The gaming industry is rapidly growing, with the global video game market projected to be a $46 billion industry by 2010. Personal computers remain the most popular gaming platform, though console sales are also rising with the release of new generations such as the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii. These new consoles have enhanced capabilities but also higher price points, with the PlayStation 3 in particular struggling with initial sales possibly due to its expensive components and lack of killer apps.
UWB Technology for Enhanced Indoor and Outdoor Positioning in Physiological M...
Free Gaming Special Report
2. the gaming industry / executive summary / p.02
01 / pages 02-03
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CHAPTERS / A / Video games constitute the fastest-growing market in the entertainment sphere
01 / B / Internet-connected consoles and PCs have opened up new opportunities for brands
SUMMARY
02 /
C / Dynamically-delivered ad content is increasingly becoming the norm
INTRO
D / Advergames, MMOs and mobile content are getting more sophisticated
03 /
TECHNOLOGY E / The profile of the average gamer is changing; wider age ranges and more women
04 /
ADVERTISING
05 /
LANDSCAPE
02 / Introduction 04 / The Advertising 06 / Consumer Behaviour
06 /
CONSUMERS The relationship between advertisers and video The advent of broadband connectivity for Evidence is mounting to suggest that gaming is
games has evolved nearly as much as game play computer systems and consoles has ushered in taking significant chunks out of television viewing
07 /
MARKETING
itself. PricewaterhouseCoopers recently forecast the next generation of game-specific advertising. time. Usage patterns are also expanding - gamers
that the worldwide video game market would Dynamic networks now have the ability to deliver are gaming more, and for larger chunks of time.
08 / become a $46bn industry by 2010. Gaming is user-targeted ads in real time. New technologies The numbers are also skewing to a much older,
BUSINESS
coming of age as a formidable player alongside in Flash and Shockwave have re-energised more affluent, and more gender-neutral
09 / television, music and film for the timeshare and advergames. Social worlds such as Second Life demographic. Part of that is due to the massive
DISRUPTION
entertainment dollar spend of the average 18-34 and Habbo Hotel have the potential to provide success of Nintendo's Wii, which combined an
10 / year-old. richer, more meaningful brand interactions. inclusive marketing campaign with a revolutionary
FACT
gameplay interface.
11 / 03 / The Technology 05 / The Landscape
FUTURE
Gaming exists across many different devices, and Dynamic in-game networks such as Massive and 07 / Marketing & Promotion
12 / changes accordingly. The dominant platforms are IGA currently dominate the market. They operate Product placement is one of the most desirable
CONCLUSION computers, consoles, mobile phones and handheld as virtual media planners of sorts, and act as a forms of integration, but few marketers have cracked
13 / devices. Computers are still the most dominant facilitator and service delivery solution for the case so far. Brands are flocking to Second Life,
REFERENCES platform, but seventh generation consoles such as developers and brands. Dynamic in-game banners where the marketing possibilities are endless;
the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony and video ads are currently the most common form entertainment, autos, banking services, clothing
PlayStation 3 have captured the imaginations of of advertising; more integrated forms of product lines all have a voice when life is the name of the
gamers worldwide. Handheld units such as placement are set to define the future. game. The question of effectiveness is dominating
Nintendo's DS and Sony's PSP are also factors. current industry discourse - are players too
immersed in what they're doing to get the message?
3. the gaming industry / executive summary / p.03
CHAPTERS /
01 /
SUMMARY
02 /
INTRO
03 /
TECHNOLOGY
04 /
ADVERTISING
05 /
LANDSCAPE
06 /
CONSUMERS
07 /
MARKETING
08 / Disruption the art of misdirection. The merit of social worlds 11 / Contagious Point of View
08 / Is there a backlash ahead? Gamers only relative to brand and agency investment in them Early adopter brands look set to reap long-term
BUSINESS
appreciate ads that increase the realism and/or continues to be an industry hot button. benefits from involvement in this area. The trend of
09 / reward them somehow. Gamers' strong and vocal branded utility - the provision of services and
DISRUPTION online presence means that an ad that's too 'loud' 10 / The Future View experiences as opposed to marketing messages -
10 / or delivered in the wrong context can have a As the Internet, television and consoles converge, is thrown into sharp relief in the gaming arena.
FACT damning and lasting effect. Social communities developers will begin 'the battle for the living room' Respect for the environment and the gamers
11 / such as Second Life may eventually resent an in earnest. Gaming fidelity will improve as always, themselves is key for successful innovation.
FUTURE influx of brand involvement; virtual citizen anarchy but the real innovators will focus on the interface.
12 / groups have already been launched as counter Games and gaming IPs will become even more 12 / References, Links, Jargon
CONCLUSION measures to excessive branding. inextricably entwined with Hollywood and the Links to references, games, companies and a
13 / mainstream media. In the face of Microsoft's breakdown of jargon.
REFERENCES 09 / Fact Or Fantasy purchase of in-game advertising specialists
New technology and the public's unquenchable Massive, further synergies between game networks
thirst for 'casual' games have the potential to give and developers loom.
the advergame genre a much-needed facelift.
Many believe that the Second Life phenomenon is
a house of cards constructed by PR flaks skilled in
4. the gaming industry / index / p.04
INDEX /
THE GAMING INDUSTRY
CHAPTERS /
01 / pages 02-03 08 / pages 37-42
01 /
SUMMARY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE BUSINESS ANGLE
02 /
INTRO 02 / pages 05-06 09 / pages 43-44
03 / INTRODUCTION DISRUPTION & RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
TECHNOLOGY
04 /
03 / pages 07-10 10 / page 45
ADVERTISING
THE TECHNOLOGY FACT OR FANTASY
05 /
LANDSCAPE
06 / 04 / pages 11-22 11 / page 46-47
CONSUMERS THE ADVERTISING THE FUTURE VIEW
07 /
MARKETING
05 / pages 23-25 12 / page 48
08 /
BUSINESS THE LANDSCAPE CONCLUSION
09 /
DISRUPTION 06 / pages 26-31 13 / pages 49-51
10 / CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR REFERENCES / LINKS / JARGON
FACT
11 /
FUTURE
07 / pages 32-36
12 /
MARKETING & PROMOTION
CONCLUSION
13 /
REFERENCES
5. the gaming industry / introduction / p.05
02 / pages 05-06
IN THE BEGINNING...
CHAPTERS / …there was nothing but black, white, and a single brand
01 /
SUMMARY In 1976, a game developer called Midway released a standup
arcade game titled, endearingly, Datsun 280 Zzzap. Outside of the
02 /
INTRO friendly liberties it took with the spell check function, there was little on
the surface to distinguish Datsun 280 Zzzap from its counterparts. An
03 /
TECHNOLOGY iteration of the 1976 first person racer Night Driver, it offered a
monochromatic graphical interface, clunky gameplay and little-to-no
04 /
ADVERTISING
replay value. Although it sank out of gamers' consciousness with a
quickness, it has since achieved a posthumous notoriety in the world
05 /
of advertising. By virtue of its title, the function of a simple contra deal
LANDSCAPE
with the now-defunct auto brand, Datsun 280 Zzzap is believed to be
06 / one of the earliest examples of advertisers and video game
CONSUMERS
developers working together.
07 /
MARKETING 30 years on, the relationship between both entities has evolved
nearly as much as the gameplay itself. PricewaterhouseCoopers
08 /
BUSINESS recently forecasted that the worldwide video game market would
become a $46bn industry by 2010 (up significantly from 2005's
09 /
DISRUPTION reported total of $27bn). Another study from ABI Research had an
even more optimistic outlook, predicting the overall market would
10 /
FACT
balloon to just under $65.9bn by 2011. On its own, the American
market posted a robust growth in 2006, accounting for $12.5bn in
11 /
FUTURE
sales, a $2bn increase over the year prior. Meanwhile, software sales
in the UK totaled $2.7bn in 2006, a number likely to increase
12 / dramatically now that the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3
CONCLUSION
have entered the market in 2007. So far, the early sales results from
13 / 2007 point to another rapid increase in growth. According to the NPD
REFERENCES
Group, retail sales of hardware and software increased by 78% year-
on-year from January 2007 to January 2006, where it accounted for
an impressive $1.25bn. Leading the pack among consoles was the
Wii, which, despite shortages, still sold 436,000 units. Rounding out
the top four sellers in America for January 2007 was the PlayStation 2
(299,000), the Xbox 360 (294,000) and the PlayStation 3 (244,000).
6. the gaming industry / introduction / p.06
Because of these numbers as well as the gaming
demographic's gradual shift towards an older, more
sophisticated and increasingly gender-neutral player
base, marketers are beginning to cotton on. Fuelled by
CHAPTERS /
rapid advancements in the dynamic advertising
spheres, the bullish computer game market, and the
01 / online integration of 7th generation consoles such as
SUMMARY
Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii and Sony's
02 / PlayStation 3, not to mention a sudden awareness of
INTRO
gaming as a formidable player alongside television,
03 / music and film for the timeshare and entertainment
TECHNOLOGY
dollar spend of the average 18-34 year old, advertisers
04 / are officially in full-on gold rush mode. And while most
ADVERTISING brands are still behind the curve in trying to find clever,
05 / valuable and seamless ways to integrate themselves
LANDSCAPE with the gaming experience, they're catching up quickly.
Night Driver /
06 / Between in-game advertising, advergames, product
CONSUMERS placement, mobile games, underwritten titles and other
07 / creative integration approaches, marketers have their
MARKETING eyes and pocketbooks turned towards the gaming
08 /
industry in a way they didn't as recently as two years 280-ZZZAP /
BUSINESS ago. So: where is all this all headed? How is the market
evolving? What types of games lend themselves best to
09 /
DISRUPTION advertising? What kind of advertising lends itself best
to games? What is the marketer's ultimate role in the
10 /
FACT gaming sphere? And what does the future hold for
game developers, advertisers and brands?
11 /
FUTURE In the following pages, Contagious will attempt to
12 / answer those questions. But, before we go any further,
CONCLUSION let's first outline the most popular gaming platforms and
13 / the most common ways in which advertising and video
REFERENCES games have converged.
link / www.playstation.com
7. the gaming industry / what is the technology? / p.07
03 / pages 07-10
WHAT IS THE TECHNOLOGY?
CHAPTERS / 03.01 / The Major Platforms
01 / Personal Computers
SUMMARY
Traditional video game consoles may get most of the attention, but
02 /
INTRO
don't let the smokescreen fool you: personal computers are still, by far
and away, the single most dominant platform in the gaming industry.
03 /
TECHNOLOGY
While their sheer ubiquity makes it difficult to estimate exactly how
many people are using computers for gaming purposes on a global
04 / scale, VP sales for the in-game advertising network Double Fusion
ADVERTISING
Julie Shumaker says that there were '250m global-connected PC
05 / gamers' in 2006, a number that still tops the combined current global
LANDSCAPE
sales of the big six consoles: Sony's PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3;
06 / Microsoft's Xbox and Xbox 360; and Nintendo's Gamecube and Wii.
CONSUMERS
Despite the larger user base, however, the overall sales of computer
07 / games pale in comparison to those for consoles. In fact, according to
MARKETING
a report released by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA),
08 / the total dollar sales of computer games in America decreased from
BUSINESS $1.1bn dollars in 2004 to $953m dollars in 2005.
09 /
DISRUPTION
Consoles
10 / While 2006 saw the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii -
FACT
known collectively as 'seventh generation consoles' - finally unveiled
11 / to gamers, their predecessors still account for the majority of the
FUTURE
world's console penetration. Leading the pack is Sony's PlayStation
12 / 2, which, as of last September, had shipped 115m pieces worldwide
CONCLUSION
(roughly 45m of those in the U.S. and 42m in Europe) and, thanks to
13 / aggressive new price cuts, shows no signs of slowing down.
REFERENCES
Next up is Microsoft's Xbox with global sales just under 25m,
followed by Nintendo's Gamecube with around 21m.
8. the gaming industry / what is the technology? / p.08
03.02 / Console hardware sales Console hardware sales /
Although their staggered release times make them
Company Platform Released Sales (Millions)
difficult to compare, the quest for seventh
generation supremacy appears at this point to be a Sony PlayStation 2 2000 115.36
CHAPTERS / two horse race. The earliest out of the gate (and,
Sony PlayStation 1995 102.49
01 /
consequently, the current sales leader) is the Xbox
SUMMARY 360, which, according to figures released by Nintendo Nintendo Entertainment System 1985 61.9
Microsoft in January, has sold 10.4m consoles Nintendo Super Nintendo Entertainment System 1991 49.1
02 /
INTRO worldwide. Next up is Nintendo's Wii, which has Nintendo Nintendo 64 1996 32.93
so far logged roughly 4.5m in global sales and
03 / Sega Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis 1988 29
TECHNOLOGY maintains huge consumer demand in the face of
worldwide scarcity. Meanwhile, Sony's PlayStation Microsoft Xbox 2001 24
04 /
3 has so far been unable to recreate the levels of Nintendo GameCube 2001 21.52
ADVERTISING
consumer demand that defined its predecessor. Sega Sega Master System 1986 13
05 /
Hamstrung by a long string of manufacturing Microsoft Xbox 360 2005 10.4
LANDSCAPE
delays, the lack of a killer, must-have title,
06 / Sega Dreamcast 1998 8.2
mediocre reviews and an exorbitant price tag (the
CONSUMERS
low-end version sells in America for a list price of Sega Mega CD 1991 6
07 / $600US), the PS3 has so far only managed to sell Nintendo Wii 2006 4.4
MARKETING
about 1.4m units worldwide. In terms of Sega Saturn 1994 1.4
08 / technological specifications, the PS3 is easily the
BUSINESS Sony PlayStation 3 2006 1.26
most advanced of the trio, but pundits now
09 / suggest that Sony's preoccupation with graphics
DISRUPTION engineers, processor power and other technological
10 / bonuses (such as the inclusion of a pricy Blu-Ray
FACT high definition DVD optical drive) have had the
11 / adverse effect of pricing it out of the range of the Handheld device sales /
FUTURE average gamer. With this strategy, Sony appears
12 / to have grossly misread the market; as the Company Platform Released Sales (Millions)
CONCLUSION breakout success of the Wii is demonstrating,
gamers still prize the overall gameplay experience Nintendo Game Boy Advance 2001 78.86m
13 /
REFERENCES (ie. the fun factor) over visual and audio fidelity. The Nintendo Game Boy 1989 69.42m
Wii is an organic extension of Nintendo's Nintendo Game Boy Color 1998 49.54m
philosophy to appeal to lapsed and non-gamers.
Nintendo Nintendo DS 2004 35.61m
Design plays a big part in this. Where the Nintendo
DS handheld console echoed the original orange Sony PlayStation Portable 2005 17.03m
Donkey Kong dual screen that makes anyone over Sega Sega Game Gear 1991 8.65m
9. the gaming industry /what is the technology? / p.09
30 all misty-eyed with nostalgia, the Wii sports a limitations in this area could hinder its continuing
futuristic straightforward design. Simplicity is key. adoption. In order for the console to thrive,
As Nicola Espindola, account director at Leo Nintendo and third party games publishers need
Burnett in London, the agency that handles the to persist in creating innovative titles and inventive
CHAPTERS / above-the-line account points out: 'You don't have online services.'
to understand how the controller works; anyone
01 /
can just pick it up and play.' The graphics don't 03.03 / Mobile/Handheld
SUMMARY
pretend to come close to those on an Xbox 360,
02 /
The resurgence of handheld gaming platforms
while the low price tag suggests family fun or an
INTRO such as the Nintendo DS/DS Lite and the Sony
additional console for a serious gamer.
PSP, (not to mention the iPod's coming out as a
03 /
TECHNOLOGY second-tier gaming utility) has combined with the
Targeting
strong-as-ever 3G mobile phone market to give
04 / Saneel Radia, vice president and group girector
ADVERTISING handheld gaming its rosiest outlook to date. Since
at Play/Denuo, LA, believes targeting in this area is its release in 2004, Nintendo's DS and DS Lite
05 / simpler than it looks. 'In terms of which platform to
LANDSCAPE
have sold over 34m units worldwide. In that time,
start from, gaming is surprisingly segmented in Sony's pricier PSP has also performed decently,
06 / terms of demographics,' Radia told Contagious.
CONSUMERS
selling close to 25m units worldwide.
'Just knowing who your target consumer is will
07 / drive which platforms are most relevant right off The mobile sphere currently boasts 1.94bn
MARKETING the bat. Clearly, a women 35+ is more likely to be users worldwide, carriers and developers are
08 / playing an online casual game than a console heralding 3G networks as the shot in the arm the
BUSINESS game and a teen is more likely to be using a mobile gaming industry requires. While network
handheld device than their older counterparts.' uptake is inevitable, 3G is still years away from
09 /
DISRUPTION becoming the de facto mobile phone protocol.
It's important to remember that variables such as According to a study released by Analysys
10 / free firmware fixes, price drops and desirable new
FACT Research, 3G penetration is currently at 40% in
platform-specific games mean that the next- mobile phone crazy Japan and South Korea, while
11 / generation console war is far from over. In other
FUTURE the Forrester Group predicts that the UK will finish
words: this one's a marathon, not a race. Chris 2007 with a penetration rate just under 20%.
12 / Khouri, Media and Broadcasting Analyst at
CONCLUSION
Nonetheless, research groups forecast huge
Datamonitor, considers that the Wii's long term gains in 3G penetration rates over the next few
13 / success is not assured. 'There is strong years; last June, ZDNet Research predicted 3G
REFERENCES competition from Sony and Microsoft (particularly would enjoy a 60% market share in Western Wii Sports /
as price points drop) and the Wii's initial hype Europe by 2010, while mobile research company
might fall by the wayside,' he commented. NSR says there will be 1.2billion global 3G users
'Consumers are expected to increasingly use by the same time.
video games consoles as portals to access, view
and store all forms of media content and the Wii's
10. the gaming industry / soundbites / p.10
GAMING / SOUNDBITES
CHAPTERS /
01 /
SUMMARY 'Connectivity takes this industry from a one-time, once ‘Users are using social virtual worlds in very different
a year relationship to a 24/7, 365 day relationship with ways than they are using gaming worlds. Gaming
02 /
INTRO
a consumer, and brings an opportunity for a marketer to worlds can be an escape where you concentrate on
participate in a way that they get access to the leveling up. For its users, social virtual worlds are all
03 /
consumers they want access to.' about extending their own personality … I've found that
TECHNOLOGY
Julie Shumaker / VP Sales / Double Fusion lots of users, especially the younger ones, are really
04 / savvy about associating themselves with brands that
ADVERTISING
'Videos games are the fastest growing and largest of they identify with in order to communicate something
05 / any entertainment category. It's bigger than film, books, about themselves or at least what they aspire to be. You
LANDSCAPE and music, and it's growing at 20-25% compound per might see kids in There or Second Life or Habbo Hotel
06 / annum.' running around with brands in their screen names or
CONSUMERS Mitch Davis / former CEO and founder / branded items that convey something about who they
07 / Massive Incorporated aspire to be.'
MARKETING Betsy Book / founder of virtualworldsreview.com and
'Gamers aren't one group anymore. Gamers will soon product manager / Makena
08 /
BUSINESS become as diverse as the movie-going population and
the television-watching population.' 'We're seeing a lot of user-created brands. These
09 /
DISRUPTION Sam Bergen / Digital and Emerging Media Strategist / worlds have their own life and the advertising that takes
Saatchi and Saatchi, LA place inside them has to account for the fact that this is
10 /
FACT not the real world, this is a world in which their
'I think the number one mistake marketers are making is competitors are not the other big retail apparel stores
11 /
FUTURE
not seeing the individual values of the various in-game but rather some guy who makes shirts that are really
advertising opportunities.' popular, and that's a different kid of strategy for a
12 /
Julie Shumaker / VP Sales / Double Fusion company to think about.'
CONCLUSION
Ian Bogost / Georgia Institute of Technology assistant
13 /
REFERENCES
professor and ad-gaming pundit
11. the gaming industry / the advertising / p.11
04 / pages 11-22
THE ADVERTISING
04.01 / B.O. vs A.O. (Before Online vs. After Online)
CHAPTERS /
It's probably most helpful to think about the history of
01 /
SUMMARY
advertising and video games in two distinct parts: pre-
and post- online playability. In the pre- era, advertising in
02 /
video games remained static by necessity, and evolved
INTRO
from models that saw brands such as Purina and
03 / Johnson & Johnson releasing branded games as
TECHNOLOGY
promotional rewards in the early 80s to the eventual
04 / purchase of ad space within existing games themselves,
ADVERTISING
such as adidas, Nokia, Coca-Cola, Mastercard and
05 / Gillette did across a variety of EA-branded sports titles
LANDSCAPE
in the mid-90s. These partnerships would take the form
06 / of ads in sports arenas, such as adidas and Panasonic's
CONSUMERS field-level ads in FIFA International Soccer 1994, or
07 / rinkside tags for MasterCard and Coke in the hockey
MARKETING title NHL’ 98. While there are other examples of creative
08 / synergies between brands and games from this period,
BUSINESS the overwhelming majority of pre-era deals were
09 / relatively unsophisticated from a media buying
DISRUPTION perspective, the virtual equivalents of simple sponsorship
10 /
contracts and billboard purchases.
FACT
Although personal computers and dialup access go
11 / back to the late 70s, mass market computer games
FUTURE
didn't fully embrace the communal properties of the
12 / Internet until the broadband boom of the early
CONCLUSION noughties, at which point designers facilitated a sea
13 / change away from single-player offline titles towards
REFERENCES games that emphasised a multiplayer, online experience.
Led by PC games like World Of Warcraft and console
titles like Halo and Gears Of War, multiplayer online
games have quickly become the standard for serious
gamers. Paired with the decision by hardware
developers to embrace online access as a fundamental
12. the gaming industry / the advertising / p.12
part of gameplay, this massive shift has opened the door change those out in real time so you saw an ad for
for newer, far more sophisticated kinds of advertising. Chrysler one day and for Pepsi the next?' So that was
'We're a 25-year-old industry that has spent pretty the idea. I immediately jumped on the Internet to see
much 22 years thinking about game consumers in one who was doing it - this was back in 2002 - and, to my
way,' says Shumaker. 'Connectivity takes this industry surprise, nobody was.' What a difference five years
CHAPTERS /
from a one-time, once a year relationship to a 24/7, 365 makes. Emboldened by the positive forecasts, and
01 / day relationship with a consumer, and brings an looking to leverage their software catalogue against a
SUMMARY
opportunity for a marketer to participate in a way that proven gaming network, Microsoft purchased Massive
02 / they get access to the consumers they want access to.' for somewhere purportedly between $200-400mn last
INTRO
year.
Let's look at some of the most common types of
03 / Second Life / adidas /
TECHNOLOGY revenue models for video games and advertising: Caution Advised link / www.secondlife.com
04 / But marketers shouldn't interpret this rosy outlook as
ADVERTISING
04.02 / Revenue Models
permission to run rampant. Gamers are still extremely
05 / In-game Advertising protective of their gaming environments, and only
LANDSCAPE
Thanks to its generous trend outlooks, in-game tolerate ads if they're delivered within the appropriate
06 / advertising dominates the video game and advertising context. Saneel Radia of Play comments, 'How a brand
CONSUMERS approaches the gaming industry should be directly tied
landscape. Last summer, American research
07 / conglomerate the Yankee Group made waves by to their objectives. Some brands simply want an
MARKETING additional medium that will help them get in front of
projecting the in-game ad market would quintuple in
08 / value to $732m dollars by the end of 2010, while IGA target consumers. That's easy enough these days as
BUSINESS networks forecast the market would be worth $1.2bn most game publishers have a team dedicated to
09 / by the same time. In a keynote address delivered during working with brands for integration, or are represented
DISRUPTION the Advertising in Games conference in New York last by a third party, such as Double Fusion or IGA. On the Jeep Games / Mountain Madness /
10 / year, Massive Incorporated former CEO and founder other end of the spectrum are those brands that are link / www.jeep.com/games
FACT Mitch Davis revealed an even bolder outlook, predicting leveraging games as a communication platform. It's
11 / the overall market would tally $1.8bn by the end of the these brands that tend to approach the industry in the
FUTURE decade. Regardless of which view (and whose market most broad-based way. They're looking at the game
definition) you subscribe to, massive growth is on the experience well beyond when consumers have a
12 /
CONCLUSION horizon. All this upside is for an industry that, according controller (or keyboard) in hand. These are the brands
to Davis, didn't even exist five years ago. 'The original that understand that the gaming experience includes
13 /
REFERENCES idea for the business actually came when I was playing opportunities well beyond in-game integration. The
Grand Theft Auto on a connected console,' he said to wisest of the group are even looking to leverage these
us, just a month before leaving Massive to start his own AAA content creators for proprietary brand
business. 'There are fake ads in that game; I had experiences.'
experience in the media industry and software The general rule for successful integration is as
development, and thought, 'Wow, what if we could Wrigly’s Candystand / Dodgeball /
follows: in-game advertising should either enhance link / www.candystand.com
13. the gaming industry / the advertising / p.13
gameplay by adding to the overall realism or somehow deployment strategies. 'One thing that has become
reward the gamer (via free bonuses or subsidised more sophisticated is that brands have started to put
subscription costs). Anything else has the potential to their games in places where people find games rather
backfire. We'll explore those positive and negative than on their websites,' says Georgia Institute of
CHAPTERS /
uptake factors more in-depth later in the report. Technology assistant professor and ad-gaming pundit
Ian Bogost. 'Yahoo Games has this Jeep games
01 / 04.03 / Advergaming channel, for example, that's a very different strategy than
SUMMARY
In the loosest sense of the word, 'advergame' we saw in the '90s.' Similarly, one of the largest online
02 / encompasses any game experience that is underwritten gaming portals on the Internet is the Wrigley-owned
INTRO
or initiated by a brand or product. Under the more and branded www.candystand.com, which, with over
03 / modern definition, 'advergame' represents a branded, 80 titles, plays like traditional advergaming on designer Tetris /
TECHNOLOGY link / www.tetris.com
browser-based game programmed in Shockwave or steroids.
04 / Flash. At their best, these games scratch the 'casual' (as
ADVERTISING
The term advergaming, as with everything in the new
opposed to 'hardcore') gaming itch by virtue of their
marketing world, can be applied to a broad range of
05 / simplicity and re-playability. Although traditionally the
LANDSCAPE
experiences. US stationery retailer Office Max scored a
most maligned of the major formats, no doubt as a result
hit in December 2006 with a viral campaign entitled 'Elf
06 / of the sheer glut of inferior examples plastered all over
Yourself'. Users were encouraged to upload a picture of
CONSUMERS the Internet, advergames are nonetheless an increasingly
their faces to the site, which was then superimposed
07 / popular component of the gaming marketplace. In a
onto a manic dancing elf. Crucially, the elves could then
MARKETING separate report issued at the very end of 2004, The
forward their Yuletide message on to friends. The
08 /
Yankee Group predicted that the then $79m industry
campaign received over 36m hits in just five weeks,
BUSINESS would become worth over a quarter of a billion dollars by
which bested the previous accepted benchmark for
2008.
09 / viral success (Crispin Porter's Subservient Chicken) by
DISRUPTION Bejeweled /
While many brands and developers have traditionally over 20m. It also contributed to a 20% increase in
10 / been guilty of lazily repackaging known games such as holiday traffic to Office Max's website.
FACT Tetris and Bejewelled in branded skins, a new
11 / generation of ad-friendly, game developers are pushing 04.04 / Social Worlds/MMORPGs
FUTURE the advergaming model forward. Led by companies like MMORPG stands for 'massively multiplayer online
12 / Boston's Barbarian Group, which has created roleplaying game'. While it's generally used as a catch-
CONCLUSION compelling web games for brands like HP, Comcast all for any computer game that relies on a massive
13 / and Red Bull, and Ottawa's Fuel Industries, which has community of players to help drive the action, the most
REFERENCES done the same for 20th Century Fox Home interesting and relevant sub-genre as it pertains to
Entertainment, Sprite and Mazda, the advergame has brand involvement is the one known as 'social worlds'.
slowly become relevant again. Not only have advances Best exemplified by titles like Sims Online, Habbo Hotel
in Flash and Shockwave technologies enabled and, most notoriously, Second Life, social worlds house
developers to do increasingly complicated work, but self-contained virtual societies and economies that
marketers are suddenly revisiting traditional advergame allow users to interact with each other, as well as trade Need for Speed Underground 2 /
link / www.nfs.ea.com
14. the gaming industry / the advertising / p.14
in goods and services. Because the cultivation of an well. Large global network agencies Leo Burnett and
online persona and the accumulation of cultural capital BBH embraced the technology by establishing their
play a significant function in these environments, social own Second Life digital outposts in 2006. Elsewhere,
worlds are not only well suited to brand intervention - October saw Crayon - a Second Life-based 'new
CHAPTERS /
they practically demand it. Brands like adidas, American marketing' company founded by author-blogger
Apparel, Dell and Pontiac are among the many to have Joseph Jaffe - open its virtual doors to the public. While
01 / established some sort of online presence in Second controversy rages over the rate at which Second Life's
SUMMARY
Life over the last two years. Meanwhile, other meaningful user base is actually increasing (more on
02 / companies have utilised Second Life's unique that later), environments such as these offer brands and
INTRO
environment in decidedly non-traditional ways; last institutions arguably the most room to evolve from a
03 / year, hotel conglomerate Starwood (owner of the technological and creative standpoint.
TECHNOLOGY
Westin, Sheraton and W chains) used the venue as a
04 / platform to introduce users to a new line of hotels, while 04.05 / Politics in Second Life
ADVERTISING institutions like the Harvard Law School, the University The nature of social networking has made it a potent
05 / of Florida and Pepperdine University have seized upon tool for political electioneering, with many candidates
LANDSCAPE SL as the ideal platform from which to offer distance turning to MySpace and YouTube to put their point
06 / education courses. across and connect with new followers. Second Life is
CONSUMERS no exception, yet it is not without its pitfalls. Democrat
Because Second Life has a real dollar to 'Linden dollar'
07 / presidential candidate John Edwards' presence in
exchange rate, its fledgling economy has thrown up
MARKETING Second Life, whilst being popular amongst the largely
some extraordinary statistics. Since January '07, around
08 /
left-wing liberal community, was defaced by a group of
$1.8m real dollars have been spent daily in-world, and
BUSINESS Second Lifers bearing 'Bush '08' tags in March 2007.
in December 2006, Second Life's first dollar millionaire
09 / was spawned off the back of some shrewd property France's presidential candidate Ségolène Royal has
DISRUPTION
development. Second Life can thus offer an actual also opened an office in Second Life, where visitors can
10 / revenue stream for brands integrating products into the pick up badges for their avatars marked 'Ségolène
FACT world. For example, Reebok's SL presence allows Royal for France'. The office drew a stream of visitors in
11 / users to design their own shoe, and then click straight its first week, chatting about issues such as France's
FUTURE through to the Reebok website where the design is position in the European Union.
12 / ready and waiting for them to purchase. However, there
France's National Front also has a presence in the
CONCLUSION has been considerable negativity from the Second Life
online world. Cyril Parisi, who manages the party's
13 / community towards ill-thought brand presence in this
Second Life presence claims: 'In cyberspace we can
REFERENCES area - for example, American Apparel's store can be
make ourselves heard, which isn't the case in the official
difficult to access via the front door and is often
media.' But, as in the real world, the National Front's Second Life Agitators /
understaffed, and Nissan was criticised for giving cars
movements have drawn protests. A group called the
away for free - a mistake which could upset the balance
'Second Life Left Unity' have moved in next to the
of an fledgling economy.
French National Front's office, vowing to carry out
Not surprisingly, the ad world is getting involved as protests there until the ultra-right wingers move out or
15. the gaming industry / the advertising / p.15
are ejected. They wrote on their blog: 'Wherever MMORPG to watch
fascists are, we will ensure they get no peace.' Despite The Lord of The Rings MMORPG game will be released
fears, it appears that freedom of speech on the Internet by Turbine, Inc in April 2007. Given the existing
is alive and well. enthusiasm for the original books and subsequent films,
CHAPTERS /
http://slleftunity.blogspot.com plus the dedicated community already surrounding the
LOTR, it's fair to say that the game could attract
01 / 04.06 / World of Warcraft
SUMMARY audiences of millions. Talking to The Guardian
Other MMORPGs include the hugely popular World of newspaper's games blog in March 2007, Turbine’s
02 /
INTRO
Warcraft, a subscription-based fantasy game boasting executive producer Jeffrey Steefel said: 'what Blizzard
something in the region of 8.5m players. Through the has managed to do [with WOW] is hugely expand the
03 /
trade of various objects and the completion of missions, market from something that was niche to mainstream
TECHNOLOGY The Passenger /
players can build up their character's strengths and entertainment. It has changed the entire landscape link / www.the-passenger.com
04 / undertake ever-more complex tasks. The game is which means now is the perfect time to come out with a
ADVERTISING
published by Blizzard Entertainment, and financed product like Lord of the Rings Online. After all, there's
05 / through cheap subscription packages, at around $15 barely a person on the planet who hasn't heard of Lord
LANDSCAPE
(£8) per month. Profits from World of Warcraft are of the Rings right? It also gives us a chance to reach out
06 / frequently cited as saving parent company Vivendi from to a wider space, not just the WoW players, but RPG
CONSUMERS
a profit plunge in 2000. fans generally who have always wanted to experience
07 / this world.'
MARKETING
WOW's first expansion pack - World of Warcraft: The
Burning Crusade - was launched in January 2007. It hit The nature of World of Warcraft was satirised to great
08 /
2.4m sales in its first 24 hours of availability, and effect in series 10 of the popular animated series South
BUSINESS
Blizzard claims it has 'established the new one-month Park, in an episode entitled 'Make Love Not Warcraft.'
09 / record for PC game sales,' selling around 3.5m copies The mechanics of the WOW were also spoofed in this
DISRUPTION
in total. It's worth pointing out that if WOW were a video for eco-brand Fair Trade.
10 / nation it would be the 91st most populous nation on www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvcGdJ-09v4
FACT
earth, just after Rwanda.
11 / 04.07 / What impact have MMOs and social worlds
FUTURE WOW, as with many other MMORPGS, is fantasy- had on gaming?
based. Other games such as Roma Victor are historical
12 / Much like user-generated content has fundamentally
CONCLUSION in orientation. This obviously poses problems for
altered the way marketers think about advertising, so
advertisers, as any kind of in-game integration would be
13 / have MMORPGs changed the way developers think
REFERENCES incongruous and, no doubt, emphatically rejected.
about games. Connectivity and mass-playability have
However, brands such as Coca-Cola in Japan have
quickly become standard in the software worlds. Very
managed to achieve integration with games such as
few current high-profile titles, whether console or PC-
Final Fantasy by using the characters to decorate
based, ship without some form of online-playability
packaging, and giving players the chance to win
function. Granted, some of today's most popular titles World of Warcraft /
merchandising and tickets to gaming events. link / www.worldofwarcraft.com
might not lend themselves particularly well to
16. the gaming industry / the advertising / p.16
advertising, but it's a general development that Bogost gaming market will near the $2bn mark by 2009, while
says bodes well for future marketers. 'MMOs -- Juniper Research contends the worldwide market will
especially now that World of Warcraft has become so be worth $18.5bn by the same time, with 39% of that
ridiculously popular - have broken out of their coming from the Asia-Pacifics, 37% from Europe and
CHAPTERS /
perception as a niche market for weirdos and are now 15% from North America. Of all the mobile games
clearly an opportunity to get a wide variety of people,' he accessed in the U.S. in 2005, 53% were user
01 / says. 'I think we'll probably start to see the kinds of new downloaded, 39% pre-existed on the carrier service,
SUMMARY
MMOs developed and tuned slightly in favour of and 8% were web-based. Downloaders say the largest
02 / advertising.' factors in their purchasing decisions were price, free-
INTRO
trial period, and graphics - in that order. While 34% of
03 / 04.08 / Mobile Gaming downloaders were between the ages of 13-17 and only
TECHNOLOGY
Unlike video game consoles and computers, mobile 22% were over 35, an eye-opening 44% were women -
04 / phones are traditionally regarded as a much more more proof that there is no longer one dominant market
ADVERTISING personal extension of the user. As a result, advertisers in any particular sphere.
05 / have traditionally trodden more lightly in the mobile
LANDSCAPE gaming sphere. Nonetheless, with some of the most 04.09 / Alternate Reality Games
06 / popular mobile games funded by the one-time user Above and beyond these major categories, there are
CONSUMERS purchase model, many believe it's simply a matter of other, more niche areas where advertisers and gamers
07 / time before brands make significant inroads into the can intersect. Of all the brand spanking new means of
MARKETING market. Where in-game advertising represents an communication currently befuddling marketers, the
08 /
additional revenue stream for console titles, many concept of the alternate reality game (ARG) is perhaps
BUSINESS companies, such as the San Francisco-based Greystripe, the hardest to compute. Put simply, an ARG is an
believe that marketers have a more fundamental role to extended experience through which a large group of
09 /
DISRUPTION play in the mobile gaming world. In an interview given to players collaborate to solve clues and reach the game's
Gamasutra.com last September, Greystripe CEO conclusion. The gigantic reservoir of intellectual capital
10 /
FACT Michael Chang outlined that distinction. 'What is assembled online is known as the hive mind - a
revolutionary in mobile is that ad-supported content will seething, yet industrious community held together by a
11 /
FUTURE become the total revenue stream for the publisher,' he shared love of problem-solving.
said. 'The consumer will never have to pay.' It's that
12 / 42 Entertainment
CONCLUSION
critical difference that has industry watchdogs such as
PocketGamer.co.uk and Game Developers Conference Despite what the press coverage might indicate, only a
13 / very small percentage - about 5%, according to popular
'07 heralding the convergence of advertising and
REFERENCES
mobile games as a major development to watch for in web destination the Alternate Reality Gaming Network
2007. (www.argn.com) - features some kind of branded
involvement. To date, most of this activity comes from
Statistically, the mobile gaming world poses another
the leisure and entertainment sectors, tapping into the
massive opportunity for brands. According to research
wired community to create a phenomenal buzz for, say,
conducted by In-Stat/MDR, the American mobile
a videogame launch or a film release. For example, in
17. the gaming industry / the advertising / p.17
2001, a team at Microsoft Game Studios 04.10 / Case studies on key branded ARGs Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was the
attempted an experiment entitled The Beast to first of these real world events, with messages
promote the Steven Spielberg film AI: Artificial MICROSOFT VISTA / THE VANISHING POINT projected into the night sky above the Bellagio.
Intelligence, headed by a team including Jordan (42 ENTERTAINMENT) Countdown timers, GPS codes and faded
CHAPTERS / Weisman and Elan Lee. The Beast began with a Challenge / Enthuse everyone - from the pictures were posted to the website as clues to
fictitious credit planted in the pre-release technically aware to the man on the street - about the next stage of the game, which generated
01 /
SUMMARY
marketing material, and quickly unravelled into a the launch of Microsoft Vista significant buzz for the brand.
murder mystery involving the web, phone lines, live
02 / Results / 90,000 people registered for the
events, cryptic emails and, crucially, over 3m
INTRO contest to win the prizes, and over a million people
players worldwide. The team of 'puppet masters'
03 / played along with various elements of the game.
eventually formed a company called 42
TECHNOLOGY http://vanishingpointgame.com
Entertainment.
04 /
ADVERTISING 'The core concept of what we do is in the idea of A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS / THE
a distributed narrative - a storytelling process SOPRANOS (CIVIC ENTERTAINMENT GROUP)
05 /
LANDSCAPE organic to the web,' explains Weisman. 'Everyone Challenge / Create a national campaign to drive
is trained to act online as an archaeologist does - viewership and optimize The Sopranos viewing
06 /
CONSUMERS search through the crap for a scrap of info, or a experience for launch on A&E
shard of pottery. Eventually, if you find enough link / www.windowsvista.com
07 / Solution / An online game and scavenger hunt,
MARKETING
shards, you don't only get the pot - you get to
understand something about the culture. And if conceived by Civic Entertainment Group New
Solution / Vanishing Point' was an experiential
08 /
millions of people are helping you look, your York. Players attemped to predict the events of
BUSINESS online and offline campaign. The global puzzle
understanding is accelerated.' each episode in order to win prizes, including a
challenge offered an array of prizes, from Vista
09 / season finale of a massive suitcase containing
DISRUPTION Since then, Pasadena-based 42 Entertainment PCs to Xbox 360s to ZUNEs, as well as the
$100,000. Participants were challenged to
have constructed ARGs for a number of varied prospect of a trip into space to see 'the Ultimate
10 /
FACT clients, most recently for the launch of Microsoft Vista'. In December, special puzzle boxes
Vista. Other companies working in this area containing a USB key and a note from puzzle
11 /
include New York's Campfire, an extension of film mistress Loki (Norse goddess of mischief) were
FUTURE
producers Chelsea Pictures dedicated to creating sent out to bloggers. Each week, twelve puzzles
12 / were be posted on a bespoke website along with
CONCLUSION immersive and interactive brand experiences.
Their work to date has included the hugely footage of an unusual real world event. To arrive at
13 / the correct answer, players combined both online
REFERENCES
successful buzz campaign around hit movie 'The
Blair Witch Project', and an ARG for the launch of and real world elements.
Audi's A3 entitled 'The Art of the Heist'. Players could either show up at the physical
location when a countdown hit zero, or check
online to view the recorded footage, encouraging
the spirit of collaboration between players. The
link / www.hbo.com/sopranos
18. the gaming industry / the advertising / p.18
collect a total of 36 game pieces from the real Results / The series premiere was the highest Characters from the book also appear periodically
world, including roadside billboards, print ads and rated ever for an off-net cable series. High profile on this forum.
online ads, each representing a different character media exposure stories ran in the New York Times,
Despite initial difficulties in bringing the book to
or setting. Pictures of the trophies were registered Chicago Tribune and Hollywood Reporter
press, publishing House Running Press sold the
CHAPTERS / by sending pictures via mobile phone. amongst others. The game spurred active
rights to Cathy's Book to five other countries at
Surveillance-style imaging technology designed conversion and extended engagement levels
01 / this year's Bologna Book Fair. Concurrently, it was
SUMMARY
by Mobot in Massachusetts was programmed to through thousands of posts and hundreds of
suggested that Beinggirl.com, P&G's web
recognise the pictures. Players strategically thousands of views on the A&E and Slickdeals.net
02 / destination for teenage girls, conduct an editorial
arranged selected pieces on a grid-like game message boards, and generated the greatest user
INTRO tie-in with various CoverGirl products and an
board online, and points were scored when each activity in the history of the aetv.com message
03 / advertising campaign conducted through the
character appeared onscreen, with additional boards.
TECHNOLOGY Beinggirl website. Direct mailouts via AOL also
points scored if characters placed next to each www.suitcaseofcash.com
04 /
targeted 3-4m teenagers.
other on the grid appear onscreen together.
ADVERTISING
P&G, COVERGIRL, BEINGGIRL.COM / Results / Prior to publication in October 2006,
05 / CATHY'S BOOK: IF FOUND CALL extensive media coverage generated in excess of
LANDSCAPE 120,000 pre-release hardcover orders in the USA
650-266-8233 (42 ENTERTAINMENT)
06 / alone. Foreign rights in countries such as
CONSUMERS Challenge / Create the first immersive multimedia
Germany, Japan and the UK have also been
book experience - and get it published!
07 / snapped up.
MARKETING Solution / Writer Sean Stewart teamed up with www.cathysbook.com
08 / Jordan Weisman and illustrator Cathy Brigg, to www.doubletalkwireless.com
BUSINESS spin a narrative based around a feisty young
09 /
heroine, the eponymous Cathy. Recently dumped
DISRUPTION unceremoniously by her mysterious boyfriend ACTIVISION, GUN / LAST CALL POKER
Victor, Cathy sets about unravelling his secrets (42 ENTERTAINMENT)
10 /
FACT with the help of best friend Emma, recording all Challenge / Promote GUN, a Wild-Western
events in her trusty journal. themed videogame, to a gaming audience
11 /
FUTURE The book comes with a clear 'evidence pack' of typically drawn to First Person Shoot-Em-Ups
various items that Cathy picks up on her search (FPS).
12 /
CONCLUSION containing phone numbers and clues to be
unravelled. In addition to this, Cathy's doodles
13 /
REFERENCES
leave hints throughout the text, and amateur
sleuths can 'hack' into private voicemail messages
to reveal extra information. Cathy and Emma boast
their own MySpace pages, and the Cathy's Book
site directs users to a bespoke forum designed to
link / www.cathysbook.com look like a Chinese phone company website,
where they can discuss the story with other fans. link / www.lastcallpoker.com
19. the gaming industry / the advertising / p.19
Solution / A fusion of avatar culture, real world video game properties and has hinted at the awarded new cars.
interaction, product-based incentives and a possibility of a sequel. http://thehunt.volvocars.net/us/thehunt
popular online sensation, Last Call Poker wove a www.lastcallpoker.com
narrative tracking six stories of American violence MICROSOFT GAME STUDIO, HALO 2 /
CHAPTERS / through the ages to the time of the game's release. ILOVEBEES (42 ENTERTAINMENT)
The campaign was based around the insight that a Challenge / Create an immersive, interactive
01 /
SUMMARY
compelling link between the Wild West and the experience for the launch of Halo2, the sequel to
present day is poker - now an online phenomenon. hit Xbox game Halo. Attract the attention of the
02 /
At lastcallpoker.com, users chose from a variety of mainstream press as well as dedicated Halo fans
INTRO
characters, and played poker to gain access to and Xbox gamers, bringing non-gamers into
03 / clues and content.
TECHNOLOGY contact with the Halo brand
Real world integration developed through the
04 / backstory: a wealthy cardplayer, Lionel 'Lucky' Solution / the ilovebees alternate reality game,
ADVERTISING based around a radio drama that was broken down
Brown set aside a small sum in his will for memorial
05 / poker games in some of his favourite cemeteries. and delivered via ringing payphones. At the centre
LANDSCAPE of the campaign was a website run by a Napa
Participants in selected cities were invited to
Pirates of the Carribean / Valley-based beekeeper, www.ilovebeescom,
06 / attend the memorials and play a round of
CONSUMERS link / www.volvocars.us/thehunt which had ostensibly been hacked by someone
'Tombstone Hold'em' with other enthusiasts.
07 / These events used the 'language of the leaving GPS coordinates. The URL for the site was
MARKETING tombstone'. Different tombstone shapes seeded at the end of cinematic trailers for Halo2,
VOLVO / PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
corresponded to different card suits, and the date and small plastic bears containing a scrambled
08 / (HABERMAN & ASSOCIATES, EURO RSCG)
BUSINESS of death was used to indicate what the number of version of the URL were sent in the post to keen
the card would be. The dealer flipped three cards, Challenge / Raise the profile of Volvo in the
09 /
DISRUPTION and participants then searched the cemetery for increasingly competitive worldwide SUV market
10 /
the fourth and fifth. Online, they were also Solution / A two month global multi-media
FACT encouraged to share their own stories and treasure hunt for an $82,000 car, part of Volvo's
11 /
pictures relating to life beyond the grave. sponsorship of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean:
FUTURE Throughout the game, incentives to pre-order Dead Man's Chest. Players picked up maps at
GUN were offered, including the chance to their local Volvo dealer, and the top participants
12 /
CONCLUSION discover secrets to be unravelled for extra were invited to a remote Caribbean island to
weapons and gold. complete the treasure hunt in real time and in real
13 /
REFERENCES Results / Over half a million players actively life. The winning participant solved a series of
participated during the eight week campaign, and clues to reveal the location of some buried
many tens of millions of hands of poker were treasure - a Volvo XC90 SUV.
played. Bespoke poker chips designed especially Results / 52,000 people participated in the US
for the game became collector's items. Activision alone. Volvo posted webisodes documenting the
link / www.ilovebees.com
has noted that GUN sold the best among new competition online, and 7 finalists were eventually
20. the gaming industry / the advertising / p.20
gamers on the Alternate Reality Gaming Network AUDI OF AMERICA / A3 - THE ART OF THE
(www.argn.com). HEIST (CAMPFIRE, MCKINNEY SILVER)
The story revolved around a futuristic AI entity Challenge / Find a pioneering way to connect
from the 26th century known as Melissa, whose with the A3's target consumer, using a fraction of
CHAPTERS / the average auto launch budget
military starship is thrown back in time and
01 / stranded as part of the hacked code on Solution / Alternate reality gaming meets
SUMMARY ilovebees.com. The code, when unravelled, branded content. An elaborate 3-month viral
02 / revealed the GPS coordinates of 50 payphones in campaign (or 'living movie') allowed the audience
INTRO the US and in other locations around the world. to participate on various levels, and began in New
03 / When the player gave a secret password to the York with the fictional theft of an Audi A3.
TECHNOLOGY voice on the other end of the line (sometimes
recorded, sometimes part of the 42 Entertainment Players participated in the adventures of Nisha
04 /
team delivering live information), the next Roberts and Ian Yarbrough, specialists in
ADVERTISING
instalment of the drama was played out. recovering stolen art, as they tracked down digital
05 / clues hidden in Audis across America. The tale of
LANDSCAPE Results / ilovebees attracted upwards of 3m designer Virgil Tatum, developing a game based
06 / players. At the 'top tier' of the gaming pyramid, on Roberts, also played into the narrative. Online
CONSUMERS 25,000 players rushed out to answer payphones. ads encouraged people to help find the stolen A3,
07 / Active puzzle solvers comprised 750,000 regular and a microsite at stolenA3.com enabled gamers
MARKETING contributors to message boards and online to follow the action. Campfire also set up a fictional
08 / research, and around 2m casual players took part site for Roberts and Yarbrough's company at
BUSINESS in some element of the game. www.ilovebees.com lastresortretrieval.com, and a site for Tatum at
09 /
logged 80m hits, and as well as extensive virgilkingofcode.com.
DISRUPTION coverage in games publications, the mainstream
press such as the New York Times and CNN The campaign used blogs and wild postings to
10 /
documented the community's progress. keep the public updated, and additionally, players
FACT
created wikis and fan sites, such as
11 / At the launch, Halo 2 made $125m in one day, heist.smirkbox.com to help others keep up.
FUTURE
smashing records for both gaming and Hollywood
12 / launch weekends. It was described by Microsoft The effort was also supported by TV, print, and
CONCLUSION founder Bill Gates as the 'single most successful outdoor media, which contained cryptic
entertainment product launch in history'. The 42 references to the Stolen A3 mystery.
13 /
REFERENCES Entertainment team won the 2005 Game Results / Over 45m PR impressions were
Developers Choice Awards' Innovation Award generated, including articles in Fortune, Business
and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Week, Wired and Forbes. There were 2.5m hits on
Sciences' Webby Award. audiusa.com in 3 months, the most in Audi's
www.ilovebees.com history, and 200,000 visitors in a single day. The
narrative engaged 500,000 story participants,
21. the gaming industry / the advertising / p.21
CHAPTERS /
01 /
SUMMARY
02 /
INTRO
03 /
TECHNOLOGY
04 /
ADVERTISING
05 /
LANDSCAPE
06 /
CONSUMERS generated 10,000 dealer leads, 4,000 test drives tournament. So the gamer wins, the marketer wins content from it, then distributing it via our partners
07 / and ultimately, Audi sold over a thousand of its A3 and of course [the developer] wins, because their at CBS and the NCAA, that allows Pontiac's brand
MARKETING model in 90 days, well exceeding expectations. game gets talked about.' to have one of the deepest college basketball
08 / related marketing experiences currently available to
04.09 / Sponsorship / Content ‘In the case of the Pontiac Virtual NCAA Final 4,
BUSINESS fans.’
we approached games as a key part of the overall
09 / Pontiac Virtual NCAA Final 4 college basketball experience. Our target audience
DISRUPTION
Cadillac V-Series
There's also the category of off-game promotions wasn’t just gamers - it was all college basketball
Arc and Play/Denuo were the architects of a
10 / and sponsorships, which typically involve the fans. By letting gamers generate content in the
FACT similar win-win situation last year for Cadillac and
integration the online gaming sphere with some form of video highlights and predict upsets in the
Microsoft. Tim Irvine, senior vice president at ARC
11 / sort of real life event. In one example, Double tournament, Pontiac owns a unique and highly
FUTURE Worldwide, explains the motivation behind the
Fusion's Shumaker recalls a Pontiac-branded coveted piece of the college basketball experience
campaign. 'Following the success of the quot;Cadillac
12 / virtual Final Four NCAA college basketball any fan would find compelling,’ explains Chris
CONCLUSION
Under 5quot; campaign and the launch of the V-Series
tournament that was held in conjunction with the Hornberger, the advertising manager at Pontiac.
cars, Cadillac wanted to continue to raise
13 / real thing. 'Gamers could play as if they were the ‘Pontiac then uses multiple media channels to
REFERENCES
awareness with a younger audience, and a tie-in
real teams that were playing live that weekend,' distribute this NCAA content to passionate fans
with Xbox console gaming emerged as a dramatic
she says. 'The beauty there is, it gets Pontiac during key windows of time when they're most
way to reach those consumers. Play, the gaming
press; it's a promotional activation tool [where] actively craving news about the tournament, but
division of Publicis, brokered a relationship with
they're getting people to sign up and acquiring a are only finding the same recap and analysis
Microsoft. Cadillac became the first advertiser to
database of names; and they're getting available through most media. It is this process of
sponsor an expansion pack within the Xbox 360
consumers what they want, which is a really cool creating a proprietary brand experience, generating
game Project Gotham Racing 3 (PGR3) featuring
22. the gaming industry / the advertising / p.22
the three V-Series vehicles.' The agencies launched a
joint venture that saw them make the entirety of
Cadillac's V-Series vehicles available as free links /
www.secondlife.com
downloadable add-ons for the Xbox 360 game Project
www.jeep.com / games
CHAPTERS / Gotham Racing 3. According to Irvine, 'the downloadable
www.candystand.com
expansion pack allows gamers to drive the V-Series www.tetris.com
01 /
SUMMARY
vehicles within PGR3, experiencing all of the power, www.nfs.ea.com
handling and engineering characteristics of the real http://slleftunity.blogspot.com
02 /
cars in the Xbox gaming environment. We wanted to www.the-passenger.com
INTRO
create excitement and buzz, and to shift perceptions of www.worldofwarcraft.com
03 / Cadillac as an old and slow brand commonly www.argn.com
TECHNOLOGY
associated with your grandfather to a young, fast, www.windowsvista.com
04 / performance-oriented brand. Arc created a microsite http://vanishingpointgame.com
ADVERTISING
where users can find out about the expansion pack and www.hbo.com/sopranos
05 / the quot;Cadillac Elite Player Statusquot; gamer picture. We www.cathysbook.com
LANDSCAPE www.doubletalkwireless.com
also wanted the website to demonstrate the youthful
06 / dynamism of the game experience to those who don't www.lastcallpoker.com
CONSUMERS have an Xbox live connection or who aren't gamers.' www.volvocars.us/thehunt
www.ilovebees.com
07 /
The initiative proved extremely successful for Cadillac, www.stolenA3.com
MARKETING
attracting attention and plaudits for donating free www.virgilkingofcode.com
08 / content for players of a console for which games cost www.heist.smirkbox.com
BUSINESS
around $60. 'Overall, this was a great opportunity to
09 / partner with Play and Leo Burnett to provide a truly
DISRUPTION
integrated campaign-and it has been an overwhelming
10 / success,' commented Irvine. 'In the first month, gamers
FACT
worldwide downloaded the V-Series Expansion Pack
11 / more than 150,000 times and logged 7,600 hours of
FUTURE
racing with Cadillac V-Series cars. The vseries
12 / collection.com microsite was extremely popular, with
CONCLUSION more than 169,000 page views, 58,000 visits and an
13 / average time of 2.27 minutes spent on the website.'
REFERENCES
He went on to conclude: 'Moreover, free publicity from
the game editors' websites reached millions of
consumers a month. We gave editors a chance to test-
drive real Cadillacs during a major gaming conference,
and one of them reported back, quot;That's a Cadillac? This
car is bad ass!quot;
23. the gaming industry / the lanscape / p.23
05 / pages 23-25
THE LANDSCAPE
CHAPTERS / 05.01 / How has advertising evolved along with gaming? Where
is it going?
01 /
SUMMARY Thanks in no small part to the efforts of new-model game networks
such as Massive, Double Fusion and IGA Worldwide, which supply
02 /
INTRO the software and services required to syndicate dynamic advertising
content within online computer and console gaming environments,
03 /
TECHNOLOGY in-game advertising has come a long way in a very short period of time.
As far as the beginnings of the industry, even competitors like Double
04 /
ADVERTISING
Fusion readily acknowledge that a lot of that initial groundwork -
whether with respect to client education or determining the business
05 /
model - was laid by Mitch Davis and Massive Incorporated.
LANDSCAPE
'Everything we heard from talking to big advertisers and agencies like
06 / Coke and McDonalds and OMD and WPP and so forth was that they
CONSUMERS
wanted to be able to buy in-game advertising the same way they
07 / bought [it on] television and cable and the Internet,' recalls Davis.
MARKETING
'They wanted to be able to run campaigns across multiple games to
08 / reach a large audience, to be able to change their creative out in real
BUSINESS
time and to have effective measurement around it.'
09 /
DISRUPTION The more conversations he had, the more Davis discovered that
publishers were looking for a turnkey solution. 'They wanted someone
10 /
FACT
to manage it and to deliver against it,' he explains. 'They're not media
companies - they're highly specialised at producing great games.'
11 /
With that in mind, Massive undertook the task of building its own
FUTURE
network, first by developing a deployment infrastructure and then by
12 / populating it with publishers, games and advertisers. Massive's
CONCLUSION
network currently includes 40 major publishers, including EA,
13 / Activision, Universal Games and Microsoft, and expects to service
REFERENCES
over 100 major titles this year. On the advertising side, its roster
includes blue chip brands such as McDonalds, Coke, Warner
Brothers, Chrysler and Unilever. In terms of technological growth,
Davis is most excited about the network's increasing sophistication in
the realm of custom ad-serving. 'Because we connect to consoles like
the 360 and PC games, we have the ability to target and to do very
24. the gaming industry / the lanscape / p.24
clever things,' he says. 'We can do gay pride advertising, we can run
campaigns that are only seen after eight o'clock at night, we can do
geo-typing. We ran a campaign across 12 different [European]
countries in eight languages to launch the V for Vendetta movie.'
CHAPTERS /
05.02 / In-game Advertising
01 / According to Shumaker, who left her role as EA's national director of
SUMMARY
sales for video game advertising to join Double Fusion, in-game
02 / advertising currently takes three major forms: 2D billboards, video ads
INTRO
(either pre-rolled between gaming levels or integrated into the
03 / environment) and product placement. 2D billboards and videos ads
TECHNOLOGY are dynamic, meaning networks like Massive, Double Fusion and IGA
04 / have the ability to deliver them based on user-specific information,
ADVERTISING and thus tailor to its demographic in a way that general television can't.
05 / While it's not considered a dynamic technology, the last category
LANDSCAPE (product placement) is one of increasing interest to brands and
06 /
developers. IGA Worldwide CEO Justin Townsend explains. 'There's
CONSUMERS what you would call situation placement and then there's plot
07 /
integration,' he says. '[Situation placement] could be a set of Brembo
MARKETING brakes [in a racing game] that allow you to brake harder, a pair of
sports shoes that allow you to run faster or Red Bull drink that gives
08 /
BUSINESS you energy and allows you to jump higher and achieve the goals within
the game. A situation placement is where you're really looking to link / www.vforvendetta.warnerbros.com
09 /
DISRUPTION involve a brand within a storyline of a game. So, if your main character
frequently has to use his credit cards to make purchases at shops, you
10 /
FACT
could see Visa integrated into the storyline and the plot of the game.'
11 / Due to its high level of user engagement, product placement is
FUTURE naturally viewed by brands as the most desirable form of in-game
12 / advertising, but Shumaker is quick to caution marketers against
CONCLUSION pursuing product placement at the cost of everything else. 'Going into
13 /
2007, I think the number one mistake marketers are making is not
REFERENCES seeing the individual values of the various in-game advertising
opportunities,' she says. 'What we hear a lot now is, quot;Well, I want
product placement,quot; and then [brands] realise that the lead times are
longer and that the message is fixed and it has to be a global message,
and they go, quot;That doesn't really work for me, but I wanted interactivity
and a storyline, so I won't buy 2-D billboards.quot; 2-D billboards as a
stand-alone do have value, they just have a different kind of value.' Sony Billboard /