Pietro Macchiarella, research analyst at Parks Associates, for one, said ad spend on social games is "definitely" growing, but only major social game publishers are able to attract significant advertising currently. Even then, their revenue share from advertising is still much smaller than sales of virtual items, added the analyst.

Macchiarella says that social games offer advertisers the opportunity to integrate brands with gameplay and can therefore obtain higher gamer engagement The challenge, he noted, is for advertisers is ensuring the ad message is properly integrated within the game to be perceived as beneficial rather than intrusive by users. A bank employee and avid gamer agreed with Macchiarella, feels that once an SMS ad meddles with the playing experience", it becomes a no-win situation for both the gamer and the brand advertiser.

Virtual goods, particularly those branded by corporate sponsors, are more readily received by social gamers, Macchiarella pointed out. Fellow Parks Associates analyst, Heather Way, added  that advertisers can drive "brand awareness, response and loyalty" by strategically offering branded virtual goods of value to gamers.

From the article," Social games ads potential still limited," by Jamie Yap

Next: Google TV moving at 'appropriate pace'
Previous: TV Everywhere is Taking Over Everything

Be the first to leave a comment.

Have a comment? Login or create an account to start a discussion.