Which part of the game is more attractive? The gameplay or the ads inside the game? Ok, don’t answer that! It is obvious that users prefer to enjoy the game without seeing any ads. But what if those ads are part of the game? Sounds interesting? It really is! This solution is called advergaming and we are about to reveal some tips and tricks which can be very useful if you want to attract users’ interest in your product.
What Exactly Advergaming Is
Despite the fact that it is an innovative technique, advergaming isn’t something new for marketers. Firstly, you should understand what is advergaming. We can say that advergaming is an ingenious method for minimizing ad fatigue. In fact, it is an ad in the form of a game. Companies are able to promote their products through the elements integrated into a game. It increases brand awareness and makes users talking about the game and consequently about the products advertised.
Pros And Cons Of Advergaming
Let’s discuss a little about advergaming advantages and disadvantages.
Cons ❌
- High cost: Even though the price for creating a mobile game is definitely lower than it was before, you should know that advergaming and mobile advertising will bring a relatively expensive campaign. On the other hand, instead of paying a high price for intrusive ads which drive people away, you should reconsider your strategy and invest your money into a more user-friendly technique.
- Demands creativity: Users won’t be interested in your game if it is boring and the gameplay is similar to the other 100 games they’ve played before. So, with your mobile advergaming, you need to leverage new technologies in order to convince them that your game deserves their attention.
- Requires promotion: Yes, it seems awkward that you have to promote your ad because you created it for promoting your product. But you need to be aware of a certain fact. If you built a game it doesn’t necessarily mean that millions of users will start playing it in the next second. After all, a game is a game even if its purpose is to connect players with your brand. It still needs marketing!
Pros ✅
- Increase brand awareness: This is the main advantage. Advergaming allows users to interact with your product. Now, don’t imagine that they will go to the store to buy it immediately after that. But they will know about your brand when they need it. Moreover, if the game is engaging enough and you implement social elements they will definitely talk with their friends about it.
- Suitable for any business: Another positive aspect is that advergames work for every industry. It really doesn’t matter if you promote food or tires or beauty products! It all depends on the game created. If users enjoy playing it and you focus on increasing conversion rate then you have big chances to reach the wanted success.
- Long-term results: While with a regular ad, as soon as the campaign is over customers move on and forget about your product, with advergames things are different. They will remain on users’ devices for a long time. That small icon has the power to remind them that your game is extremely interesting and your brand’s worth their attention. In fact, users know that your game is actually an ad but they don’t care because they are having fun with the characters you created based on your products.
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Successful Examples Of Mobile Advergaming Campaigns
For a better understanding of how advergames work, we gathered here a few examples. You will see that applied in the right manner, mobile advergaming is very efficient.
Chipotle Scarecrow
Chipotle teamed up with Moonbot Studios to create this ad for a campaign launched a few years ago. And the game was a success. The main takeaways from this story are that you should remove the barriers and to make your advergame free for allowing users to download it. No matter how famous is your brand, customers won’t agree to pay for an ad. Further, you should focus on offering high-quality elements inside your game. Additionally, to implementing interesting features, you have to keep in mind that your game should be flawless with impressive design in order to attract more customers.
Lego Apps
A similar approach we can observe in Lego games on the main app stores. They are free and entertaining. Plus, with the new AR technology, Lego games become more and more engaging. Children can combine digital scenes with their real Lego bricks. What can be more fun than that? Oh, that’s right! Kids can record everything and to brag about their creativity. As you can imagine, for Lego, this strategy generates amazing results. Children play with virtual bricks and they can easily recognize Lego sets in the physical store. We all know that most of the parents can’t refuse their kids’ demands!
Doritos VR Battle
Talking about technology, who thought that VR games can convince players to buy various products? If you browse through the games listed on Google Play you can easily find Doritos VR Battle, an action game which promotes in a unique way certain flavours of Doritos. Again, the purpose is to reach a wider market and to make users remember your brand. Even though the game is for Cardboard VR viewer, many elements can be adapted for other advergames. For example, if users want to share their achievements on Facebook they have the option to connect with their Facebook account. They can use the barcodes from the back of their Doritos packages to unlock certain weapons. Otherwise, they can skip all these steps and just enjoy the gameplay.
Final Thoughts
Although advergaming isn’t actually a new marketing method, for one reason or the other, many companies miss this opportunity to make potential customers interested in their products. As we presented above there are many advantages provided by this technique and if your budget allows you to invest in advergaming, you can rest assure that your campaign will give you long-term results! If you want to discover the world of mobile advertising to create brand awareness and reach your user acquisition goals, just examine the Advertise page of us!