I have recently suffered a great
loss as my beloved trusty Xbox 360 games console died. Now you might think that
at 42 I am too old to play video games but the stats would disagree. Today games
players cannot be defined by a particular age, sex or social group.
The Internet Advertising Bureau has
estimated that there are 33 million regular gamers in the UK
That vast audience has not escaped
the attention of major brands. The last few years has seen a rise in brands
trying to use “gamification” to various success. Some have even created games as
a brand marketing exercise, most notably the successful Barclays waterslide app
for the iPad. Other brands have embraced placing ads in actual games and not who
you would expect.
It’s not the “yoof” brands that are
pushing the boundaries of this type of advertising. Insurer Swiftcover, part of
AXA Insurance, has placed ads in games including Pro Evolution Soccer, Guitar
Hero and Tiger Woods PGA tour. They have now taken this learning to another
level creating mini games inside Facebook apps.
Another long standing in-game
advertiser is GCHQ. The spy agency has for over 7 years used in-game advertising
for its recruitment ads. They now use streaming video banners on the Xbox Live
online gaming platform to try to recruit new spooks. The ads change as the
player gets deeper and further into a game and so gives a guide to the spy
chiefs to the skills and suitability of a player.
For every successful campaign though
there have been many examples of failure. To make it work, the lessons from
those that have benefited is that the experience cannot take away from the game
and whatever it is; it must be as creative as the game they are trying to enjoy.
Tim Youngman is director of
marketing for Archant
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