The Business Benefits of Advergaming
Research has shown that 42% of gamers play online games for one or more hours per week. 50% of people who play advergames will do so for 25 minutes. And 90% of people who receive advergame challenges from someone they know will not only play an advergame, but respond to the one who sent them the challenge with their score.
So what do these statistics mean when they’re applied from a business perspective?
For starters, more revenue, more brand exposure and a very positive ROI. Advergames are interactive games that a company can place on its website for visitors to play. A company’s advergame can incorporate corporate colors, logos, products and advertising messages. A small, interactive, easy to install form of entertainment, advergames can be placed anywhere on a website and be offered free or incur a monthly charge to play.
Before they penetrated the internet, advergames were most commonly distributed on floppy disks. But their goal was the same as their modern counterparts; to provide promotional incentives with the goal of obtaining a response from consumers, and to increase consumer awareness.
Advergames are usually commissioned by companies who wish to add more to their online presence. A game development company will develop the game, customizing it to meet the requirements of its customer. Advergames come in nearly all types, from reworked arcade-style classics to memory games. However, if a company requests it, it’s usually possible to create a one-of-a-kind advergaming experience.
If your business is an eating establishment, an advergame can be created that looks and feels just like it. Let’s say, for example that your establishment has a games room. If you chose to have a billiard advergame created, your establishment’s colors and logo could appear on the felt of the billiards table. Similarly, if you choose a dart advergame, your logo and colors could appear on the dart flights and/or the dart board.
Advergames can offer continuous play or allow players to take a break between games. During the break is a perfect opportunity to let players know about your daily specials or products you plan to introduce in the near future.
Advergaming offers businesses a unique and powerful way to interact with visitors on note one, but several levels. Players receive prolonged exposure to your company’s brand or cause, which can result in future purchases from you. And if your advergame is especially creative, it’s highly likely that visitors will tell their friends about it. This is also known as word of mouth or viral advertising.
Many advergames also include the option to track each visitor’s gaming experience. This can provide a company with detailed information which can then be used to fine tune an advergame for even more exposure and impact.
With so many benefits, advergames can create an exceptional branding environment for just about any product or service. And with advergame revenues expected to skyrocket in the next three years, there’s never been a better time to learn more about how they can benefit your business.
