E-MARKETING TOOLS 497deliver embedded messages to consumers. Th e advertising message can then become an integral
part of playing the game. Advergames are oft en used in combination with e-mail and viral
marketing campaigns as their entertainment value increases the value perception of the mail
receivers and tends to evoke consumer responses beyond their own personal interaction,
such as forwarding the message to friends and relatives. In this way, advergames can reach up
to four times the initial number of gamers through referrals. Gaming is getting more and more
attention. In June 2011, 25.2 million Germans visited online gaming sites, an increase of 8%
compared with the previous year. Online gaming now reaches 46% of German Internet users.
In addition to online gaming on computers, mobile gaming is on the up: 14.1 million mobile
phone users have played at least one game on their mobile device during a three-month average
ending June 2011.^36
Game advertising can have the following objectives:
z Building brand/product awareness. Th e ultimate way to succeed in this is to build a game
or game portal around your own brand or products. As the awareness objective is mostly
linked to the ambition of reaching a great part of your target group, this might not be the
right option to take unless enough media support can be given. Using existing game traffi c
could be another strategy to take into consideration.
z Driving traffi c. Using the enormous number of gamers visiting games, game portals,
virtual worlds or online games are among the possibilities. Another can be to add a viral
marketing element to your campaign, so users can invite other gamers.
z Conversion/sales. For many campaigns this is the ultimate goal. Because more and more
e-commerce is taking place, the conversion of the visitor into buying behaviour can be
better monitored. Th e biggest sales impact is seen when games are used as premiums or as
co-brands.
z Collecting data. Games are also oft en used to build up a database for direct marketing/
mailing purposes by returning a free (branded) game as a counterpart for personal
information given by the surfer.
z Education. Th is can be the main goal in the case of ‘serious games’. Games can tackle
serious topics in a more accessible way. Games for kids are oft en used to teach them
certain capabilities and knowledge in a playful way. Management issues can also be tackled
in games.^37Candy producer Nabisco launched its own game portal site Candystand.com in 1997. Each month, this portal site
attracts 3.5 million visits, with each visit lasting on average half an hour. In February 2007, Candystand.com became
one of the first free game portals to offer an interface for the Wii at wii.candystand.com. Today the site is owned by
Funtank.^38 Since the end of 2010, this game has also been available as an iPad app.
In April 2011, launched `The Magnum Pleasure Hunt (across the Internet)' to market the new Magnum
ice cream Temptation Fruit. It was the most tweeted web address in the world within just one week of launch. At
first, when visiting the site, you are guided how to move a Magnum girl with the arrow keys, as in a computer game.
Then the action takes off. The girl runs along different websites and brand pages (Samsung, Dove, some touristic
sites, jewellery, Bed Head hair products, Spotify, Saab, etc.) where she is interacting with things on the pages while
you have to get her to collect cranberries. According to Adverblog, a professional ballet dancer was chosen to get
all the moves right.^39BUSINESS INSIGHT
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