In-Game Advertising MRG

In-game advertising Flourishing through the downturn : 

In-game advertising Flourishing through the downturn Presented byJames Myring & Max Willey

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2 “Don't play video games yet? Then it's time to get with the program…” - CHARLIE BROOKER

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3 Lots of commercial media (ranging from newspapers, to TV stations) have faced financial difficulties The recession has hit the media industry very hard

Social Media : 

4 Social Media Social networking has very much been a talking point of the last few years But websites, come (e.g. Twitter) and go (Friends Reunited, MySpace) in popularity Facebook now has over 300 million users, but has only recently turned a (quarterly) profit for the first time

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5 Similarly You Tube doesn’t seem to make money, despite being phenomenally popular Social Media is popular but seems difficult to monetise

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6 “Video games still don't seem to really register in the mainstream… Statistics about how many billions the industry is worth, or how many billion players there are worldwide, tend to be recited with an air of amused disbelief. Games strike around half the population as utterly inaccessible: a peculiar situation for a mass-market industry.” - CHARLIE BROOKER The videogames industry is overlooked

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7 But video gaming is big... and there is money in it The industry is not recession proof, but people pay big money for games Gaming is huge amongst kids People who grew up playing video games in the 80s/90s are getting older expanding the market over time Consoles like the Nintendo Wii aim titles specifically at the whole family broadening the gaming demographic

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8 Gaming as a media platform This effectively blurs the boundaries between media channels making the games console an all round entertainment unit Games consoles are self contained media platforms There is an array of non-games related media accessible via games consoles- Downloadable films- Sky TV accessible via Xbox LIVE

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9 ...and a growing number of advertisers have recognised the value of in-game advertising

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10 The net connection allows ads to be ‘dynamically’ streamed into games as real time campaigns

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Massive Inc is an advertising company that dynamically hosts ads within video games Its network of gamers average 12 hours a week playing online This puts their gaming consumption on a par with more “traditional” media

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Despite, or perhaps because of, the enormous amount of time people spend gaming there is prejudice against gamers.. Some people still seem them as the preserve of a computer obsessed nerdy minority… : 

Despite, or perhaps because of, the enormous amount of time people spend gaming there is prejudice against gamers.. Some people still seem them as the preserve of a computer obsessed nerdy minority…

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14 “Video games: Bleeping, blooping masturbatory aids for emotionally crippled social outcasts. Probably male outcasts. Probably physically repugnant and sexually inexperienced. Probably frightened of the real world. Probably standing on this very spot saying these very words to camera right now. Probably me, basically. Video games are for losers like me. Apparently…” - CHARLIE BROOKER

Profiling Study - Dispelling MythsOnline gamers are simply not the computer obsessed geeks, nerds, outcasts, losers that they were once perceived to be… : 

Profiling Study - Dispelling MythsOnline gamers are simply not the computer obsessed geeks, nerds, outcasts, losers that they were once perceived to be…

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16 72% of online gamers agree that they love competing against others online This urge to compete is absolutely key

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Online gamers love spending their cash on top end ostentatious products : 

18 Online gamers love spending their cash on top end ostentatious products Base : Profiling study 500, TGI Males 15-34 2,076

FaSHIONabLe : 

FaSHIONabLe

WELL GROOMED (METROSEXUAL) : 

WELL GROOMED (METROSEXUAL)

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INFLUENTIAL71% of online gamers think it is likely that they could convince other people regarding what mobile phone to buy

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So, online gamers are a desirable audience : 

So, online gamers are a desirable audience …but do in-game ads work?

Healthy ad recall : 

24 Healthy ad recall Base : Test respondents – 16 ad effectiveness studies 55% recall average in-game ad

Strong agreement that the in game ad… : 

25 Strong agreement that the in game ad… Base : Test/ post respondents – 16 ad effectiveness studies

There’s also an impact on likelihood to recommend to their peers : 

26 There’s also an impact on likelihood to recommend to their peers Base: 16 studies combined

Positive impact on the brand from association with a new and cutting edge medium : 

Positive impact on the brand from association with a new and cutting edge medium

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Base : Test/ post respondents – 12 ad effectiveness studies – (net definitely/ think so) Going forward - advertisers are starting to make the most of the medium – campaigns that have done this score more positively

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In January Castrol Edge was advertised only in racing games – the impact on brand measures was phenomenal

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If the advertiser is a hi-tech product, in-game could be used at the start of a multi-media ad campaign to help create a word of mouth buzz amongst early adopters

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32 With positive research findings backing it up, in-game advertising has performed pretty well over the last year in a challenging advertising market. However, despite the ubiquity of gaming there still currently exists some residual prejudice against it. Negative preconceptions are fading, though, as people become more and more aware of the sheer size of the gaming industry and the large amount of time that young people in particular spend gaming. We expect in-game advertising to continue to grow strongly over the coming year. Summary

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33 “If you don't play games, you're not just missing out, you're wilfully ignoring the most rapidly evolving creative medium in human history.” - CHARLIE BROOKER