In-Game Ads Are Effective, So Get Ready For More

[vansau]

In-Game Ads Are Effective, So Get Ready For More

Just how effective is in-game advertising? Based on a study that followed Gatorade buying trends: extremely effective.

In-game advertising has been one of those constantly controversial subjects within the videogame industry. On one hand, it's an easy source of cash for developers and publishers. On the other, gamers tend to resent the fact that something they've just paid $60 for is trying to push more stuff on them. However, something that hasn't been obvious is exactly how effective the system is; now, the first official study on the subject is out, and it sounds like in-game ads are pretty good at getting people to buy things.

Electronic Arts has put a lot of in-game advertising into its various sports titles, so the study by The Neilsen Company focused on how effective they were at promoting Gatorade (a common ad property between different sports). Based on the results, households' spending on Gatorade increased by 24%. While that may not sound like a huge increase, it's actually quite substantial.

At first glance, it might be tempting to disregard the study as something that misrepresented the final results, but it turns out that it was extremely in-depth:

The study focused on households that purchased at least one of six EA Sports titles: <a href=http://www.amazon.com/NHL-09-Xbox-360/dp/B0018421C2/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1284529127&sr=1-1>NH 09, <a href=http://www.amazon.com/NHL-10-Xbox-360/dp/B0025KZV84/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1284529078&sr=1-1>NHL 10, <a href=http://www.amazon.com/NBA-Live-07-Xbox-360/dp/B000GEBV1W/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1284529200&sr=1-1>NBA LIVE 07, <a href=http://www.amazon.com/NBA-Live-08-Xbox-360/dp/B000QMUZES/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1284529299&sr=1-1>NBA LIVE 08, <a href=http://www.amazon.com/NBA-Live-09-Xbox-360/dp/B001AZ7RLE/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1284529359&sr=1-1>NBA LIVE 09 and <a href=http://www.amazon.com/NBA-Street-Homecourt-Xbox-360/dp/B000MAFXS2/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1284529402&sr=1-2>NBA Street Homecourt. Gatorade had a variety of product placements within the games including arena signs, players' water bottles, score updates and other call outs.

The study was based on Nielsen's US Homescan panel of more than 100,000 households, representative of the US population, including a subset of Homescan homes that scanned video game UPC (Universal Product Codes) barcodes. The scanned barcodes were matched to a reference library of more than 14,000 video game titles. Nielsen compared the households that purchased at least one of the studied games before and after Gatorade branding was integrated into the games (the test group) with households that didn't purchase one of the games (the control group).

So why should you care about this? Well, it's a safe bet that this information is going to be used as an example of how effective games can be when it comes to marketing other products to players. That means that there will probably be more ads appearing in videogames down the line, which is something that I've never been terribly fond of.

Source: <a href=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/in-game-advertising-in-ea-games-lifts-brand-sales-2010-09-14?reflink=MW_news_stmp>Marketwatch




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[Desgardes]

That's devious. As long as they keep it subliminal, or at least off the radar, I'm fine with it, though. If they start doing the Wayne's World sort of advertising, where it affects the game, I might be more inclined to burn it. of course, I don't play sports games, so nyeh.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Eh. I'm fine with it in Alan Wake. What I don't like is the stuff like is stuff the giant billboard ads all over Prototype. Hell, some of them were just painted on walls.

It's more because Prototype is open world. So, you see a shit ton more of them. Alan Wake had a few billboards, but literally every single block in Prototype was littered with ads. From "Hollywood Video" stores on the side of the street, to wall mural or whatever Gamestop ads, to the actual billboards.

Probably left more of an impression on me.

I'm waiting for the day the in-game character goes "I couldn't have stopped the bad guy without my Gatorade!"...

On a lighter note, I think we can all agree that fake ads are AWESOME:

 

[pirate64]

meh as long a it's not all over the place and not in your face I don't mind it.

 

[FinalDream]

I make a conscious effort not to buy stuff on adverts that decide to be in your face, or in games, or on TV, or well on or in anything!

 

[Pandalisk]

Truth be told i like the little advertisments in gaming there are subtle, im suprised it actually works as an advertisment though, i've never had a single nothing to buy anything advertised in games.

 

[oppp7]

I don't really see what the problem people have with unobtrusive ads is. Hell, many of the webcomics I like I found out about through advertisements.

As for them in game, the only one I ever had to deal with was Robot Chicken DVDs on billboards in BFBC, which was my favorite show at the time.

 

[Dirkie]

Adds in games are fine, just make them part of the destructable environment so we can shoot and destroy them when we recognise it.
Add an achievement to it, like "adkiller" if you manage to hit 50% or more of the ads.

 

[Zayren]

Eh. I'm fine with it in Alan Wake. What I don't like is the stuff like is stuff the giant billboard ads all over Prototype. Hell, some of them were just painted on walls.

It was worse in Alan Wake for one simple reason. Find the room of light or whatever, get the clicker. "It's time I go to Cauldron Lake and end this thing!" Bam, giant friggin' billboard for Verizon in the middle of the screen.

 

[Cynical skeptic]

I guess we can thank gamestop for this. Horray for customers being punished because retailers are sucking up oceans of income that should go directly to people who matter.

 

[Jesus Phish]

I always just thought those ads were in sports games, because it makes it more like what you see on television. Just like how in say, FIFA, the stadiums have ads that change, just like in real life. So there's one showing that for all the crys of it ruins immersion, there's at least one genre it helps make more immersive (which is saying alot about sport games).

Of course, it wouldnt work in many futuristic or fantasy games. I can't imagine the Warden in Dragon Age sitting around the camp fire listening to Alister prattle on and cracking open a Bud.

 

[Dexiro]

I actually don't mind in-game ads as long as they don't have audio and they don't smash the immersion to pieces (which usually they do).

Wipeout HD did it well at first when they just had a small banner during loading screens.
Then they majorly fucked up and had video ads play during every loading screen. Which increased the loading time by like 15 seconds and had choppy loud audio.

Every time a loading screen came on i started dreading the words "DDUUUHHH BUY LYNX NOW" echoing through my living room.
And i wasn't joking about the "DUUH" part either.

I don't mind ads with humour in certain games either. Like i can imagine Snake sitting down and cracking open a beer while winking at the camera

 

[Woodsey]

Stuff like the Energizer batteries in Alan Wake are fine.

I don't want an ad for Pepsi Max in Mass Effect though.

 

[tehroc]

It's fine if the ads are in the proper environment, but really if they are going to include ads in scifi games please please make a proper scifi ad for it. I dont mind if I see Gatorade ad in a billboard in some cyberpunk game if its designed to appeal the the environment and would suit to the cyberpunk world it resides in.

 

[Phishfood]

adverts in games work because they are few and subtle (that I have seen) if it becomes like TV where you get 3+ ads back to back every 10 minutes....well, thats gonna wreck the game and totally ruin the effect of the ads.

 

[Flying-Emu]

As long as they don't change Nuka Cola, I'm fine.

 

[Cyrax987]

If its not out of place and actually fits in the environment then it won't bug me. Like someone above me said the ads in prototype were terrible, just painted logos for Gamestop and other companies that looked out of place.

Or when I played Far Cry 2 multiplayer and out in the middle of a warzone in the African desert was a billboard advertising Quantum of Solace on Blu-Ray and DVD.

 

[DTWolfwood]

put ads into games and make the games cheaper. Im all for that. BUT if you're gonna put ads into games and still charge me an arm and a leg. I say FUCK THAT!