Advertising and Games

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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)
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Research Challenges

• Avoided studies funded by the game industry
• Most university studies are problematic
• 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

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Research Challenges (cont.)

• Therefore, Ive 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

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Psych 101 forAds in Games
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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 arent part of a puzzle or
  plot

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Implicit vs. Explicit Memory

• Explicit memory
• Triggered by high-involvement stimuli
• The result of conscious processing
• Integral ads usually get stored here
• Implicit memory
• 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

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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)

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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 Reeses Pieces saved the candy (1)

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Persuasion Knowledge

• People recognize and resist persuasion (1)
• Good placements arent seen as persuasion (2)
• Except possibly outside of the game, which is OK
  (3)
• Goldeneye and BMW Z3 100m exposure

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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. Dont put trucks on a skii slope as
  obstacles
• i.e. No ads for current products in distant
  future
• i.e. Dont fill a city with billboards for a
  single brand

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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

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Mood Other Associations

• We have associational brains
• I.e. happy TV film greater ad effectiveness
  (1)
• Avoid sad portions of a game
• i.e. Dont put baby products in a bloody shooter
• i.e. Dont put Dasani on the side of a filthy
  truck
• They should request clean textured" locations
  only
• In short, congruence alone is not enough

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Summary What Works When?

• Integral ads (done well)
• Increase brand recall
• Generate positive press
• Can convey useful brand/product info
• Increases purchase intent, even for serious
  purchases
• Non-integral ads (done well)
• Increase brand affinity, but not recall
• Can be employed cheaply and dynamically
• Cant convey complex meaning
• Particularly good for impulse purchase decisions

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Placement decision tree
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Enough About Ads-in-Games,What About Other
Things?
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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

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Demonstrative Advergames

• Exploring educational persuasive games
• Ian Bogosts Persuasive Games
• MIT and U. Wisconsin Madisons Education Arcade
• Examples
• Fiskars Prune to Win
• Yoshinoya

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SponsorshipsThe 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

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The Face of Games To Come?
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The Coming WavePromogames / 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

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The Coming WavePromogames / 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

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Transmedia Content
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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

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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
  Childrens Perceptions, Preferences, and Requests
• Mallinckrodt Mizerski, Journal of Advertising,
  2007