Advergame in a few words
The word advergame is used when a brand builds a communication operation around a mini video game. The advergame has recently entered our language and comes from the United States. Its principle lies in the staging of products marketed by the brand in a game available free on the Internet.
As Gabriel Mamou-Mani, Associate Director of the Virtuadz agency, explains: "An advergame is a game whose scenario, characters and graphic environment showcase the values, image and universe of a brand or product. The rise in power of this marketing technique is mainly due to the democratization of video games, which reach a wider target than before. Among others, with the arrival of the Wii, DS and Kinect.
Advergames VS Contests
Advergames should not be confused with contests. Indeed, the means brought during the creation of an advergame bring a better quality to the game as well as a more important interest. Especially since the latter is not limited to a CRM (customer relationship management) objective.
According to Gabriel Mamou-Mani: "An advergame really corresponds to a qualitative approach of image building. In the advergame, there is not necessarily something to win, or contact information to enter."
Pros and cons of advergaming
Let's start with the cons. Creating an advergame requires a lot of creativity, it has to be relevant and not look like something you've seen before. Beyond the creativity, creating an advergame can be expensive compared to other forms of online marketing. Unlike other free games that often pay for themselves through advertising, it's not advisable for an advergame to have off-brand ads that would discourage your potential players. Finally, even if your game is, in itself, an advertisement for your brand, you will have to communicate on it in order to bring many users to play it. So you will have to advertise your advergame, even though this may seem paradoxical.
However, the advergame has many advantages! This strategy allows you to increase your brand awareness and to promote word-of-mouth. It's a long term strategy, the results of which are felt in the long term, the game can stay on the mobile or computer of your users for a long time and will be part of their daily life for a long time. Finally, the advergame can be used by almost any company, regardless of the sector of activity concerned.
In a nutshell:
The cons
- An advergame requires creativity
- An advergame is expensive
- You will have to promote your advergame
Pros
- An advergame can increase your brand awareness
- The results are present in the long term
- It can be adapted to all companies
Example of an advergame
The famous soda brand, Fanta, has recently released an advergame called "Fanta King of the Park". This advergame is accessible from the social network Facebook, offering the possibility to share it with all your friends. An effective way to increase its notoriety and to mark its positioning: "Fanta is fun".
When you visit this advergame, you find yourself immersed in the Fanta universe with its characters, scenery, colors, etc. King of the Park has 12 mini-games that are quick to learn. The brand is omnipresent, for example in the loading bar, but it does not disturb the user. A good way for Fanta to build consumer loyalty.
You have now understood that advergames can be a very efficient way to improve your brand's notoriety in the long term if you have the financial and human means. The brand invites itself in the life of the players without disturbing them. If you need to be accompanied for the conception of your advergame, contact us!