Aap! - Alternative Advertising Possibilities

Source: Konami.com - Product Placement in Metal Gear Solid 4

Gamers have a “consistently positive” opinion of in-game advertising according to virtual media space broker Massive, which is owned by Microsoft, after conducting a survey whose results it recently announced.

Media research firm Interpret looked into four of Massive’s advertisers: an unnamed fast-food restaurant, candy company and entertainment studio, plus Adidas footwear and apparel, and found the ads are having an effect, showing significant percentage increases in brand recognition when compared to those who didn’t see the in-game ads.

With the Adidas promotion, for example, gamers who saw the ads in 2K Sports’ Major League Baseball 2K7
said things like “Adidas is the only brand for me” and “Adidas is an inspirational brand” 70 percent more often than those not exposed to the ads.

Massive’s study suggests that gamers don’t view negatively on being influenced: 70 percent of gamers said the ads enhanced realism, fit the games they appeared in (universally sports games, except for the ads in
Rainbow Six: Vegas) and that the ads “looked cool.”

Source: Nielsen Entertainment executed study for Massive in January
2007. Data from surveys with 600+ gamers in North America who played
Need For Speed Carbon on Xbox 360 & PC platforms. Game published by
Electronic Arts.

Read the release after the jump.

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GTA IV, “the new open-world, action-driving video game released today around the world will easily “top last year’s record-breaking $300 million first-week sales of Microsoft and Bungee Studios’ first-person shooter “Halo 3″ — and all without a similar marketing bonanza or budget. 

According to the AP report - ‘Grand Theft Auto’ Promo Campaign Kept Quiet’  Rockstar has been trying to keep their marketing message on the “downlow.”

We’ve been truly impressed in Rockstar’s ability to communicate and build hype directly with gamers through viral internet teasers and low cost non traditional out of home media including amazing phony wanted billboards, graffiti, and viral websites. (Even Bagel Bags, Coffee Cups…)

Some of the ficitional wanted adverts have included in them an e-mail address where residents of “liberty city” (the game’s fictional universe) can send in “tips” to LibertyCityPolice.com, a website which undoubtedly will be accessible inside the game’s internet function.

From a marketing perspective all this has been absolutely brilliant. From a CFO’s perspective the campaigns have demonstrated the value of low cost non traditional media and most importantly from a gamer’s perspective they have even been critical in building trust, interest and a direct relationship with players.   Seen in certain European and US cities, while we love the work we are just a little curious to see if these posters raised any objections.

Of course knowing Rockstar this was probably the intent…

GTA IV out today. Instead of enjoying the marketing - go play the game…

Review of GTA IV @ IGN 

Other Related Articles of Interest 

GTAIV ads pulled because of San Andreas flap Chicago - Transit Authority gave up a contract potentially worth more than $200,000 in revenue because people complained about another ad campaign more than three years ago.

Besides discussions of the world economy, technologists, advertising agencies, and marketers were also present at last week’s World Economic Forum looking to discuss coming year of advertising trends.  One question on everyone’s mind is whether social networks, video games and mobile phones are going to become more and more mainstream.

However, Sony’s chief executive Howard Stringer had other opinions in mind. Despite the forum’s positive take on in-game advertisement, he expressed his doubts on the marketing trend’s effectiveness in the medium. Taken from an article in the Financial Times, Stringer was quoted to have said:

“The [supposed] solution to everything at the moment in the digital space is ad supported. While advertisers are happy to talk that up, there is a limit to the amount of money available.”

Similar sentiments were voiced out by NBC Universal chief executive Jeff Zucker in the field of mobile advertising. Activision Blizzard chief executive Bobby Kotick also echoed Stringer’s sentiments about advertising-funded video games.

However, new forms of advertising were being explored as well. Advertisers were hoping to engage consumers into more interactive models, who are slowly drifting away from the usual radio, print, and television ads.

Researchers proved that many consumers found that advertising in mobile, video games, and social networking to be rather “intrusive”, although many were still willing to put up with it in exchange for free content. While this is especially true with the younger consumers, many business models are already adjusting to growing trend.

Via [FT.com]

Aap!Global is presenting @ Pecha Kucha - San Francisco August 29th on the topic of Legal Graffiti and New Media!

Come meet with us and others to talk about design, art, entrepreneurship and innovation.

New to Pecha Kucha?

Pecha Kucha (pronounced peh-chak-cha) was started in Tokyo, Japan in 2003 by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham Architecture, as a way to attract people to SuperDeluxe, an event space they had set up in Roppongi.

A Pecha Kucha night is an event format in which presenters show a slideshow of 20 images, each of which is shown for 20 seconds — giving a total presentation time of 6 minutes 40 seconds. Each event usually has 14 presenters. Presenters (and much of the audience) are usually from the design, architecture, photography, art and creative fields.

The event format has been replicated in 42 other cities, including New York, London, Mexico City and Shanghai. Events are usually limited to one each month per city.

More info @ http://www.pecha-kucha.org/

Last year at the 2006 Games Convention in Leipzig Germany Sony executed an excellent and creative ambient campaign for its horror title Forbidden Siren 2 by handing out disposable cameras. To the surprise of party goers the little disposable trinkets weren’t simply Playstation branded trinkets but instead special cameras that when developed displayed horrific spooky figures in the printed film. On every picture taken, ghosts and frightening faces appeared on the pre-expose film. The last picture of the series woudl reveal the mystery pitch - “The Horror is closer than you think” Forbidden Siren II - Out now for Playstation 2

This promotional campaign was created and executed by the German offices of TBWA.

Agency: TBWA\ Germany
Creative Directors: Philip Borchardt, Dirk Henkelmann
Art Director: Leila El-Kayem
Copywriter: Friedrich Tromm

Via - [Kotaku]

With there being over five billion player minutes a month dished out in CounterStrike - its no wonder that in-game advertising is finally live in some of its environments.  The new version makes adverts non-optional.  Ads are appearing in levels including Dust2 and Aztec.

I just hope in the name of realism - that players can interact with the adverts in all the many ways as non virtual world including defacing, adding graffiti etc.

Reactions to the news are mixed with player comments including:

Player Equalizier offers

“Now onto the adverts… Well I just hope they stay as apart of maps and not huge popups through your game, if that happened that would be a travesty.

Hmm, so if they are advert/sprites stuck to maps, does that mean the bsp files are going to be updated, or is there some technology out there, server side etc that just sticks sprites to certain objects in a map.

If the advertss are just like this, then I wouldn’t be too bothered, but still the community are disapointed.”

Player PIstachio Offers more criticism:

“What a crock this is. Is nothing sacred anymore? Am I the only one who has a problem with bringing corporate interest into our games? Wake up people, in-game advertisements exist because big-industry executives need to make their Lexus payments. And before anybody says “BUT PISTAHCIO! IT’S JUST A SUNGLASSES AD? WHATS THE HARM??! LOLZZ!!!11″ Shut-up. Its not just the ad, it’s the principle of it.

Call me crazy, but when I play game, I do it to go places and do things I can’t do in the real world. Its fun ya know? I don’t need to see a Pepsi billboard or a Dell banner in my games, it takes you out of the game. It reminds me of how the developers sold-out.

I know, here it comes: “BUT THE DEVELOPERS NEED TO MAKE MONEY TOO ROFLMAO!!!”

No shit? Of course they do. But why not make money by developing good solid games that people want to play? That people want to go out and buy? It subtly says something about the quality of the game if you have to sell-out to advertisers. If you made such a good game that you’re sure everyone will enjoy, then what do you need more money for? Did you put out a half-assed game? Let’s say the game is good. Is the expense of ruining a good game with greedy corporate interest worth the extra money?

The world wide web might has long-gone been one big mall where every site tries to sell you something any chance they get, but I’ll be damned if thats going to happen to my games.”

Player Peagle in response states:

“If there are ads in real life, why wouldn’t there be ads in a simulation? If anything playing cpl maps takes you “out of the game” because they don’t seem “real”.

More comments and reactions @ CS Nation

“Red Herring confirms what The Wall Street Journal suspected last month: Google has purchased the ad firm, Adscape, for a cool $23 million. The move is expected to pave the internet company’s way into in-game advertising, though sources within the advertising world warn it won’t all be a smooth ride. “There is a whole world of difference between the form of advertising done by Google and Madison Avenue. While everyone appreciates the dollars Google can throw around, when it comes to [in-game ad] experience they just don’t have it.”

Google may not have the experience (yet), but something tells us that an in-game version of the context-sensitive Adsense can’t be far behind. Very soon you’ll be taking a stroll through Raccoon City, only to be reminded of some great online deals for guns, ammo and “restorative herbs.”"

Via Engadget