Friday, April 18, 2008
GREAT POST ON DIGICREST
See what blogger (and my coworker) has to say about uninformed sales teams here. The fella speaks da truf.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
LIP SYNC FRIDAYS - I WAS COUNTRY WHEN COUNTRY WASN'T COOL...
Whole Lotta "Woman"
If you don't like drag, you won't like this!
GAMING WEEK CONTINUES
I'm going to make a very long post today to finish out Gaming Week.
CASUAL GAMING GENRES
Just like Core games, Casual has a set of key genres:
Classic Arcade: Like the name says, these are PC and Internet versions of classic arcade games – pinball, Pac Man, and the like.
Card: PC versions of classic card games.
Gambling: Poker and casino simulations.
Pop Culture: Home versions of game shows, celeb trivia, you get it.
Puzzle: Think of them as desktop distractions, simple, telegraphic, relatively short duration of game play.
Resource Management: Similar in spirit to Real Time Strategy games, but with decidedly nonviolent content. A classic example is that you are running a lemonade stand and through guile and efficiency and marketing savvy become a lemonade tycoon.
Trivia: You Don’t Know Jack got it started, now there are many clones. Trivial Pursuit made electronic.
Word: Crossword, Jumble, Sodoku (yes I know it’s numbers).
There are other genres, but these are some of the biggies.
SOME STATISTICS ON WHO’S PLAYING WHAT
There are five major sectors of gaming to consider:
Core Console: This refers to people who play “core” games on machines like XBOX 360 and PS3. Men 18-34 dominate this sector. According to a 2007 Jupiter report, 42% of men 18-34 play console games. This compares to 7% of women, and 21% of all men. Those are some huge differences – Men 18-34 are 6 times more likely to game than all women, and twice as likely as all men.
Jupiter also reported that 52% of console gamers are Men 18-34, and that most advertisers who had used game environments to deliver their messages were naturally focused on this demographic. For such advertisers, in-game represents a need as much as an opportunity given that this demo has reduced its TV viewing by 5 hours a week in recent years.
Core PC: Jupiter states that 32% of men 18-34 play “action/arcade” games on PCs. That compares with 24% of women, and 24% of all men. Title specific data shows, though, that women and men tend to play different games. For example, the SIMs franchise has some of the highest female usage rates.
Core Online: Jupiter also reported that 38% of men play action, fantasy, and other “core” games online. This compared to 22% for women and 24% for all men. The higher relative and absolute figure for women reflect the kinds of games available for play online, and a greater propensity to play more MMOGs like WarCraft.
These character development games have violent content, but also place greater emphasis on community and bullet-free personal interaction.
Anecdotally, I recently attended a dinner party where the conversation may have provided some insight into why women are choosing these social environments. Four of the women (all single, all between 35-45) were players of Eve Online, the Sci-Fi MMOG that is growing rapidly.
Here are a few of their comments:
“I am sort of embarrassed to say this, but I joined to meet guys.”
“Yes, there are always more men than women on these. And the guys chat you up.”
“It’s a strange way to meet people, but no stranger than eHarmony, and you can tell something about a guy by how he plays and who he’s friends with.”
Casual Online: Again, Jupiter provides the following facts: 26% of men 18-34 play “traditional card/board” games online. The figures for all women and all men are 23% and 23% respectively. The results may vary somewhat by title, but noncore “casual” games are clearly a medium that many mainstream brands could leverage. Men play more poker, for example, and women more celebrity and board games.
Hand Held Gamers: 13% of Men 18-34 use a handheld gaming device, compared to 5% for all women and 7% for all men. All according to the same Jupiter report.
At the risk of getting a mailbox full of disagreement, I offer the following perceptual map based upon an extensive review of gaming sites and blogs. And YES, I know there are women playing Street Fighter, and Men playing Millionaire. But generally this appears to be the lay of the land:
One critical consideration is that 20 years ago the average gamer was in his Teens. Now, they are in their 30s. Partly the result of an aging society, but also because gamers took play with them as they grew up, and options for women became more prevalent.
There’s a lot of information in this section. But really only one essential takeaway: The people that you think are gaming – young males, gadget geeks, techies, absolutely are. But they are far outnumbered by the tens of millions of other people who play games but don’t fit any of those stereotypes. If you are steering clear of gaming because of such misconceptions, you may very well be missing out on some of the best marketing opps you have available.
GAME RATINGS
Naturally, target is a huge consideration for marketers, so understanding who plays what is crucial. An additional consideration is the gaming environment in which your marketing could appear. Brands need to align their game media choices with their editorial standards for the environments in which there messages appear.
For reasons that will become clearer later, most marketers aren’t buying in-game opps title by title but rather by rating and genre. This strategy is really the only way to make in-game advertising and marketing scalable for major national brands.
The Entertainment Software Ratings Board provides ratings for games, much like the MPAA does for movies. But the letter indicators and descriptions are different. Here’s a summary I lifted from the ESRB web site:
CASUAL GAMING GENRES
Just like Core games, Casual has a set of key genres:
Classic Arcade: Like the name says, these are PC and Internet versions of classic arcade games – pinball, Pac Man, and the like.
Card: PC versions of classic card games.
Gambling: Poker and casino simulations.
Pop Culture: Home versions of game shows, celeb trivia, you get it.
Puzzle: Think of them as desktop distractions, simple, telegraphic, relatively short duration of game play.
Resource Management: Similar in spirit to Real Time Strategy games, but with decidedly nonviolent content. A classic example is that you are running a lemonade stand and through guile and efficiency and marketing savvy become a lemonade tycoon.
Trivia: You Don’t Know Jack got it started, now there are many clones. Trivial Pursuit made electronic.
Word: Crossword, Jumble, Sodoku (yes I know it’s numbers).
There are other genres, but these are some of the biggies.
SOME STATISTICS ON WHO’S PLAYING WHAT
There are five major sectors of gaming to consider:
Core Console: This refers to people who play “core” games on machines like XBOX 360 and PS3. Men 18-34 dominate this sector. According to a 2007 Jupiter report, 42% of men 18-34 play console games. This compares to 7% of women, and 21% of all men. Those are some huge differences – Men 18-34 are 6 times more likely to game than all women, and twice as likely as all men.
Jupiter also reported that 52% of console gamers are Men 18-34, and that most advertisers who had used game environments to deliver their messages were naturally focused on this demographic. For such advertisers, in-game represents a need as much as an opportunity given that this demo has reduced its TV viewing by 5 hours a week in recent years.
Core PC: Jupiter states that 32% of men 18-34 play “action/arcade” games on PCs. That compares with 24% of women, and 24% of all men. Title specific data shows, though, that women and men tend to play different games. For example, the SIMs franchise has some of the highest female usage rates.
Core Online: Jupiter also reported that 38% of men play action, fantasy, and other “core” games online. This compared to 22% for women and 24% for all men. The higher relative and absolute figure for women reflect the kinds of games available for play online, and a greater propensity to play more MMOGs like WarCraft.
These character development games have violent content, but also place greater emphasis on community and bullet-free personal interaction.
Anecdotally, I recently attended a dinner party where the conversation may have provided some insight into why women are choosing these social environments. Four of the women (all single, all between 35-45) were players of Eve Online, the Sci-Fi MMOG that is growing rapidly.
Here are a few of their comments:
“I am sort of embarrassed to say this, but I joined to meet guys.”
“Yes, there are always more men than women on these. And the guys chat you up.”
“It’s a strange way to meet people, but no stranger than eHarmony, and you can tell something about a guy by how he plays and who he’s friends with.”
Casual Online: Again, Jupiter provides the following facts: 26% of men 18-34 play “traditional card/board” games online. The figures for all women and all men are 23% and 23% respectively. The results may vary somewhat by title, but noncore “casual” games are clearly a medium that many mainstream brands could leverage. Men play more poker, for example, and women more celebrity and board games.
Hand Held Gamers: 13% of Men 18-34 use a handheld gaming device, compared to 5% for all women and 7% for all men. All according to the same Jupiter report.
At the risk of getting a mailbox full of disagreement, I offer the following perceptual map based upon an extensive review of gaming sites and blogs. And YES, I know there are women playing Street Fighter, and Men playing Millionaire. But generally this appears to be the lay of the land:
One critical consideration is that 20 years ago the average gamer was in his Teens. Now, they are in their 30s. Partly the result of an aging society, but also because gamers took play with them as they grew up, and options for women became more prevalent.
There’s a lot of information in this section. But really only one essential takeaway: The people that you think are gaming – young males, gadget geeks, techies, absolutely are. But they are far outnumbered by the tens of millions of other people who play games but don’t fit any of those stereotypes. If you are steering clear of gaming because of such misconceptions, you may very well be missing out on some of the best marketing opps you have available.
GAME RATINGS
Naturally, target is a huge consideration for marketers, so understanding who plays what is crucial. An additional consideration is the gaming environment in which your marketing could appear. Brands need to align their game media choices with their editorial standards for the environments in which there messages appear.
For reasons that will become clearer later, most marketers aren’t buying in-game opps title by title but rather by rating and genre. This strategy is really the only way to make in-game advertising and marketing scalable for major national brands.
The Entertainment Software Ratings Board provides ratings for games, much like the MPAA does for movies. But the letter indicators and descriptions are different. Here’s a summary I lifted from the ESRB web site:
If you read the statements, you may find the standards more lax than those of the MPAA. They certainly are for suggestiveness and sexuality.
ESRB is a self regulating body, not a government organization. Just like MPAA. One criticism of the ESRB system, besides having relatively lax content standards, is that the ESRB decides the rating for a game based upon a video of game play sent to them by the game producer. Basically, the producer can get any rating they want by carefully selecting game play content. In other words, there’s really no doubt about what rating a game is going to get like there is sometimes with a movie. In fairness to the ESRB, this is really the only practical way to do this – a body like ESRB cannot be expected to play every level of each of the 1000+ games that are produced. But for some parents, it may foment cynicism.
I’ll leave it to you to decide what kind of content is appropriate to associate with your brand.
DO CORE GAMES INCREASE VIOLENCE IN PLAYERS?
The issue of the impact of violence in core games on children (and adults) is an industry bugaboo. As a marketer, you may have moral or expedient concerns about this issue, so it seems prudent to discuss research and opinions on the topic here.
Well, do they increase real world violence? Honestly, I can’t say. There are studies on both sides. One of the most sensible in my opinion was conducted in Swynburne University of Technology in Australia. The study said that play of a violent first person shooter exacerbated violent tendencies among kids who were violence prone, but had no effect on kids that didn’t.
It seems likely to me that there also has to be a question of degrees. If you allow a 14 year old to play a first person shooter for 6 hours a day, I think that it is likely that the game will have an effect on that person’s outlook. Not that they will go shoot up their High School or something. But there are surely effects of spending 25% of your time killing things. But if everyone who had ever played Halo killed someone, the streets would be piled with corpses.
Misogyny in games is another consideration. There are a lot of 38DDD women characters in these games and a lot of women who seem to exist to be wanton sperm receptacles. I know of one in which a buxom female secretary sleeps with men that can help her so she can live without working. Hmm. I would imagine that this does has an effect on how young boys value girls and women.
On the other hand, many female characters in games are kickass heroines who do their own fighting. No trembling wallflowers these. No “you stay here while I fight the pterodactyl” that you get in movies and TV.
Ms. Pac man may have had a stupid bow, but she ate power dots and ghosts just like her brother. And characters like Lara Croft and Princess Peach were famous for competitiveness, tenacity, and kicking butt.
In sum I would say there is sexism in games as there is in all popular entertainment. After all, it’s the Harry Potter series, not the Hermione Granger series.
THE MARKETING OF CORE GAMES
There are two words that really define the tools of game marketing: graphics, and game play. Gamers constantly demand greater realism in their gaming experiences. And games are truly unbelievably realistic today. There are two aspects to this beauty – the “frame rate” and rendering speed possible, and the art behind a game.
You’ll probably hear game people talk about polygons at some point. This basically refers to the polygons of graphic that make up a game. If a computer can process more polygons, there can be more polygons on the screen at one time. More polygons mean that objects can be made up of smaller piece, so that greater realism is possible. For example, you could make a human face from one squarish polygon or thousands of them that simulated eyes and nose and teeth, etc. No one wants to look at a square for a face.
The things that hold back game realism are processing speed and graphics rendering speed. On your computer it would probably be the graphics that hold you back. That’s why the minimum requirements specs on a game often refer to needing advanced graphics accelerator cards that make the rendering go faster. Faster rendering allows more polygons and more realism.
The best way to see this is by playing, or by going to this link to watch a video of the best graphics for 2007:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/29276.html
My personal favorite is mentioned in the list: Assassin’s Creed.
Sports games demonstrate more realism, but for pure beauty, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed is tough to beat.
XBOX and Playstation are constantly battling for leadership in graphics. Nintendo chose to take another road – innovating new forms of game play.
Wii is their revolutionary system that uses controllers that allow the users to actually simulate the actions they want to induce on screen. Pantomime batting, fishing, shooting whatever. Wii graphics aren’t as extremely intricate as those of the other two leading console platforms, but Wii is tearing up the marketplace because while Microsoft and Sony pursued better and better rendering, Nintendo decided to pursue better play.
Game marketing itself has traditionally been more hype than bona fide marketing. It’s like selling a movie. You generate pre-release buzz that hopefully comes to a crescendo with people standing in line for your title. Of course, people don’t stand in line for many titles. There are well over a thousand games produced every year. Perhaps 25 are megahits.
Since about 1999, however, game companies have put greater emphasis on brand franchises like Madden Football and Halo. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, if you have a mega seller, you want to connect with that entire audience again. Second, many people who buy core gamers aren’t super hard core. Maybe they buy 204 a year, and aren’t reading the game blogs five times a day. If there are a million super hard core gamers, there are tens of millions of in-betweens who buy games they have faith in. The cost of a game can be $50 or more, so these in betweens want an assurance that they are spending their money on great titles. One way to send that signal is to slap a megahit name on it.
Anyway. There is now more long term marketing being done, particularly on mega franchises. But it will probably always be a hype driven category.
The costs to develop an excellent, graphically intense game can be colossal. Ten years ago $500K-$1MM could make a decent title. Now it can be $10MM or more. The most expensive ever, according to most-expensive.com, was Shenmue, which was completed after 7 years of development at a cost of over $20MM. This was a game with a real, changing, weather system, according to the site. When you read that, it becomes clearer why the industry is gravitating more to tried and true franchises and sequels. Shenmue, BTW, was pretty much a flop. Partly because the lead platform was the now defunct Sega Dreamcast.
Games typically get a trailer, a sexy box, a mini site, some print ads and digital ads, and maybe a couple weeks of male skewing TV. It’s a good hype artist that can turn that little into a phenom.
Another major challenge of game marketing is the retail trade. It is controlled by a few national retailers, who have a thousand new titles to choose form. Slotting, in store ads, retailer promos and a bunch of other things are essential to keep the giants. Some of the giants, BTW, are:
· Best Buy
· Circuit City
· Costco
· EB Games
· Office Depot
· Sam’s Club
· Staples
· Target
· Wal*Mart
When you look at that list, you can see that these are some of the most powerful and data savvy retailers out there. It’s a rare title that doesn’t have to go on sales calls with hat in hand and other hand with fist of cash.
Of course, online sales are increasing, which may change the retailer dynamic over time. Additionally, better broadband connections will eventually make it possible to download games without a retail purchase. One suspects that there are a lot of senior execs at gaming companies dreaming of that day.
And as a hype driven business, you buy your way onto the shelf, and then you better deliver sales pronto. Because if you don’t, you’ll be out of the planogram in a few weeks. This is cut throat stuff.
Another trend is that more and more games are being adapted for online play without gargantuan downloads. This is also changing the landscape for gaming companies and retailers.
ENTER GAME-DELIVERED MARKETING
Naturally, the idea of creating new revenue streams through advertising is very appealing to the gaming industry. If you’re plunking down $10 Mil on a new brand, it’s reassuring to have several ways to make money on it.
Marketers outside of the gaming industry have already shown great interest in in-game marketing. It started as a way to reach those elusive 10-34 year old men that appeared to drastically reduce their TV time over the past several years. But now it is broadening as CPG and other categories use casual and all family games as a way to create brand experiences. This section will discuss some of the leading options for game-delivered marketing.
Console and PC Video Game Advertising
Most major video game companies now offer opportunities for marketers to insert ads and product placement in their titles. Gamers, by the way, are fine with this if:
· The marketing contributes to greater realism. For example, if a game takes place in New York City, having Starbucks on every corner makes the simulation more realistic.
· The marketing increases the budget for the game, making it better.
· The marketing effectively reduces the retail price of a game.
Here are some of the ways for a brand to be in games:
Billboards and Posters: One of the earliest forms of advertising in games, posters and billboards allow advertisers to insert static ads within the environment of a game. As players walk, run, or drive through the environment, they pass these messages just as one passes billboards in real life.
3-D ads allow products and messages to be more of a fixture in a game. These can be 3-D ad opps like a billboard truck or actually featuring a product in the game, like a car. Again, two screenshots from the Massive site:
More advanced versions of 3-D product inclusion are that users can actually employ virtual versions of advertisers’ products in the game. This has become increasingly popular with auto makers as a way of generating awareness and interest in new models, especially models geared to young men.
Interactive Ads: Interactive billboards change graphically when the user clicks on them. This can provide additional info, branding or product views.
Branded Environments: Here the advertiser can create a branded section of a game that users can walk through, fight in, buy things from, etc.
Video Inserts: A step forward from the billboard is the video insert. Here a billboard or other such object can actually play a video or Flash animation. In the example below from the Massive site, a brief trailer for the movie 300 is playing in the billboard.
Challenges to Core Video Game Advertising: One of the biggest issues is how to balance the needs of the advertiser with legitimate gamer expectations that the marketing be game enhancing. Choice appears to be a critical consideration here. A 30 second prestitial forced upon the user before every level? No. A billboard flashing in a Times Square environment? Yes.
Anecdotal evidence appears to suggest that gamers don’t like heavy handed marketing, especially in very expensive software titles. If you shell out $60, you shouldn’t be playing an infomercial.
Another issue is the updatability of ads. The original ads in a game were hard coded, meaning that you designed an ad for your product and it stayed the same. It’s not as if an ad for the old Scion XB becomes a new XB when the model changes.
Dynamic ads are possible in games played online, but the development cycle of a game, which can last years, can make it very difficult for an advertiser and its agency to nimbly include messages. You don’t get into a AAA title release with three weeks of lead time. You have to plan ahead.
Now companies like IGA offer dynamic in game advertising in games played over the internet. This is an important development. IGA and the other majors are also creating in-game ad opps that work more like classic net advertising – where you buy a demo rather than a title. This is important stuff in terms of creating a massive category. Product placement in AAA titles will continue to be a factor, but the emergence of impression-based demo buying will likely revolutionize this business.
Content has also been an issue for many advertisers. While some male oriented brands may have no issue with their billboard being splattered with blood or filled with bullet holes, most marketers would cringe at these possibilities. An advertiser does have a choice of what games she advertises in, and could further decree that they only wanted to be in ESRB “E” titles or some such. But it can still be a little scary for a wholesome brand.
Online Core Game Advertising
The above information really relates to shrink-wrapped games. But increasingly, core games are also available online without the purchase of a shrink wrapped product. Sometimes these games are Flash versions of heretofore CD-based titles, and other times the titles are released as online games only. In either case, advertising plays a much larger role in this segment of core gaming. Since people want everything online for free, you cannot expect people to pay $50 for an online game. Instead, marketing and advertising must pick up the tab.
Fortunately, however, the dynamism of the online environment makes it far easier to develop and execute effective marketing programs in this type of gaming experience. The leader in this space is Wild Tangent, because of OEM agreements (OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer, and refers to the bundling of software into the computer units that a manufacturer ships. Wild Tangent has agreements with Lenovo, Toshiba, HP, and Dell computers, and is rumored to have more agreements in the works. Thus computers from these companies come with the Wild Tangent gaming environment pre-installed.
Companies like Wild Tangent offer three basic types of advertising solutions:
Site Page Sponsorships: You can place ads on the pages of the sites where consumers look for these types of games. Banners, towers, and big squares are available.
Around Game Ads: These ads appear around a game screen. There are several types:
· Console wrappers that skin the edges of a game screen with branded graphics and messages.
· Game launch ads that appear when the consumers clicks to play.
· Load screens that display while a game is loading.
· Game exits that appear after the consumer ends her gaming session.
In Game Ads: Online games offer the same sorts of display ad options as shrink wrap games. One difference is that because these games live online, the flexibility to change and rotate creative can be greater.
Deep Sponsorships: Online games also offer the opportunity to create deep interactive experiences in support of a brand message. Some examples of how this can look include:
· Special brand themed levels or rooms of a game.
· Special characters related to a brand.
· Special objects in object oriented games.
There is a great deal of flexibility in these sorts of game formats. The game development platform for Wild Tangent, for example, was specifically designed to allow advertisers to become an integral part of games in a few weeks of development.
Such gaming solutions typically offer a range of both core and noncore titles that make them fairly versatile for meeting the needs of a brand range of advertisers. Companies like Unilever and Clorox, for example, have become involved in game marketing through this channel.
Non Core Online Games
Sites like Pogo, Yahoo Games, Wild Tangent, and MSN Zone offer a broad range of games, and advertising is a critical revenue stream to keep these environments going. While many of these sites now sell more complete versions of casual games in download form, ads still comprise bread and butter revenue for such sites.
If you haven’t visited these sites in awhile, take a virtual trip over. Things have changed from…say…four years ago when games were more web based and less dependent upon downloads. The downloads offer greater game play and appear to be a tool to get users to buy deluxe versions of games. Often games have a free one hour trial followed by an offer to purchase the game or a deluxe version of the game for $20 or so dollars.
Because advertising often makes gaming experiences free, casual gamers are far more tolerant of overt advertising approaches. Therefore, as you will see below, the media vehicles that are most used will look rather familiar to marketers who are active in other areas of digital marketing.
Site Banners: The gimme of the genre. Yes, you can buy banners on gaming sites. Based upon the preponderance of DR advertising on these sites, one suspects that this is not considered “premium” inventory. Intuitively that makes sense. If you are going to a site to play, banners are going to be bottom of mind.
Around Game Banners: These place your ads in the relatively low clutter environment around the playing screen of a game. Typically, free versions of the games offer ads, while pay do not.
Game Sponsorships: Brands can sponsor casual games and get logos and other graphics integrated into them. You can either sponsor a free game or offer free plays of a pay to play game.
Branded Versions: There are many examples of branded versions of other games. For example, there is a SpongeBob version of the popular “Diner Dash” casual game, in which SpongeBob must wait on an increasing number of tables in a diner.
Load Screen, Entrance, and Exit Screens: These are low clutter units that appear just before or just after a gamer plays.
Sponsored Channels: Advertisers can now have “channels” of games created for them, or simply sponsor existing channels of ads. Megabrand Olay is an example of a brand that has done this successfully.
Unusual Opps: There are other ways to participate on a game by game basis that can offer really interesting opportunities for certain brands. For example, editions of MSN’s OutSmart celebrity game had plugs for Ford trucks by country music stars.
GAME MARKETING PROVIDERS
I have mentioned a variety of companies in this white paper, and have used the best visual examples I could find. Because some company sites offer more examples than others, it may appear that I am favoring one company over another. That is not my intent. To level the playing field, I’ve tried to provide as comprehensive a collection of the major providers and their strengths below.
Major Core Gaming Marketing Providers (Alphabetical order)
Double Fusion (http://www.doublefusion.com/)
IGA Worldwide (http/www.IGAWorldwide.com)
Massive Incorporated (http://www.massiveincorporated.com/)
Wild Tangent (Online Only Versions of Games) (http://www.wildtangent.com/)
Major Casual Games Marketing Providers
AOL Games (http://games.aol.com/
Free Online Games (http://www.freeonlinegames.com/ )
MSN Zone (Soon to Be Live Games) (http://www.zone.msn.com/)
Pogo (http://www.pogo.com/)
QQ (http://www.qqgames.com/)
Wild Tangent (http://www.wildtangent.com/)
Yahoo (http://www.games.yahoo.com/ )
OTHER WAYS TO LEVERAGE THE APPEAL OF GAMING
A final approach I would like to discuss is advergaming, or the development of branded games for use in marketing efforts. Advergames are not new, but in my personal experience the results from advergames, and specifically advergame ad units, are nothing short of phenomenal. Here are some stats from my personal experience:
· A media company targeting advertising with an average 0.23% CTR for Flash banners got 3.55% with an advergame over a two month flight. 15X
· A publisher trying to drive traffic with average CTRs of 0.45% got 9.3% CTR with an advergame. 20-21X!
· Another publisher with CTRs of .17% for flash banners got 3.45% with an advergame ad. 21X
But that’s just clicks. The proof is in other metrics. In each case, the quality of traffic-to-other-desired-actions (leads, memberships) was AT LEAST AS GOOD as for the banners. For purchases, conversion rates have been about 25% lower in my experience, but that diminution in quality is more than made up for in quantity.
These are isolated examples, but I have NEVER seen an advergame get less than 8X the clicks, and 50% of the conversion quality.
Advergames work. They have, in my experience, particular power in B2B, where the balance of advertising on a page tends to be boring and predictable.
CONCLUSIONS
Gaming is ready to help most brands market. Is it your best choice? I have no way of knowing. But it definitely warrants consideration and testing, whether your target is M18-34 or really any other demo. Of course, gaming needs to be evaluated in the context of a broader marketing strategy, and the specific game programs you select need to be both respectful of gamers and consistent with the brand and your desired audience.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
AD TECH DETOUR
So, I am interrupting the gaming week festivities on OLDMTA to report on the coolest thing I had never heard of before that I saw at AdTech.
It's Linkstorm, a DHTML banner platform that delivers menus that give users a way to drill down to get exactly what they want from an advertiser. Imagine a PC banner. Roll over and DHTML offers a menu of choice like choose by price, choose by speed, etc. Roll over price and you see 6 PCs at various pricepoints. This is all on the content page you were visiting. When you finally click, you are redirected to a page specifically about the PC you were most interested in. It gets the consumer what they want without making them find their way via site nav. And more importantly for DR purposes, gets you several clicks closer to the buy button.
It's simple. It's not some 4 billion data point data base that tracks my blood corpuscle count and the way it reflects my desire to buy Roma versus beefsteak tomatoes.
But I really liked it. I like simple best. http://www.linkstorms.com/ NOTE THE S AT THE END.
It's Linkstorm, a DHTML banner platform that delivers menus that give users a way to drill down to get exactly what they want from an advertiser. Imagine a PC banner. Roll over and DHTML offers a menu of choice like choose by price, choose by speed, etc. Roll over price and you see 6 PCs at various pricepoints. This is all on the content page you were visiting. When you finally click, you are redirected to a page specifically about the PC you were most interested in. It gets the consumer what they want without making them find their way via site nav. And more importantly for DR purposes, gets you several clicks closer to the buy button.
It's simple. It's not some 4 billion data point data base that tracks my blood corpuscle count and the way it reflects my desire to buy Roma versus beefsteak tomatoes.
But I really liked it. I like simple best. http://www.linkstorms.com/ NOTE THE S AT THE END.
Monday, April 14, 2008
GAME MARKETING WEEK - LEADING GAME GENRES
Today I will be reviewing the leading genres in core gaming.
CORE GAME GENRES
Action/Adventure games: In this type of game, the player is usually on some sort of quest, and along the way is provided with a variety of challenges – puzzles, hunts, collecting stuff, and of course bloody combat. The advantage of this genre is that there are a variety of types of challenges.
Adventure games: Here the player is on a quest and the focus is on puzzles and clues, with little or no shoot em up combat. The Zork games really popularized this version, even though they were text only – no graphics. Later they did introduce graphical titles games, and then went graphical.
Fighter games: A fighting game traditionally has meant a one on one deathmatch, viewed from the third person perspective. You see the fight from the side and control your fighter remotely.
New Fighters are changing the rules however, the upcoming Streetfighter IV, for example, appears to offer first and third person perspectives, meaning you can shift from the third person view to seeing as if you were your fighter.
It also appears to be a multiplayer fighter, a sort of mayhem mode of play.
First Person Shooter (FPS): First person refers to the visual perspective of the game. First person means that the game displays as if you are the fighter and you see from the fighter’s eyes. You’ve probably heard of Halo, the signature title of the XBOX franchise. Halo is a first person shooter.
Mech or Mecha games: This is a subgenre of Vehicle Combat games. Mechs are often gigantic robots that typically walk and run around wreaking havoc 24/7. Multiplayer mech games are hugely popular with a certain set of gamers. There are mech toys, mech movies, mech clothes, mech conventions, slash (user created) mech fiction, and it goes on from there.
Real Time Strategy: In this sort of game, the player typically has a task to perform – for example beating a competing army – and must gather resources, build up forces, create cities or bases, research new technologies, and of course beat that competing army. These take place in the present, past, and future. The real time part refers to the aspect that the players are making their decisions while game play is taking place.
There is also a genre of games called turn-based strategy, in which each player plans his actions and then the consequences play out after.
Role Playing Games: Think Dungeons and Dragons, and you have a general feel for this genre. Somewhat more unisex that shooters and fighters, these games are based around “character development.” Character development refers to the idea that experience and the completions of tasks and quests add abilities and strengths to your character. Perhaps a quest will result in your getting a new weapon, or battlefield experience will make you a better fighter. By acquiring these traits and objects, your character will be a better competitor in the game.
RPGs are much much MUCH more fun as multiplayer games. A big component of the game experience is social – banding together into guilds, communicating with one another, collaborating on quests. Many of the MMOGs are RPGs. World of WarCraft has registered 9 Million players for its stylized medieval experience.
In my opinion, the association of this genre with Dungeons and Dragons has held this genre back, but recently the success of MMOGs seems to have broken that artificial impediment to growth.
Sims games: The Sims franchise has imitators, but so dominates this type of game that I am going to use the brand name as the category name. In Sims games, the player essentially creates a surrogate life for herself – you create a character and then go through life acquiring skills, having babies, etc. They are like RPGs in concept but are more accessible because of the contemporary settings and less Dungeons and Dragons feel.
It’s a chance to live a life you’ve dreamed about, and millions of people who don’t play other core game genres happily become Sims every night. Each succession of the Sims series creates more visual realism and adds lifestyle, career, and other options.
Second Life is the massively multiplayer “sim” game – not connected to EA’s Sims franchise but with similar objectives and game play. Second Life has the added reality of people being able to make real world money – selling land, graphics, and the like.
Management Simulator games: In this genre, the player assumes the role of COO of something – a city, a zoo, a theme park, etc. and tries to create wealth and happiness by planning and executing people pleasing environments. Sim City is one the lead titles here, as are Zoo Tycoon and Roller Coaster Tycoon.
Simulators: The player in a simulator is essential put behind the wheel and must perform a real world task. Flight simulators are probably the best known segment. In a flight simulator, the better you fly, the better your play.
They also offer third person outside the cockpit views. In addition to flight simulators, there are also car racing simulators, space travel simulators, and a couple of others.
Sports games: Sports games traditionally put the player in the role of a coach or team owner, and they develop and execute strategy against an AI or real person player. More recently, some titles give the player the option of a first person view of a team player. Madden Football is the big daddy of the genre in the US. FIFA Soccer is the colossus overseas.
Tomorrow I'll be talking about the leading genres in noncore or casual gaming.
Thanks for reading and don't forget to write.
CORE GAME GENRES
Action/Adventure games: In this type of game, the player is usually on some sort of quest, and along the way is provided with a variety of challenges – puzzles, hunts, collecting stuff, and of course bloody combat. The advantage of this genre is that there are a variety of types of challenges.
Adventure games: Here the player is on a quest and the focus is on puzzles and clues, with little or no shoot em up combat. The Zork games really popularized this version, even though they were text only – no graphics. Later they did introduce graphical titles games, and then went graphical.
Fighter games: A fighting game traditionally has meant a one on one deathmatch, viewed from the third person perspective. You see the fight from the side and control your fighter remotely.
New Fighters are changing the rules however, the upcoming Streetfighter IV, for example, appears to offer first and third person perspectives, meaning you can shift from the third person view to seeing as if you were your fighter.
It also appears to be a multiplayer fighter, a sort of mayhem mode of play.
First Person Shooter (FPS): First person refers to the visual perspective of the game. First person means that the game displays as if you are the fighter and you see from the fighter’s eyes. You’ve probably heard of Halo, the signature title of the XBOX franchise. Halo is a first person shooter.
Mech or Mecha games: This is a subgenre of Vehicle Combat games. Mechs are often gigantic robots that typically walk and run around wreaking havoc 24/7. Multiplayer mech games are hugely popular with a certain set of gamers. There are mech toys, mech movies, mech clothes, mech conventions, slash (user created) mech fiction, and it goes on from there.
Real Time Strategy: In this sort of game, the player typically has a task to perform – for example beating a competing army – and must gather resources, build up forces, create cities or bases, research new technologies, and of course beat that competing army. These take place in the present, past, and future. The real time part refers to the aspect that the players are making their decisions while game play is taking place.
There is also a genre of games called turn-based strategy, in which each player plans his actions and then the consequences play out after.
Role Playing Games: Think Dungeons and Dragons, and you have a general feel for this genre. Somewhat more unisex that shooters and fighters, these games are based around “character development.” Character development refers to the idea that experience and the completions of tasks and quests add abilities and strengths to your character. Perhaps a quest will result in your getting a new weapon, or battlefield experience will make you a better fighter. By acquiring these traits and objects, your character will be a better competitor in the game.
RPGs are much much MUCH more fun as multiplayer games. A big component of the game experience is social – banding together into guilds, communicating with one another, collaborating on quests. Many of the MMOGs are RPGs. World of WarCraft has registered 9 Million players for its stylized medieval experience.
In my opinion, the association of this genre with Dungeons and Dragons has held this genre back, but recently the success of MMOGs seems to have broken that artificial impediment to growth.
Sims games: The Sims franchise has imitators, but so dominates this type of game that I am going to use the brand name as the category name. In Sims games, the player essentially creates a surrogate life for herself – you create a character and then go through life acquiring skills, having babies, etc. They are like RPGs in concept but are more accessible because of the contemporary settings and less Dungeons and Dragons feel.
It’s a chance to live a life you’ve dreamed about, and millions of people who don’t play other core game genres happily become Sims every night. Each succession of the Sims series creates more visual realism and adds lifestyle, career, and other options.
Second Life is the massively multiplayer “sim” game – not connected to EA’s Sims franchise but with similar objectives and game play. Second Life has the added reality of people being able to make real world money – selling land, graphics, and the like.
Management Simulator games: In this genre, the player assumes the role of COO of something – a city, a zoo, a theme park, etc. and tries to create wealth and happiness by planning and executing people pleasing environments. Sim City is one the lead titles here, as are Zoo Tycoon and Roller Coaster Tycoon.
Simulators: The player in a simulator is essential put behind the wheel and must perform a real world task. Flight simulators are probably the best known segment. In a flight simulator, the better you fly, the better your play.
They also offer third person outside the cockpit views. In addition to flight simulators, there are also car racing simulators, space travel simulators, and a couple of others.
Sports games: Sports games traditionally put the player in the role of a coach or team owner, and they develop and execute strategy against an AI or real person player. More recently, some titles give the player the option of a first person view of a team player. Madden Football is the big daddy of the genre in the US. FIFA Soccer is the colossus overseas.
Tomorrow I'll be talking about the leading genres in noncore or casual gaming.
Thanks for reading and don't forget to write.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
IN GAME MARKETING WEEK PART 1
It's in-game marketing week at OLDMTA, and all week long I will be posting sections of an upcoming white paper I have been working on for some time on the subject of in-game marketing.
This week of posts is designed to provide the marketing generalist with the basics of the gaming industry and how to leverage game marketing tools to improve marketing effectiveness. It is not designed for a gaming expert but rather for the person who is curious about the space but not well versed in it.
It covers:
• Game terminology
• Core game genres
• Casual game genres
• Statistics on who games
• Marketing issues to consider
• Game marketing options
• Game marketing providers
• Other ways to leverage the appeal of gaming
After reading this week of posts, the user will be equipped with the knowledge to take a strategic approach to exploring the potential for In0game marketing opportunities for their brands.
This week of posts is designed to provide the marketing generalist with the basics of the gaming industry and how to leverage game marketing tools to improve marketing effectiveness. It is not designed for a gaming expert but rather for the person who is curious about the space but not well versed in it.
It covers:
• Game terminology
• Core game genres
• Casual game genres
• Statistics on who games
• Marketing issues to consider
• Game marketing options
• Game marketing providers
• Other ways to leverage the appeal of gaming
After reading this week of posts, the user will be equipped with the knowledge to take a strategic approach to exploring the potential for In0game marketing opportunities for their brands.
INTRODUCTION
While not yet a large sector of digital advertising, the growth rates for spending on in-game advertising are tremendous. Partly this is a result of the changing realities of use and viewership of other media. That is, marketers are reacting to declines in TV usage among certain demos as game time increases.
But there are other factors as well. Games are the quintessential “lean-forward” medium – users are absolutely paying attention when they game, and advertisers work to capitalize on this opportunity to reach and connect to engaged minds.
GAME GLOSSARY
There are thousands of gaming terms from developer words like polygons to trash talk slang, which is akin to SMS slang.
Cinematics: Many games show mini movies at startup between levels of a game to help immerse the player in the game experience and to give the player something to look at while the level loads.
Console: There are a variety of machine types that play games. Those classic arcade machines, PCs, Macs, and Consoles, a term which refers to machines created especially for gaming. Examples are XBOX 360, PlayStation 3, and the Nintendo Wii.
Controller: This is the device on a console or PC game that lets the player direct their character or vehicle in a game. Used to be called a joystick.
Core Games: this refers to what most people think of when you hear the term “video games” – complex, graphically intense multilevel gaming experiences. They differ from Noncore games, which is a term that refers to generally less deep or graphically intense games like Bejeweled that are played in shorter periods of time. A trivia game is Noncore. A game where the emphasis is on blood and guts is a Core game.
E3: The Electronic Entertainment Expo was the major annual trade show of the core gaming industry. Most of the game developers and platforms display their upcoming goods. Recent E3s have become more intimate, less of a spectacle. This may be because the one upsmanship of past E3s raised the cost to participate to prohibitive levels. It’s hard to justify spending tens of millions for a booth.
Frame Rate: Similar to when the term is used in a movie, frame rate refers to the speed at which the action in a game is rendered on a screen.
Handheld Games: Another gaming format, handheld games are played on portable devices like the PSP and the Nintendo DS. These devices also have the ability to play music and movies, store photos, and the like.
Joystick: See Controller.
Levels: Many games offer multiple “levels” of play that get more challenging as the game progresses and the player gets better at playing. The first level of a game is going to be much easier than the thirtieth.
Massive Multiplayer Online Gaming: Often referred to as MMOG, this refers to large numbers of people playing a game over the Internet. Everquest is a MMOG, and so is Warcraft. Another MMOG increasing in popularity is Eve.
Multiplayer: Refers to a gaming mode in which multiple people play the same game simultaneously. Some may be friends; some, enemies. Multiplayers can be played over an office LAN or over the Internet. Most core gamers prefer multiplayer gaming because of the variability of play and the community/communication/competitive aspects of playing with one another.
Persistent Universe: This refers to a game experience in which what happened yesterday affects the environment and game play today, and what happens today will affect characters and play tomorrow. Particularly relevant for online role playing games, the idea is that if for example your castle is leveled by a competitor, it won’t magically reappear tomorrow. Go to the location tomorrow and you will see the rubble and carnage created today. This enables a game to host characters that change and grow over time to reflect past experiences and accomplishments.
Polygons: This refers to the pieces of game art that are displayed in a game. An object is made of a number of polygons. For illustration, consider the following “person I have created with 6 polygons:
As you can see, six polygons can make an approximation of a person, but hundreds of smaller ones could create far more realistic characters. The ability of a computer or console to render lots of polygons more or less instantly is what contributes to greater visual realism in a game. Game companies often employ blue screen filming of actual people to use as models for polygon characters. Imagine how many polygons are needed to create this realistic a football player in Madden Football 2007:
Shrink Wrap Product: This refers to games that are sold on CDs, in boxes, with shrink wrap around them. These are distinct from downloaded games. For obvious reasons, there can be a lot more “to” a game where the user gets a CD to load instead of requesting a download. But increasing Internet speeds are making very complex and graphically intense games easier to deliver online.
Single Player: Refers to a game playing mode in which a single gamer plays against the computer’s artificial intelligence (AI).
XBOX Live: This is a multiplayer gaming service for Microsoft’s XBOX and XBOX 360 Consoles. The idea is that individual players can compete against one another – all you need is the service and a desire to play. In addition to letting you play over the Internet, the system also offers tools so you can trash talk with gamers you have never met – in Nevada, Norway, or Namibia. XBOX Live also offers a marketplace to acquire, buy, and sell game and other content, as well as buy online versions of older arcade games.
I suggest you go here for a complete list of terms, and use it as a sort of dictionary.com for the industry. http://www.whattheyplay.com/features/30/
There are thousands of gaming terms from developer words like polygons to trash talk slang, which is akin to SMS slang.
Cinematics: Many games show mini movies at startup between levels of a game to help immerse the player in the game experience and to give the player something to look at while the level loads.
Console: There are a variety of machine types that play games. Those classic arcade machines, PCs, Macs, and Consoles, a term which refers to machines created especially for gaming. Examples are XBOX 360, PlayStation 3, and the Nintendo Wii.
Controller: This is the device on a console or PC game that lets the player direct their character or vehicle in a game. Used to be called a joystick.
Core Games: this refers to what most people think of when you hear the term “video games” – complex, graphically intense multilevel gaming experiences. They differ from Noncore games, which is a term that refers to generally less deep or graphically intense games like Bejeweled that are played in shorter periods of time. A trivia game is Noncore. A game where the emphasis is on blood and guts is a Core game.
E3: The Electronic Entertainment Expo was the major annual trade show of the core gaming industry. Most of the game developers and platforms display their upcoming goods. Recent E3s have become more intimate, less of a spectacle. This may be because the one upsmanship of past E3s raised the cost to participate to prohibitive levels. It’s hard to justify spending tens of millions for a booth.
Frame Rate: Similar to when the term is used in a movie, frame rate refers to the speed at which the action in a game is rendered on a screen.
Handheld Games: Another gaming format, handheld games are played on portable devices like the PSP and the Nintendo DS. These devices also have the ability to play music and movies, store photos, and the like.
Joystick: See Controller.
Levels: Many games offer multiple “levels” of play that get more challenging as the game progresses and the player gets better at playing. The first level of a game is going to be much easier than the thirtieth.
Massive Multiplayer Online Gaming: Often referred to as MMOG, this refers to large numbers of people playing a game over the Internet. Everquest is a MMOG, and so is Warcraft. Another MMOG increasing in popularity is Eve.
Multiplayer: Refers to a gaming mode in which multiple people play the same game simultaneously. Some may be friends; some, enemies. Multiplayers can be played over an office LAN or over the Internet. Most core gamers prefer multiplayer gaming because of the variability of play and the community/communication/competitive aspects of playing with one another.
Persistent Universe: This refers to a game experience in which what happened yesterday affects the environment and game play today, and what happens today will affect characters and play tomorrow. Particularly relevant for online role playing games, the idea is that if for example your castle is leveled by a competitor, it won’t magically reappear tomorrow. Go to the location tomorrow and you will see the rubble and carnage created today. This enables a game to host characters that change and grow over time to reflect past experiences and accomplishments.
Polygons: This refers to the pieces of game art that are displayed in a game. An object is made of a number of polygons. For illustration, consider the following “person I have created with 6 polygons:
As you can see, six polygons can make an approximation of a person, but hundreds of smaller ones could create far more realistic characters. The ability of a computer or console to render lots of polygons more or less instantly is what contributes to greater visual realism in a game. Game companies often employ blue screen filming of actual people to use as models for polygon characters. Imagine how many polygons are needed to create this realistic a football player in Madden Football 2007:
Shrink Wrap Product: This refers to games that are sold on CDs, in boxes, with shrink wrap around them. These are distinct from downloaded games. For obvious reasons, there can be a lot more “to” a game where the user gets a CD to load instead of requesting a download. But increasing Internet speeds are making very complex and graphically intense games easier to deliver online.
Single Player: Refers to a game playing mode in which a single gamer plays against the computer’s artificial intelligence (AI).
XBOX Live: This is a multiplayer gaming service for Microsoft’s XBOX and XBOX 360 Consoles. The idea is that individual players can compete against one another – all you need is the service and a desire to play. In addition to letting you play over the Internet, the system also offers tools so you can trash talk with gamers you have never met – in Nevada, Norway, or Namibia. XBOX Live also offers a marketplace to acquire, buy, and sell game and other content, as well as buy online versions of older arcade games.
I suggest you go here for a complete list of terms, and use it as a sort of dictionary.com for the industry. http://www.whattheyplay.com/features/30/
TOMORROW: GAME GENRES - CORE AND CASUAL
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