Next wave of in-game advertising

In-game advertising has been on the increase for a number of years. Straightforward BRANDING in the form of (static) billboards alongside virtual race tracks, or soccer fields, is now commonplace. Now, with the arrival of networks like Massive billboards are becoming dynamic, mirroring electronic billboards that can be updated any time. Brands that have already used them include Nike, Honda, Cingular Wireless, Axe, Dunkin' Donuts, Reebok, Pizza Hut. Massive's advertisers include Coca-Cola, Comcast, Honda, NBC, Nokia, Panasonic, T-Mobile, Verizon DSL, Warner Bros., XM Radio, Sci-Fi Channel, Panasonic and the U.S. Navy. And the next wave may well be dynamic mobile in-game advertising: IGA Worldwide and Exit Games recently announced a partnership to enable the world's first mobile (as in phones, handhelds, PDAs) in-game advertising solution.

But dynamic billboards are just that: billboards. The real BRANDING action is in 'virtual product placement': truly integrating your brand into the story line, and getting gamers to use your products and services. Hey, if you do it well, you may even delight gamers instead of pissing them of.

Comments

[vlad]

one company doing it is Brand Brigade: www.brandbrigade.com.
they insert products into television shows in syndication. they swap out products such as Gatorade from show to show, flight to flight.

Brand Brigade seems indeed to have an interesting approach with digital insertion.