Marketing with Games

Introduction

Your marketing toolbox may seem to be complete.
However, do you have a game or two that you can pull out to brand your product or service?
Assuming your business does not actually focus on games, toys or similar niches, you may not have considered how you can leverage consumers' demand for entertainment.
This article discusses the power, the pitfalls and the price of marketing with games.

Photo by Don Wright

Historical References

Advertisers have long used games as part of their marketing efforts.
Ilya Vedrashko, who works as an emerging media strategist at Hill, Holliday ad agency in Boston, chronicles the early days of product placement in video games. His History of In-Game Advertising and Advergames: The First Wave explains how big companies jumped on the video game bandwagon at exactly the wrong time:

In 1982, when these titles were probably commissioned, the industry was at the peak of its popularity and profitability; that year, the American public bought $3 billion worth of games (over $6 billion in today’s money), tripling the previous year’s amount. The news media sensationalized the boom and many companies rushed to open video games division to capitalize on the tidal wave …
… The market became saturated with bad games and numerous variations of the same concepts, and the next year the sales dropped to $2 billion, and then to $800 million in 1984 and $100 million in 1985.

Movies are ripe with references to historical game-based advertising:

A Christmas Story: Ralphie uses his super decoder ring to get a message from Ovaltine (shortly after his father won a "Major Award" playing one of his silly puzzles.)
The Jackpot: Jimmy Stewart "wins" a difficult radio contest and becomes overwhelmed with the sponsored prizes (and the taxes!)
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: Based on a true story, a 1950's homemaker supports her family, including ten children, by entering and winning commercial jingle contests.

Photo by Mitch

Debate

Opponents of this type of marketing cite the bad influence on impressionable children.
The Kaiser Family Foundation released a report in 2006, It's Child's Play: Advergaming and the Online Marketing of Food to Children .
Amy Jussel, Founder and Executive Director of Shaping Youth has this to say about the report:

"Over 500+ free advergames are online beckoning kids, there’s an addictive hook of immersion with online play that burrows the brand deeper, and Kaiser Family Foundation’s [study] shows 85% of the top food brands target children through online websites and TV…" [1]

There is nothing inherently wrong with a company offering a game that promotes its products or services. Studies have shown that "After playing a game, consumers are more likely to remember not just the brand or product itself, but to associate specific brand attributes with it." [2]

How to Market with Games

You have many choices when it comes to using games in your advertising and marketing:

Sponsorship
Licensing
Rebranding Intellectual Property
Advergaming

Photo by Ella's Dad

Sponsorship
Sporting events and game tournaments often seek advertisers to help share the expense of putting on an event.
Your company can sponsor a team. For periodic events, try becoming more involved than just throwing up a banner. A well-timed press release can enhance your media exposure at any sponsored event.

Licensing
As the owner of your brand, you can license (give specific permission) for others to use.
The legal and financial intricacies of licensing is best discussed with an intellectual property attorney.
If you do license your brand to a game maker, don't always be too quick to make money from the deal.
Remember, this is about advertising and, if the opportunity presents itself, be prepared to look at the big picture.
The board game Franchi$it is a perfect example. The game maker obtained agreements from fifteen franchises to use their trademarks royalty-free in exchange for exposure. From the game's website:

“JoAnne Shaw, president of the Coffee Beanery says, ‘the game is going to build brand identity, we’re just happy to be a part of it.”
South Jersey Courier Post

Rebranding Intellectual Property
In a joint venture with a game maker, you replace the recognizable features of the game with elements of your own company's brand, products and culture. This is another example of licensing.
This is a minefield for licensors: will the rebranded game offer a unique playing experience or will it just exploit the popularity of the original game?

Advergaming
According to Media Post Communications

"The gaming industry generates more revenue than CD music sales and movie box office. It is responsible for more time spent online than any other entertainment form. gaming pulls mindshare from all new and old media, and in most households it competes directly with cable and broadcast for access to the family’s shared screen. And yet little more than $600 million in ad revenue went in and around America’s favorite pastime."

The assumption is that marketers are not taking advantage of a compelling opportunity.
But, before you rush out to have a video game designed around your brand, consider some of the social implications that have already been discussed.

Conclusion

In the past, advertising was a part of many games. Today, many games exist only to advertise a brand.
As a business owner, you may turn toward games as an additional tool in your arsenal.
You have to balance your campaigns to maximize exposure while avoiding exploitation.
Aim for a Franchi$it, steer clear of Monopoly and tread lightly with marketing to children.

By Mitchell Allen, creator of the Morpho Board board game design software and occasional blogger at Morpho Designs.