Distribution and Marketing - Game Design Essentials - page 240

used for betting purposes don't use games submitted by individual designers
or small companies. They tend to do business with established companies like
Video Game Technologies (VGT, vgt.net ), which specializes in these types of
games.
using Games for marketing
Because of the huge popularity of games, they're a great vehicle for reaching a
large audience. Marketers have found various ways to use games for advertising,
and these marketing schemes can be implemented in different ways.
product placement
Product placement is one significant way games are used to market other prod-
ucts. In film and television, where this method was first used, a specific product
that actors can interact with is placed in a scene. For example, a particular
brand of potato chips or soda might be seen in the shot, with the label clearly
visible. The manufacturer pays a product-placement fee, and if the movie or TV
is a hit, their product receives a massive amount of exposure and endorsement.
Product placement is also a marketing technique used in games. According
to the independent survey company Nielsen, Gatorade was able to increase
dollars spent on their product by 24 percent with their product placement in
Entertainment Arts (EA) sports games.
“Nielsen's study is a milestone for interactive entertainment,” said Elizabeth
Harz, Senior Vice President of Global Media Sales at EA. “For the first time,
advertisers are able to link the value of their in-game marketing or sponsorship
to actual sales. Now brands can feel confident adding gaming as a core media
channel for their advertising.”
Nielsen's study was focused on households that purchased at least one of EA's
sports games: NHL (R) 09 , NHL 10 , NBA LIVE 07 , NBA LIVE 08 , NBA LIVE 09 ,
or NBA Homecourt . Without a doubt, product placement in games can boost
revenue for the company buying that ad space.
Figure 10.7 shows a screenshot from the Electronic Arts game NBA Inside
Drive 2004 with an ad for Air Canada prominently displayed in the arena.
According to Gerardo Guzman, Director, Media Product Leadership for
Nielsen, “Video games are a deeply engaging consumer experience. Bringing
our industry accepted ad effectiveness understanding to video games is another
way to help marketers understand how consumers respond to advertising across