Get Serious About In-Game Marketing

CNET Networks Entertainment's John Broady talks about why in-game ads are increasing marketer reach and relevance, and why they aren't just for kids anymore.

As vice president of operations and business intelligence, John Broady manages both the development of advertising opportunities and the creation of vital business-analysis tools for the CNET Networks Entertainment properties, which include GameSpot, TV.com, MP3.com and FilmSpot.

John Broady: Our strategy at CNET Networks is to build brands for people and the things they are passionate about, and gaming is definitely one of those areas of passion for our users. In my role, I closely analyze our users' natural website activity on GameSpot.com to spot trends both in our users' interests and also in the gaming industry at large. For instance, in October of 2006 we noticed that our users were consuming an extraordinary amount of content about the Nintendo Wii; we knew ahead of time that Nintendo had a big hit on its hands. We offer this business intelligence to game publishers in the form of GameSpot Trax.

Harris: How large is the current gaming market? What about the gaming audience do you think it would surprise most marketers to know?

Broady: It's huge! In January through March of this year alone, consumers spent $3.2 billion on gaming systems and game software. Most marketers would be most surprised to learn that the gaming population is older (it's not just teens) and more diverse (more women and parents are playing games than ever before) than the common perception.

Harris: With so many demographics groups embracing gaming, how do you market within games to all these different people at the same time?

Broady: That's a great question. But I believe that games actually offer a more targeted marketing opportunity than most other media. Most games appeal to a targeted portion of the gaming population, whether that's "hardcore teen gamers" or "kid beginner gamers." With this knowledge alone, a marketer has a good shot at crafting an appropriate marketing message.
Another plus for marketers is that as more and more games include a significant online component, more users will be "signed in" when they play games; this will allow marketers to craft a marketing message that is targeted to an individual based on age, gender and other factors.

Harris: TV viewers use TiVo to flip through commercials. Movie-goers complain or show up late to avoid ads before the film. So, what is it about the gaming market that is more accepting of marketing messages within the entertainment content?

Broady: I HATE those ads before movies. I actually go out of my way to see movies at a theater in San Francisco that promises not to pre-show ads. And I have to admit that I use my TiVo to skip over broadcast ads as well.

The advantage to in-game marketing is that it offers marketers three great ways to reach consumers:
An innocuous advertisement in the form of a billboard or kiosk (much like the ads you see behind home plate on televised baseball games). A key product placement that actually moves the story forward. Afterall, your race car driver has to drive a car… it might as well be the latest, greatest Chevrolet! A real-time opportunity to take an action based on something that's just happened in the game. For instance, a player could choose to purchase a solution to solve a particularly difficult puzzle, or alternatively to buy those jeans that the main character is wearing.Harris: Are there examples of games that you feel have done an outstanding job of incorporating marketing messages into the play experience? What can brands do to provide a more relevant marketing experience within games?

Broady: So far, the best examples of in-game marketing have been in virtual world games, and Second Life stands out. In fact, CNET Networks once had a "party" in Second Life in a building that looked almost exactly like our corporate headquarters!
But more clever messages are showing up in traditional games. For instance, the game "Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory" featured an ad for Axe body spray as part of a puzzle. That was a great match of marketer and audience.

Harris: On the flip-side, what could a brand do to really blow it when marketing in games? Are there any absolute don'ts or things to watch out for?
Broady: I'm a believer that the best practices in marketing stay the same, regardless of the medium. Today's consumers will pay the most attention to messages that are relevant, funny and actually add something to an experience. If I were a marketer, I'd make sure that my agency were scouting out only games that were a great (and I mean great) fit for my brand or product.

Harris: What would you say is the biggest challenge for entertainment brands that want to incorporate their TV or film properties into a gaming experience?

Broady: It's interesting you ask that question, because we experienced this same issue, only in reverse. At CNET Networks Entertainment, our first site was GameSpot. As we rolled out new brands such as MP3.com, TV.com and FilmSpot, it took us several months before we stopped looking at the world through a gamer's perspective!
The biggest difference is that users consume most media, such as films and music, to relax. But users consume games to challenge themselves and to compete; games are very much a task-centered experience. How can I get from point A to point B? Entertainment brands need to make sure that their marketing message is relevant to the task at hand, or they will miss their target by a mile.

Harris: What are your thoughts on multiplayer online games? Do these capture the same user attention for brands as other gaming formats, or are they so singularly immersive that marketing messages are more likely to get overlooked?

Broady: Multiplayer online games are definitely intense, but with players' senses heightened to make that next kill, a well-thought-out marketing message has a great chance of being absorbed.

Harris: Is there a secret weapon of in-game marketing or a technique that marketers aren't yet embracing the value of?

Broady: The biggest secret weapon is to understand games. If you're a marketer and you don't play games, either start playing them or hire someone who does. Gamers are the farthest thing from a captive audience. In this case, knowledge truly is power.

Harris: What do you see as being the next big thing in game-related marketing? Anything on the horizon that you are excited about seeing?

Broady: I still remember being 11 years old in a movie theater, watching with rapt attention as Elliot laid a trail of Reese's Pieces to lure E.T. to out of the redwood forest. Reese's Pieces were on our shopping list for months afterwards. I'm still waiting for my "E.T." moment in gaming. But I'm sure my wait will be worth it; games are the perfect place for a product to move the story forward and at the same time make a huge impact in gamers' imagination.
I hope marketers out there will see that there's nothing to be scared of here. Only opportunity.