I figured I would write my last blog sharing an interesting idea I developed. Online gaming is very fascinating to me and it seems like more and more online gaming and fantasy gaming companies are popping up all over the place. With that said, I tried to think of a way to make money from tis online gaming fad.
What I developed is very clever but I don't think I have the resources to pull it off on my own. Similar to Fantasy Congress, an alternative gaming company I discussed in an earlier blog, I think a Fantasy Stock Market game could be brilliant. Think about it. Leagues could be set up with each player in a league representing a stock trader. Each day the content provider of the game would update information for each stock so that consumers would be constantly educated on what stocks are doing well and what stocks are going down the pipes. Then to top it all off, I would introduce this game to high school business classes and college and university business schools to have their students interact with the game and learn about the stock market. Advertisers would pay top dollar to get advertisement placement if they knew the business leaders of tomorrow were interacting with the stock market today. Fidelity Investments, Lincoln Financial, and Advanstar would be at the top of the advertisers.
What are your thoughts as to this game? I think it can be used as an educational tool and that would be a huge selling point.
Signing off.
Nick
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
When Is Advergaming Not a Good Idea?
Advergaming can be a very useful way to advertise when trying to reach a certain demographic. However, advergaming can also be used in ways that make the viewer frustrated or annoyed with the ad. Advergaming should not be used for elite brands or services that are extremely expensive. If a consumer is looking to purchase some Fine China, they are probably very sophisticated and enjoy the buying experience by learning as much as they can about the item they may purchase. This demographic is most likely a person in their late 30's to 60's. If they are bothered with an Advergame, they will probably become irritated and may make the brand look cheaper and not as attractive.
Advergaming is great for targeting youth or playful products that are relatively inexpensive compared to competitor prices. I think when Pontiac advertises on a website they could use a cool Advergame. Pontiac has a strong focus on the youth of America and especially college age consumers. Racing or customizing a Pontiac car would be pretty cool as an advertisement and would appeal to its demographic.
Have you been exposed to any Advergames that made you cringe?
Nick
Advergaming is great for targeting youth or playful products that are relatively inexpensive compared to competitor prices. I think when Pontiac advertises on a website they could use a cool Advergame. Pontiac has a strong focus on the youth of America and especially college age consumers. Racing or customizing a Pontiac car would be pretty cool as an advertisement and would appeal to its demographic.
Have you been exposed to any Advergames that made you cringe?
Nick
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Gaming on Social Networks
If I had to guess, I would estimate that just over 50% of college students have engaged in playing a game of poker in the last 3 months. Furthermore, I would guess that over 75% of college students have participated in some sort of online game. With that said, gaming and poker companies have targeted college students on various social networks including Facebook and MySpace.
College Poker (www.collegepoker.com) was one company that used social netowkrs effectively to reach college students. College Poker posted advertisements on Facebook and touted a large grand prize for the winner of the online tournament. Thousands of college students throughout the country entered the tournament. The business model of College Poker focused on advertisers paying College poker for allowing them to post advertisements.
A social network is a terrific way to reach college students since a social network is a relatively non-obnoxious way to get your message across. Every college student wants the opportunity to win money or a free spring break trip so gaming websites such as College Poker should not have any trouble capturing an audience.
Nick
College Poker (www.collegepoker.com) was one company that used social netowkrs effectively to reach college students. College Poker posted advertisements on Facebook and touted a large grand prize for the winner of the online tournament. Thousands of college students throughout the country entered the tournament. The business model of College Poker focused on advertisers paying College poker for allowing them to post advertisements.
A social network is a terrific way to reach college students since a social network is a relatively non-obnoxious way to get your message across. Every college student wants the opportunity to win money or a free spring break trip so gaming websites such as College Poker should not have any trouble capturing an audience.
Nick
Friday, March 14, 2008
Product Placement in Videogames
I was playing Madden NFL 2008 (football videogame) from EA Sports the other night with some friends and became very interested in the background features within the game. Similar to a real NFL stadium, the videogame replica stadium had banner ads and logos of their brand as well. What a smart idea!
Think about it! You are playing a videogame and continue to see a Coca-Cola ad over and over again as your team wins game after game. When you begin to get thirsty you may have an urge for a Coke.
Not just that, young kids make up the largest demographic of videogames. Placing these ads in videogames immediatly puts these brands Top of Mind in these young kids minds.
All other EA Sports have ads within their games as well. However, EA is not the only company doing this. Grand Theft Auto has product placement built into all of their games as well.
The question I have is do the brands pay to have their ads placed in the game or does EA Sports need to pay a royalty fee to use those brans in their game. If anyone knows this question or has insight please let me know!
- Nick
Think about it! You are playing a videogame and continue to see a Coca-Cola ad over and over again as your team wins game after game. When you begin to get thirsty you may have an urge for a Coke.
Not just that, young kids make up the largest demographic of videogames. Placing these ads in videogames immediatly puts these brands Top of Mind in these young kids minds.
All other EA Sports have ads within their games as well. However, EA is not the only company doing this. Grand Theft Auto has product placement built into all of their games as well.
The question I have is do the brands pay to have their ads placed in the game or does EA Sports need to pay a royalty fee to use those brans in their game. If anyone knows this question or has insight please let me know!
- Nick
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Future of Online Marketing
What's next in the world on online marketing and advertising? Think about it. Fifteen years ago, did you ever hear the verb "googling" or "advergaming" or "podcasting." People would most likely have looked at you as if you had twenty heads for making comments like that. It is absolutely amazing how technology has evolved over the years.
So fifteen years from now, what words and phrases will be used to describe marketing trends and media? If I had to take a stab at what the future of online marketing holds, it would go something like this. Everything, and I mean everything, will be personalized! Through social networking and creative engaging marketing, brands will be able to spend their marketing and advertising dollars to target those customers that have already shown some sort of an interest in their product. Not just will the brand email or call the person (this will never go away), but they may send the person a customized online interactive sample item of what their product may look like.
For example, let's say an auto manufacturer learns that a consumer is a big car lover and more importantly, they learn that the consumer's current vehicle is getting old. Based off of information that the brand learns from the consumer, they could email the consumer a prototype of the car they could possibly buy. So if the brand finds out that the consumer's favorite color is black, they have a wife, 2 kids, favorite baseball team is the Boston Red Sox, favorite music is hip-hop, and favorite soda is Pepsi, wouldn't it be cool to send the consumer a 3D Interactive vehicle that may fit this type of person. The consumer may view the car as a Black, 4 Door SUV, with a guy in the driver's seat with a Red Sox hat on, wife next to him in the passenger's seat, two kids in the backseat, Pesi bottles in all four cup holders, and have some Hip-Hop music playing while playing around with the interactive image. That's customization.
What do you guys think?
So fifteen years from now, what words and phrases will be used to describe marketing trends and media? If I had to take a stab at what the future of online marketing holds, it would go something like this. Everything, and I mean everything, will be personalized! Through social networking and creative engaging marketing, brands will be able to spend their marketing and advertising dollars to target those customers that have already shown some sort of an interest in their product. Not just will the brand email or call the person (this will never go away), but they may send the person a customized online interactive sample item of what their product may look like.
For example, let's say an auto manufacturer learns that a consumer is a big car lover and more importantly, they learn that the consumer's current vehicle is getting old. Based off of information that the brand learns from the consumer, they could email the consumer a prototype of the car they could possibly buy. So if the brand finds out that the consumer's favorite color is black, they have a wife, 2 kids, favorite baseball team is the Boston Red Sox, favorite music is hip-hop, and favorite soda is Pepsi, wouldn't it be cool to send the consumer a 3D Interactive vehicle that may fit this type of person. The consumer may view the car as a Black, 4 Door SUV, with a guy in the driver's seat with a Red Sox hat on, wife next to him in the passenger's seat, two kids in the backseat, Pesi bottles in all four cup holders, and have some Hip-Hop music playing while playing around with the interactive image. That's customization.
What do you guys think?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Fantasy Sports & Gaming
Last week I attended the annual conference for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) in Denver, CO for my company as we have pegged the Fantasy Sports arena as a target for new business. I really had no idea what to expect from the conference, but knew there was a lot of money being pumped into Fantasy Sports and Gaming so I knew the expereince was going to be interesting.
Much like Advergaming, Fantasy Sports and Gaming websites are trying to figure out creative ways to drive consumers to their website. Most business models for Fantasy Gaming have consumers registering for free and advertisers paying to post ads. Therefore, advertisers are also looking for creative ways to drive awareness when they purchase advertising space on these fantasy game websites.
With that said, I think it would be fascinating if advertisers of fantasy games utilized advergames more. If someone is already logging onto a website with the intention of playing a game in a competitive league of freinds, family, or co-wrokers, why would they not be interested in playing a game that could provide them with infromation and content about a product or service.
Let's face it, no one wants to grow up and everyone has a kid trapped in them. Everyone wants to have fun and play games. So giving consumers what their inner most desires are will yield big profits and nice revenue streams.
One point of interest that I learned from the conference is that fantasy websites are not just geared towards the male sports fanatic anymore. Now they have Fantasy Congress (www.fantasycongress.com) as well as Fantasy Project Runway, Fantasy American Idol, and Fantasy US Weekly (www.flooza.com) to target the political junkie as well as the female audience. These alternative fantasy games will still have the same business movel but will target different advertisers that will appeal to their demographic.
If anyone plays fantasy sports or games and wants to share something, feel free to send me a comment.
Until next time.
Nick
Much like Advergaming, Fantasy Sports and Gaming websites are trying to figure out creative ways to drive consumers to their website. Most business models for Fantasy Gaming have consumers registering for free and advertisers paying to post ads. Therefore, advertisers are also looking for creative ways to drive awareness when they purchase advertising space on these fantasy game websites.
With that said, I think it would be fascinating if advertisers of fantasy games utilized advergames more. If someone is already logging onto a website with the intention of playing a game in a competitive league of freinds, family, or co-wrokers, why would they not be interested in playing a game that could provide them with infromation and content about a product or service.
Let's face it, no one wants to grow up and everyone has a kid trapped in them. Everyone wants to have fun and play games. So giving consumers what their inner most desires are will yield big profits and nice revenue streams.
One point of interest that I learned from the conference is that fantasy websites are not just geared towards the male sports fanatic anymore. Now they have Fantasy Congress (www.fantasycongress.com) as well as Fantasy Project Runway, Fantasy American Idol, and Fantasy US Weekly (www.flooza.com) to target the political junkie as well as the female audience. These alternative fantasy games will still have the same business movel but will target different advertisers that will appeal to their demographic.
If anyone plays fantasy sports or games and wants to share something, feel free to send me a comment.
Until next time.
Nick
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Have you ever visited a website because of an advergame?
Advergaming is a fairly new trend used by marketers to engage consumers with their product or service through a fun online game or experience. I would bet that everyone at one time or another has encountered a website that had an advergame. Let me tell you a little about my experiences with advergaming and why I feel that it is an extremely smart way to market a product.
The first time I encountered advergaming was when I was checking out the latest sports news on espn.com. Within seconds of my browser loading the espn.com webpage, an online pop up add appeared. Usually, I immediatly delete these annoying advertisements. However, after only looking at the advertisemrnt for about three seconds I was immediatly interested.
The advertisement that appeared was not just an advertisement. It was actually a game, my generations favorite pasttime. The advertising image showed a paper football, a fan, a table, and a person making their fingers as if they were a football field goal. Being a competitive person, I wanted to try and play this game. I kicked a few field goals and missed a few field goals, but had a fun minute in the process playing the game. Once the game was over I was brought to the homepage of the sponsor of the advertisement, Orbitz, the online travel agent.
After spending about a minute playing a very fun game I felt almost obligated to check out Orbitz's website. In the past, I had used Travelocity, a competitor of Orbitz, when booking a flight. Now I was tempted to use Orbitz instead of Travelocity because Travelocity was definitely not as much fun as Orbitz.
A few months later, my girlfriend and I were planning a trip to Orlando for a fun time at Disney World. I needed to purchase airline tickets. What website did I use? That's right, Orbitz!
If you give a customer a fun experience they are more likely to come back or at least remember your product.
Until next time.
Nick
The first time I encountered advergaming was when I was checking out the latest sports news on espn.com. Within seconds of my browser loading the espn.com webpage, an online pop up add appeared. Usually, I immediatly delete these annoying advertisements. However, after only looking at the advertisemrnt for about three seconds I was immediatly interested.
The advertisement that appeared was not just an advertisement. It was actually a game, my generations favorite pasttime. The advertising image showed a paper football, a fan, a table, and a person making their fingers as if they were a football field goal. Being a competitive person, I wanted to try and play this game. I kicked a few field goals and missed a few field goals, but had a fun minute in the process playing the game. Once the game was over I was brought to the homepage of the sponsor of the advertisement, Orbitz, the online travel agent.
After spending about a minute playing a very fun game I felt almost obligated to check out Orbitz's website. In the past, I had used Travelocity, a competitor of Orbitz, when booking a flight. Now I was tempted to use Orbitz instead of Travelocity because Travelocity was definitely not as much fun as Orbitz.
A few months later, my girlfriend and I were planning a trip to Orlando for a fun time at Disney World. I needed to purchase airline tickets. What website did I use? That's right, Orbitz!
If you give a customer a fun experience they are more likely to come back or at least remember your product.
Until next time.
Nick
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
