Advergaming – A New Solution to an Old Problem

Marketers have always aimed at increasing brand awareness and brand loyalty among consumers. However, the traditional mass media ads have long ago proven to be unsuccessful in achieving that so advertisers are now searching for a creative way to communicate brand messages in an entertaining and engaging manner. In their article Can Advergaming Be the Future of Interactive Advertising?, Jane Chen and Matthew Ringel discuss the relatively new trend of advergaming and its potentials for solving the marketers’ problems.
According to the authors, advergaming can be defined as the “the use of interactive gaming technology to deliver embedded advertising messages to consumers.” This is a new approach to interactive marketing that can provide an effective solution to the problem of efficiently reaching consumers. It can also be a source of valuable information through the processes of registration and playing.

Chen and Ringel distinguish four types of advergaming depending on the levels of brand immersion and data captivity and provide examples for each of the four possibilities. In Quadrant I with high brand immersion and low data captivity they place General Mills Cinnamon Toast Crunch’s Advertory and Jack Daniels’s Real Pool. In Quadrant II, where both indicators are low, are Nabisco’s Candystand.com and Fruit Roll-ups’ Scouts in Space. In Quadrant III with low brand immersion and high data captivity is Paramount’s Lucky Numbers. And finally an example of a game in Quadrant IV, with high brand immersion and data captivity, is Nike’s Shox Dunk Game.

Advergames can also be classified according to the degree the brand message has been incorporated into the game. Using this classification there are three types of advergames – associative, illustrative, and demonstrative. In the first type the product is associated to the particular lifestyle or activity featured in the game. In this case, advertisers should make sure that the brand and the lifestyle/activity it is associated with are compatible and reinforce each other. The real pool by Jack Daniels falls into that category. In illustrative games the product is integrated in the game (i.e. what you are doing to play the game directly involves the product), increasing the possibility of remembering the brand. Toast of the Town is an example of an illustrative game. And finally, demonstrative games “allow the consumer to experience the product in the virtual confines of the gaming space.” (Chen, J; Ringel, M., Can Advergaming Be the Future of Interactive Advertising?, 2001, p.4) According to the authors, Nike’s Shox Dunk falls in this category, effectively communicating the brand message by presenting the product in its natural environment and allowing the player to interact with it. Nike even had a Nike Shoxploitation video to go with the game.

It is expected that advergaming will become widely use by marketers whose products allow the incorporation of the brand into a game. However, a good brand-game match is vital to the success of the campaign.