In-game advertising

In-game advertising (IGA) is advertising in electronic games. IGA differs from advergames, which refers to games specifically made to advertise a product.[1] The IGA industry is large and growing.[2]

In-game advertising generated $34 million in 2004, $56 million in 2005,[3] $80 million in 2006,[4] and $295 million in 2007.[2] In 2009, spending on IGA was estimated to reach $699 million USD, $1 billion by 2014[5][6] and according to Forbes is anticipated to grow to $7.2 billion by 2016.[7]

The earliest known IGA was the 1978 computer game Adventureland, which inserted a self-promotional advertisement for its next game, Pirate Adventure.[8]

IGA can be integrated into the game either through a display in the background, such as an in-game billboard or a commercial during the pause created when a game loads, or highly integrated within the game so that the advertised product is necessary to complete part of the game or is featured prominently within cutscenes.[9] Due to the custom programming required, dynamic advertising is usually presented in the background; static advertisements can appear as either.[10][11] One of the advantages of IGA over traditional advertisements is that consumers are less likely to multitask with other media while playing a game, however, some attention is still divided between the gameplay, controls, and the advertisement.[12][13]

  1. ^ Yi, Matthew (2005-07-25). "Advertisers pay for video games / Product placement tradition no longer free ride for business". SFGATE. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  2. ^ a b Melissa Campanelli (March 6, 2008). "eMarketer: In-Game Advertising Spending to Reach $650 million in 2012". Emarketingandcommerce.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  3. ^ Enid Burns (April 17, 2006). "In-Game Advertising to Continue Exponential Growth". Clickz. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  4. ^ Jacqui Cheng (June 23, 2007). "Report: Video game spending to surpass music spending this year". Ars Technica. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  5. ^ Arif Durrani (2009-05-26). "Screen Digest forecasts $1bn boom for in-game advertising". Brandrepublic. http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/908125/Screen-Digest-forecasts-1bn-boom-in-game-advertising/. Retrieved 2011-04-14.
  6. ^ Burns, Enid (2009-04-28). "Video Advertising Still Set for Growth in Down Ad Spend Year". ClickZ. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  7. ^ Tassi, Paul. "Analyst Says Video Game Advertising Will Double by 2016". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  8. ^ "The Making of Adventureland". EDGE (162): 104–107. May 2006.
  9. ^ Greg Boyd, Vejay Lalla (2010-02-11). "Emerging Issues in In-Game Advertising". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3927/emerging_issues_in_ingame_.php. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
  10. ^ Helen Leggatt (2009-03-18). "Major in-game ad firm struggling". BizReport. http://www.bizreport.com/2009/03/major_in-game_ad_firm_struggling.html Archived 2020-11-23 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
  11. ^ "In-Game Advertisting". Entertainment Software Association. http://www.theesa.com/gamesindailylife/advertising.asp Archived 2020-11-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
  12. ^ Jenman, Grant; Becker, Stephanie (2008-06-30). "In-Game Ads Put Brands in Play". www.adweek.com. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  13. ^ Moonhee Yang, David R. Roskos-Ewoldsen, Lucian Dinu, and Laura M. Arpan (Winter 2006). "The Effectiveness of In-Game Advertising: Comparing College Student's Explicit and Implicit Memory for Brand Names". Journal of Advertising. http://business.nmsu.edu/~mhyman/M454_Articles/%28Product%20Placement%29%20Yang_JA_2006.pdf Archived 2017-08-11 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2011-04-18.