For years now we have seen ads and product placements in video games. And it makes sense too, gamers spend more time playing games than watching TV. This market space is projected to grow to over a billion by 2010. Sony recognizes the potential and it is opening up a division dedicated solely to selling ads on PlayStation games. This aligns well with Microsoft’s recent affinity towards becoming a media channel.

The latest trend was sparked-off by Burger King last year when they developed and sold a series of Xbox games featuring the BK mascot. They grossed about $14 million on this adventure. Toyota recently got on the “Advertgame” bandwagon and released free Toyota Yaris videogame for download.

The advertising landscape continues to change. This is just another example in many. The three things that remain consistent are repetition, integration, and targeting of message across several channels and outlets. For example, BK ran TV ads in conjunction with the videogame release, and Toyota is showing up to music festivals and comic book conventions to pound and reinforce their messages.

Read the full Washington Post article that sparked this post.

Labels: advertising, marketing, Microsoft, Sony, video games, xbox

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posted by Andres Zapata @ 10:02 AM