It’s All In The Game

A prank by an anonymous programmer was  perhaps the first instance of a brand woven into a game, an advergame, to be precise. In 1973, Digital Equipment Corporation launched the game ‘Moonlander’ to display the capabilities of its new graphics computer terminal. If a gamer made the right choice, the astronaut ordered a sumptuous Big Mac from a McDonald’s restaurant. A wrong move had him air-crashing into the restaurant and greeted with a tongue-in-cheek message, “You clod! You’ve destroyed the only McDonald’s on the moon!” McDonald’s was quick to realise that it had stumbled upon something powerful.

By early 1980s, FMCG giants Kool-Aid and Pepsi were funding and distributing Atari games. Taking a cue, Coca-Cola, General Foods,  Johnson & Johnson and others made a beeline for video games. Since then, things have only got bigger. Computer market research firm Yankee Group expects the advergaming industry to garner revenues worth $312.2 million (around Rs 1,477 crore) in 2009.

In India, too, the evolution has been from in-house games that attract visitors on company websites, to commercial video games reflecting a brand’s personality, to advergames that seamlessly integrate a product into the game.

On The Mark
Gaming portals are virtually sitting on a pot of money. The 2009 KPMG-Ficci Media and Entertainment Industry Report pegs the overall gaming market (gaming on mobile phones, consoles, PCs and online) at Rs 650 crore in 2008 (see ‘Click To Reach’ on page 41). By 2013, it is expected to grow to Rs 2,740 crore, a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of over 33 per cent. Reliance ADAG’s Zapak.com, Indiagames.com, Contests2win.com, Jump Games, Hungama Mobile and Kreeda Games are some of the major players in the fray.

The Next Level
Raj Menon, chief operating officer of Contests2win.com, says, “Advergames are designed around the attributes of brands. Consumers can ‘virtually’ touch, play or experience the brand.” A game is created in such a way that consumers need two or three attempts to crack it. On an average, a consumer spends 3-5 minutes on a game that is brand-heavy. “Simple games cost Rs 3.5-5 lakh while complex video advergames can cost up to Rs 10-12 lakh,” says Menon.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has tied up with Contests2win.com to create a series of games, which drive home the point that procrastination is expensive. The insurer’s mascot, Chintamani, dons different guises (a doctor, a gym instructor and a dietician) to understand a consumer’s medical and financial history and suggests a suitable policy.

Sujit Ganguli, senior vice-president and head of marketing at ICICI Pru Life, says, “In a sector characterised by benefit-driven campaigns, our popular advergames on retirement and tax calculation facilitate effective communication and help consumers make informed decisions.”

Arun Mehra, chief marketing officer of Zapak.com, says, “We have tie-ups with over 250 brands and make three-four advergames a month.” The company recently created advergames for Cadbury India’s Perk, ‘Perk Poppers’, that has seen over 1.3 million gameplays.