AdverGaming

AdverGaming is advertising through the promotion of the brand and goods in video game content.

“People are starting to realize it's a much more effective way to advertise by embedding the brand in the gaming experience because that's what the users pays attention to," says Bill Pidgeon, an analyst with research firm Jupiter Media Metrix.

"It's not unusual for some games to produce a viral compounding rating of 400 percent," reports Jane Chen, a strategy manager at KPE Interactive, which claims to have coined the term "advergames."

There is little data so far on the branding power of gaming, but most experts point to stickiness rates far higher than for other forms of advertising.

"It's very difficult to imagine anyone staring at a magazine ad or banner for three to eight minutes," observes Chen.

Adds Pidgeon of Jupiter Media Matrix: "People just play those games for a long period of time, so if you embed the exposure within the brand you're getting mindshare."

That kind of attention is responsible for the rapid deployment of brand-focused games. And it's not only kids they're after. From beer to basketball shoes, product marketers are latching on to games as the Next Big Thing.