Advergames, what they are and what they are used for
What are advergames? Why should you choose them for your communication strategy? What is the right target audience? We asked ourselves these questions, and we also came up with the answers.
What are advergames, also known as “branded games,” who creates them, and what are they for? These are just some of the questions surrounding the topic that is our core business. Let’s dive into the details and find out what there is to know.
Our portfolio is full of video games with very distinct personalities; each of them is a world that immerses the user in a fun experience and communicates a brand’s values and goals. We create video games that do not only have an entertainment purpose, but also a communication purpose; these video games are called advergames, or more specifically branded marketing games.
What are advergames?
Advergames are video games whose purpose is not only entertainment but also communication, and often commercial as well.
They are a video game used as a communication tool within a product or service communication strategy.
An advergame or branded game has very specific characteristics:
it is a unique video game with a life cycle that can be defined during the strategic phase,
it uses recognizable gaming mechanics,
it is conceived and developed to be played by a very specific target audience,
it conveys brand values,
it has clear goals,
it provides player data,
it is measurable.
Even just the list of advergame features helps us understand the potential of this type of video game. An important aspect to consider when talking about this type of video game is that investing exclusively in the video game might not be the best strategic choice for the company; let’s see why.
The advergame as one piece of a puzzle
To understand the value of an advergame, it is best to think of it as one piece of a puzzle. To achieve results, it must both support and be supported by a communication campaign. But what results can a company achieve with an advergame?
Lead generation,
increased time spent on the website,
direct contact with its consumers/users,
brand awareness,
user profiling.
So, a puzzle piece—ideal as part of a broader communication strategy. In fact, an advergame is perfect as a communication tool associated with other activities such as:
prize contests,
digital and social strategy,
influencer strategy,
events,
out-of-home communication.
All clear in theory, right? To better understand advergames and how they work, it is useful to look at some case studies.
We chose three very different advergame examples to show you how this type of video game suits different target audiences:
“Fruit Man,” when the target is children and moms
“Fruit Man” is an advergame developed by Dinobros that was part of a product launch strategy: Frullà, fresh fruit juices to be consumed as a snack, for a healthy and balanced break.
We talked in depth about the communication strategy linked to “Fruit Man” in a dedicated article, but here we want to get into practical details by listing the features of this advergame and how it was integrated into the communication campaign.
Advergame: “Fruit Man,” where product packaging rendered in pixel art becomes the protagonist of a path through a maze in which it must collect fresh fruit and escape junk food.
Target: children, the end consumers of the product, and parents, those who purchase the product. The pixel art layout gives the video game a vintage mood that appeals to parents, while the game’s simple mechanics win over younger children.
Communication: the video game was paired with a prize contest and was promoted throughout the launch period of the new product.
“Eco Games,” when the goal is to teach everyone about recycling
The “Eco Games” created for the Hera Group are part of a project in which the advergame is the planet around which the entire communication campaign revolves. This advergame is part of an environmental awareness project that involved several cities; we talked about it in detail in the page dedicated to the “Eco Games” advergame
Advergame: Three mini-games in which users play and learn how to sort waste correctly.
Target: men and women aged 18–35. Young people learn to sort waste by playing, and adults who deal every day with the need and duty to sort waste correctly discover a fun way to recycle.
Communication: The “Eco Games” were part of a broad communication project that included dynamic advertising, vehicle customization, a prize contest, events, standees, and the creation of gadgets aligned with the video game’s graphics.
“University Escape,” educating young people and adults on financial topics
So we have seen an advergame linked to a commercial brand, used for a product launch and associated with a prize contest, then an advergame where the goal of environmental education is closely connected with brand awareness.
Last but not least, the “University Escape” advergame created for the Skuola.net portal and Unicredit, which we discussed in detail in a dedicated article, designed within a financial education project. Let’s look at it in detail.
Advergame: a video game that echoes Unicredit’s colors, a platform game in which the player chooses their character, must collect coins, and answer finance questions in order to advance to the next levels.
Target: university students as the primary target and all students using the Skuola.net portal as the secondary target.
Communication: The advergame was published directly on the client’s portal, created to support a financial education project. In this case, launch coverage for the video game was purely editorial; in fact, it received excellent press coverage during the launch phase.
The three case studies show how advergames are customizable video games based on the client’s needs and what they want to communicate.
Is it clear now what we do?
If you want to know more, have curiosities, or have questions, write to us!
