, enabling brands to create deeper connections with consumers and fostering brand affinity. In a world where consumers are constantly bombarded with advertisements, advergaming offers a unique and engaging way for your brand to stand out, resonate with consumers, and solidify its position in the market.
Next Steps: Starting Your Gamification Journey
Advergaming is more than just a fleeting trend. It’s a strategic move towards the future of advertising. As technology progresses and consumer behaviors shift, advergaming remains a constant in its ability to engage, entertain, and leave a lasting brand impression.
What makes advergames so compelling is the underlying psychological effects of challenge and reward. By channeling people’s intrinsic reward systems, marketing can become an exciting and positive customer experience.
Each advergame type has its pros and cons. You can choose the types that suit your audience preferences and marketing goals.
To embark on your advergaming journey, remember the core principles:
- Prioritize your audience
- Balance brand messaging with compelling gameplay
- Continually adapt based on data insights
Ready to try Brame’s gamification platform for your advergaming marketing strategy?
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