Transcript Slide 1

Advertising and Games
Opportunities, Pitfalls, and Competition
David J Edery
WW Games Portfolio Planner
Microsoft, Xbox Live Arcade
Blog: http://www.edery.org
Upcoming book: “For Fun and Profit:
How Video Games are Transforming the Business World”
(Not sponsored or endorsed by Microsoft)
Research Challenges
• Avoided studies funded by the game industry
• Most university studies are problematic
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Focus on a single genre (i.e. racing)
Focus on static billboards
Very specific population (i.e. college students)
Small sample sizes (i.e. 10 to 50 respondents)
Small play times (i.e. one 15-minute session)
Focus on brand recall, not subconscious effects
Research Challenges (cont.)
• Therefore, I’ve partially relied on:
– More general psychology research
– Research specific to film/TV product placements
• Placements date back to 1940
• Research is, as a result, more prevalent and thorough
– A few good, independent, game-specific studies
Psych 101 for
Ads in Games
Integral vs Non-Integral Ads
• Ads are highly integrated (or not) with a game
• Integral ads:
– A car you drive (gameplay)
– A camera used to solve missions (gameplay & plot)
– A brand prominently featured in cutscenes (plot)
• Non-integral ads:
– Typical billboards alongside a road
– Soda machines that aren’t part of a puzzle or plot
Implicit vs. Explicit Memory
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Explicit memory:
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Triggered by high-involvement stimuli
The result of conscious processing
Integral ads usually get stored here
Implicit memory:
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Triggered by low-involvement stimuli
The things you “miss” when focused elsewhere
Non-integral ads usually get stored here
Note: gameplay is generally “high-involvement”
Implicit Memory
• Influences our behavior w/o conscious recall
• “Mere exposure effect” and “priming”
• MEE: Japanese ideographs (1)
• MEE: polygons displayed for imperceptible durations (2)
• Priming: words associated with the elderly (3)
• Leads to increased brand affinity
• Mars Pathfinder spikes the sales of Mars candy (4)
Explicit Memory
• Storage in explicit memory equals:
– Conscious brand recall
– Comprehension of product & brand attributes
– Increased brand affinity, if ad well-implemented
• The opposite, otherwise!
• Examples of integral ads “done well”
– Sony Ericson phone placements in Splinter Cell
– E.T. and Reese’s Pieces … saved the candy (1)
Persuasion Knowledge
• People recognize and resist persuasion (1)
• Good placements aren’t seen as persuasion (2)
– Except possibly outside of the game, which is OK (3)
– Goldeneye and BMW Z3 … “$100m exposure”
Fit / Congruence
• Incongruent ads increase recall and PK
• Negative effects demonstrated in TV study (1)
• Resist temptation to stand out in unnatural ways:
– i.e. Don’t put trucks on a skii slope as “obstacles”
– i.e. No ads for “current” products in distant future
– i.e. Don’t fill a city with billboards for a single brand
What Gamers Say
(Integral & Non)
• 2007 study: GameSpot + Internet Ad Bureau (1)
• 73% did not mind in-game advertising
• 14% thought in-game ads spoil the experience
• Key: this is all predicated on ad recognition
– The whole point is to eliminate recognition
– Study revealed confusion as to what constitutes ads
Mood & Other Associations
• We have associational brains
– I.e. happy TV & film = greater ad effectiveness (1)
– Avoid sad portions of a game
– i.e. Don’t put baby products in a bloody shooter
– i.e. Don’t put Dasani on the side of a filthy truck
• They should request “clean textured" locations only
• In short, congruence alone is not enough
Summary: What Works When?
• Integral ads (done well):
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Increase brand recall
Generate positive press
Can convey useful brand/product info
Increases purchase intent, even for serious purchases
• Non-integral ads (done well):
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Increase brand affinity, but not recall
Can be employed cheaply and dynamically
Can’t convey complex meaning
Particularly good for impulse purchase decisions
Placement decision tree
Enough About Ads-in-Games,
What About Other Things?
Advergame Research
• Little research exists on this topic
– Preference to handle tech prior to purchase (1)
• Laptops, camcorders, PDAs, etc
• Opportunity to outperform non-interactive ads
– Increased preference w/ children & Froot Loops (2)
• 65% preference over other cereals vs 35% control
• Ineffective before age 7; potential ceiling effects
– High brand recall rates (3)
• Sadly, marred by small sample & other issues
Demonstrative Advergames
• Exploring educational & persuasive games
– Ian Bogost’s Persuasive Games
– MIT and U. Wisconsin Madison’s Education Arcade
• Examples:
– Fiskars Prune to Win
– Yoshinoya
Sponsorships
The Lost Video Art?
• NA spent $14.9b on sponsorships in ’07 (1)
– Double-digit increases for the past several years
– Greatest percentage: sports, NASCAR, etc
– What happened to sponsored video content, i.e. soaps?
• Classic psychology: create desire to reciprocate
• Potential: old retail games, casual games, etc
• Sponsored virtual currency
– i.e. WildTangent + AdventureQuest
The Face of Games To Come?
The Coming Wave
Promogames / Burger King
• 40% increase in profit for the quarter
• 3.2m games sold
• Many millions of hours of brand exposure
• This is only the beginning!
– More companies will get in
– Budgets will rise as companies fight for mindshare
The Coming Wave
Promogames / Webkinz
• 1m+ Webkinz sold in two years (1)
• Longer visits than Facebook or MySpace (2)
• Already being emulated:
– $5 to $10m budget per virtual Disney property (3)
– Mattel launched $59 Barbie mp3 / virtual world
• Promotion? Revenue? Enhanced engagement?
Expect to see a lot more of these…
Transmedia Content
Suggested Books
The Psychology of Entertainment Media: Blurring the Lines
Between Entertainment and Persuasion
L. J. Shrum, 2004
Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames
Ian Bogost, 2007
Suggested Articles
Experiencing Interactive Advertising beyond Rich Media: Impacts of
Ad Type and Presence on Brand Effectiveness in 3DGaming
Immersive Virtual Environments.
Grigorovici & Constantin, Journal of Interactive Advertising, 2004
The Effectiveness of “In-Game” Advertising: Comparing College
Students’ Explicit and Implicit Memory for Brand Names
Yang, Roskos-Ewoldsen, Dinu & Arpan, Journal of Advertising, 2006
More than meets the eye: Investigating the hidden impact of brand
placements in television magazines
Matthes, Schemer & Wirth, Intl Journal of Advertising, 2007
The Effects of Playing an Advergame on Young Children’s
Perceptions, Preferences, and Requests
Mallinckrodt & Mizerski, Journal of Advertising, 2007