Picture this — you are playing a snake game online, and every time it eats a number, a Cadbury Eclairs flashes as your reward.
Call it adver-gaming
MUMBAI: Picture this — you are playing a snake game online, and every time it eats a number, a Cadbury Eclairs flashes as your reward.
Call it adver-gaming, a cool combination of advertising and gaming, as the name suggests. Dozens of such games are available for download.
The benefits for an advertiser are many, least of all the fact that he spends just Rs 5-15 lakh, depending on the type of game created and the network it is launched on. This includes a one-time development cost paid to game developers, while the network or portal which makes the game available to online or mobile users, earns browsing revenues.
In return, however, the advertiser gets visibility, focus on the target consumer and brand recall, given the number of times a brand recurs in the game.
To cite another example, Thumbs-up Everest challenge, which takes you on an expedition that has loads of adventure - dodging the falling rocks, logs and boulders; avoiding treacherous ice patches; even defending against angry birds. And, a Thumbs Up bottle as an ‘energy measure’ is part of the game.
Rohit Sharma, chief operating officer, Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd said, “Zapak.com has brought on offer a critical user base of over 2 million users, which has prompted clients like adidas, Ponds’ i-blushed.com, Cadbury’s, Thumbs Up and IMS, among others, to associate with adver-gaming and in-game branding.”
The mobile gaming market in India is estimated at Rs150 crore and is growing exponentially. “Adver-gaming will soon account for more than 50% of all gaming revenues 2-3 years from now, as it serves as the most engaging means of connecting with the target audience,” said Sharma.
Jump Games, which is into game design and development across Web and mobile platforms, has created games like ‘Thumbs-up Everest Challenge’ and ‘Super Footer’, which came out during the FIFA World Cup last year.
“Currently, investment in adver-gaming would be less than 1% of the total ad-spend of any advertiser. But the market is heating up. Half-a-million downloads were witnessed in a month for Everest Challenge,” said Salil Bhargava, chief executive officer, Jump Games.
Through an online game, the advertiser gets the user’s attention for at least 3-5 minutes per game play session. That is intense exposure to the brand in comparison to a 30 second television commercial where ad avoidance is measured the highest. The brand recall value should surge exponentially if the game is good and played over and over again.
“We use adver-gaming as part of our overall 360-degree communication mix. The basic idea is brand engagement through the online medium,” said Sanjay Purohit, director, marketing, Cadbury India.
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