Blackberry Reviews

As mobile marketing looks to develop and create fresh ways to engage its customers, companies are pushing the envelope in terms of their approach. In-game advertising, or AdverGaming, is one of the recent developments creating a lot of buzz and getting the big brands across the world taking notice. It offers fresh approaches to increasing a company's scope, to targeting key demographics and to increasing the receptiveness of customers.

So far, marketing in games has in many ways taken conventional approaches to advertising and simply incorporated them in to a virtual world. For instance, in-game advertising refers to branding and product placement within game-play in such a way that it is unmistakable for players. "Ad-wrapping" acts in a similar way to previews at the movies as it plays short preview advertisements for products before and after a game has been played. We can see then, how in-game advertising has been looked at carefully in format and in providing options for how companies can engage customers.

"Lemonade Tycoon" is but one of the examples of in-game advertising that has been widely used by some of the world's leading brands. Already, Yahoo, the U.S. Navy, Kia, and Nestle have adopted the game as part of their marketing strategies. EA Games, who developed the game, offer the game as a free download to customers, ensuring a wide reach for the game. The game utilises the in-game advertising approach with virtual billboards that show brand names and advertisements. These are refreshed every five "game days" and thus, aim to constantly capture customer attention by drawing focus to the changing advertisements and what they offer.

The game will connect to the ad network, which in this case is GreyStripe, if the iPhone or iPod touch has a network or WiFi connection to download additional advertisements. By offering Lemonade Tycoons as a free download, EA maximises scope by ensuring that its entire user base is able to download the game; and "because it is ad-supported, each repeat play is monetized" says CEO of GreyStripe California Michael Chang. He also states, "Greystripe has also developed the ad serving platform to make sure that only the most relevant and highest quality advertisements are delivered to this premium title." This means the advertisements are able to be attractive and rich in content without deterring from the users gaming experience.

The extensive reach and appeal of mobile gaming has unlocked unlimited potential for advertising through games. With many of the world's leading brand names making long-term investments into the venture, it seems only a matter of time before mobile marketing in-games truly becomes a globally recognised and endorsed marketing approach.