Not all in-game ad strategies are created equally. While this emerging platform promises stellar returns, only the savvy will survive.

Ask a few marketers how they plan to reach gamers -- an increasingly hot demographic group -- and you'll get more than a few responses.

Should you serve ads inside the game just as the player is about to make a full house? Does sponsorship of a first-person shooter tournament provide brand lift? Do gamers appreciate pre-roll ads before zapping aliens or hitting the links with Tiger Woods? Or, are the best ads the ones that are served after the user has stopped playing?

While marketing strategies vary wildly, most marketers agree on one thing: Gamers aren't who you think they are. That's important, because who you believe gamers to be invariably dictates your approach.

Say the word "gamer" to a colleague and you're likely to conjure up images of pale, overweight boys hunkered down in their parent's basement subsisting on a steady diet of Mountain Dew, Snickers bars and the latest video game title peppered with ad copy familiar only to those fully conversant in the language of geek. While there certainly are gamers like that, Greg Johnson, CMO of GGL, isn't so sure gamers can really be profiled.

"One of the challenges we have is that we can't create a profile of a gamer," says Johnson, a self-described member of the gaming community. "It's a widely variant [group]."

Johnson's assessment jibes with statistics compiled by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a trade group for the video game industry. According to the ESA, the average gamer is 33 years old. Most gamers are men, a stat that holds true to the stereotype, but increasingly women are getting in on the action, accounting for 38 percent of the community. And while games are fun for those who play, they also represent a significant time commitment, with 49 percent of gamers reporting at least one hour per week spent on gaming.

Remember, that's at least one hour spent in a highly engaging medium where distractions are not an option because they make for a less successful gamer.

Play in the game?
With all that gaming action, it is little wonder that many view games as a winning platform for delivering ads. In a recent Parks Associates study, spending on in-game ads is expected to mushroom from $370 million in 2006 to more than $2 billion in 2012.

While marketers point to studies showing spikes in brand recognition when gamers are shown in-game ads, at least one avid gamer isn't so sure marketers are approaching the medium correctly.

"To be honest, I really don't notice the ads," Adam Sessler says.

Sessler isn't your average gamer. He's the host of G4's X-Play, a show devoted to hardcore gamers. While marketers might point to numbers disputing Sessler's claim that the ads don't register, they shouldn't ignore him when he says ads in games are better when they go unseen.

"They don't resonate with me, and that's a good thing," Sessler confesses. "I've never heard of a gamer talking about an ad in a game."

While Sessler's words may be strong medicine for marketers in the gaming space, they should know that he doesn't dislike ads either; Sessler simply likes his games more.

"If the ads are what you would see in a real-world situation, they're fine," he says. "I think gamers appreciate the authenticity there."

That should be music to Justin Townsend's ears. As CEO of IGA Worldwide, Townsend runs the largest in-game ad network, serving traditional media ads inside games on the fly.

For Townsend, mixing ads into games is a more delicate process than wedging commercials between TV programs or serving banners on websites.

"Games have to make sense with ads," Townsend says. "We wouldn't put a billboard on a medieval castle. The contextual relevance and the brand name are very relevant. But gamers prefer ads in the game if they are realistic. You used to see vending machines with Coke colors, but it was branded soda. Gamers prefer reality."

According to Townsend, the value ads can give to a game in terms of realism also translates into brand lift, making games a win-win proposition.

"Gaming is a lean-forward medium," Townsend explains. "Unlike TV or looking at a website, you know that people are actively engaged. That's why in-game ads deliver unheard of recall results."

But if Townsend is eager to play in the game, that same logic prompts Greg Johnson of GGL to take a big, cautious step back.

Next page >>