Advergaming?
The existing global recession has made it a major consideration for brand owners to get the most out of their ever decreasing advertising budgets. One may have questioned at some time, are branded Flash games worth considering as part of your advertising efforts? The simple answer is yes, like anything if managed wisely the benefits are many, more so than your average advertising activity due to the nature of the platform and delivery.
With the growth and familiarity of the internet, advergames have proliferated, often becoming the most visited aspect of brand websites and becoming an integrated part of brand media planning in an increasingly fractured media environment. Branded Flash Games are small, interactive, easy- to-install forms of entertainment that can be placed anywhere on your website, computer or mobile device. Not to mention the attributed additional side benefits related from ease of distribution – promotion by correct placement.. Using social media destinations to urge “word of mouth”, or “viral marketing”, back-end capabilities, marketing, updatability, user data collection and management, tracking, revenue generation, sponsor placement… The list goes on.
Branded web based Flash games are fun, simply put. They are an ideal method for engaging your audience, and an effective way to advertise your brand, product and or services online. They offer a number of advantages over traditional advertising, at a fraction of the cost. Branded games are a great way to get potential customers onto your website, keep them there far longer than they would usually visit and encourage repeat visits thus providing greater levels of exposure and retention. Your game can directly feature the product or service you are trying to endorse, or simply highlight the main benefits and problems it solves. Using branded Flash games persuades players to interact with your brand in a way that is just not possible through the use of costly traditional, passive advertising.
Your advertising can be immersed within the gaming experience, depending on the environment your audience is less likely to perceive what they are viewing as an advert. Ensuring you don’t overdo the advertising element within the game and integrate appropriate methodologies associated to the genre, you can get your marketing message across to your audience, without creating a negative mind-set associated with some other forms of online advertising.
As mentioned above, depending on the game type and incentive, games can be excellent tools that engage your audience on repetitive basis, along with the advantage of providing a longer scenario for immersion than any other advertising method. Minutes, hours rather than seconds.
When effectively distributed, they can offer potential exposure far above and beyond what you could get for a similar spend using traditional methods. It’s not unusual for branded games to gain millions of plays and after the initial production and distribution costs, they can persist working for you over the long term. Unlike traditional advertising, branded Flash games can continue to provide effective brand exposure ‘years’ after initial launch if managed proficiently,
Targeting a particular demographics with a branded Flash game is at times sometimes difficult, so with a little bit of research, you may find that its probably recommended not to keep the game too niche, keeping in mind though the cost effectiveness of flash games allows you to essentially provide a number of options to cater a larger number of genres to appease your varying audiences.
The awesomeness of the internet means your game will be available to a worldwide audience of online game players, which covers a broad age range as well as geographical location. If you’re trying to increase awareness of a mass market product the potential exposure is massive and can help launch a product to a new, worldwide audience. Not to mention the new platforms which are emerging, such as mobile based systems can broaden your reach.
Despite all these advantages, it’s extremely important to find the right production team. Just getting your branded game produced and placing it on your website is no guarantee for success. It’s important to integrate the game as part of a multi levelled campaign, having a good understanding of where the most effective social media destinations that would apply to your audience is a given in order to gain best results.
Finding a Flash game developer with expertise in both will ensure you get the best possible return on your investment, in these rather tough financial times. Take the leap, do some research, realize the numerous benefits associated, give us a call when your ready.
Published - Kontan 2012