In an advergaming development company, the exposure that lasts just for a split second becomes actual participation and interaction with the product. As opposed to conventional advertising, where people only see or hear about the brand, advergaming lets people engage with the brand by playing. Advergames can be developed in different formats, from quizzes, puzzles, challenges, racing games, and any other format suitable for your particular campaign. Advergames are often mobile-friendly to make sure that it would be easy to play them on phones or social networks. Abhiwan Technology has gained such experience firsthand while developing an advergame such as Thumbs Up Biryani Hunt in which the conventional food and beverage advertisement campaign was transformed into an interactive one. Advergames can also include bonuses, scoreboards, discount codes, and social sharing elements. This article will tell you about the main aspects of advergaming, what you should consider when choosing the developer, and how much an advergame costs.
What Is Advergaming?
Advergaming is the act of developing a game designed to advertise a brand, product, or campaign instead of integrating an advertisement into an existing game. In this sense, the actual game serves as the promotional message, either in the form of a quick mobile game, quiz, or branded variant of an existing popular game format. Successful advergame development involves creating a game that combines real gameplay enjoyment with elements from the brand identity so that people don't click away once they've realized it's an advertisement. The game also needs to offer reasons for people to continue playing other than just viewing the brand. Basic challenges, rewards, scoring systems, and social media elements can make things more engaging. With the right blend of gameplay and brand integration, the game will assist in getting people more directly involved with the brand.
How Advergaming Helps Brands Increase Engagement
Unlike static banners and even video advertisements, a good game will keep your audience involved for much longer periods of time and engage them with your brand more effectively. It may take you longer to achieve that, but it is likely to pay off in the form of brand recall and brand affinity. The campaign designed based on the principles of Advergame Development may be easily shareable due to its engaging nature, and this will increase its outreach beyond the initial ad budget. The game also offers you a set of opportunities to track and analyze the behavior of your target audience and see what makes it stay involved and engaged, as well as learn how you can make this experience even better.
What to Look for in an Advergaming
Development Company
It is not always easy to strike a balance between advertising your product or service and creating an enjoyable game, which is why certain criteria make a good advergaming development Company stand out among many others.
Game Design Experience, Not Just Marketing Experience
Request to review actual game footage instead of marketing case studies with screenshots; after all, a professional advergame development company will have no problem providing you with actual game footage, because a game that looks great in a screenshot might turn out to be quite uncomfortable to play.
Branding Without Damaging Game Mechanics
Make sure the team is familiar with integrating branding elements into the game in a non-obtrusive way, using the characters, environment, and awards. An advertisement dressed up as a game gets quickly thrown away.
Analytics
Inquire about which analytics are included in the final product, because without tracking the number of plays, shares, and game completion rate, the advergame won't be much more than just a fun experiment.
Platform/Distribution Strategy
Discover where you will actually publish the game: on a microsite that bears your company name, on a social media site, or on an app store. The platform must be chosen according to where your audience is active.
Mobile Advergame Development: Why It Matters Today
The chances are high that most of the gamers will meet the branded game on their smartphones, and therefore mobile advergame development is one of the significant elements of many campaigns. The mobile-first game should be fast-loading, have an appropriate size for a smaller screen, and provide easy controls suitable for playing via touch. Besides, the game should work well on various screen sizes and devices. This point becomes even more critical when players have a slow internet connection or outdated phones. If the loading time is long and the game is complicated, gamers might exit without any interaction with the brand. Mobile advergames should provide users with a convenient opportunity to play and get into the game.
Key Attributes of a Successful Advergame
A few attributes usually differentiate advergames created by an experienced advergaming development company from those that go into oblivion after a single round.
Simple Gameplay
It should take just a few seconds for a player to figure out the game and be able to start playing it. Simple controls increase the enjoyment factor, as no long tutorials are required.
Natural Integration of the Brand
The brand can be integrated into the game in many ways through design, characters, product placement, and rewards. The brand integration should seem natural and not spoil the gaming experience.
Social Integration and Competitiveness
Players can share their scores, achievements, or results of the game on various social media platforms. Scoreboards and challenges can also drive competitive spirit among friends.
Quick and Fun Game Sessions
The game should be enjoyable in less than two minutes, even if a player is killing time somewhere or having a break.
Motivating Rewards
There should be a certain reward for a player to give him/her another incentive to complete the game or increase the score. A discount coupon or participation in a prize draw are good examples.
How Abhiwan Technology Develops Advergames
Abhiwan Technology collaborates with brands that seek something better than just a simple branded quiz. Being an advergame development company, Abhiwan Technology develops games based on the brand's campaign objectives. It could be app installs, increased sharing on social media platforms, or even a new product launch.
It also engages in mobile advergame development because most branded games today should be optimized for mobile devices from the start, rather than converted later. In particular, it offers gamified campaigns like the Thums Up gamified marketing campaign and the Vaseline Suncoins app, which illustrates the use of games within various brand campaigns.
In addition, its approach involves the analysis of the campaign, selection of the appropriate game type, design of the game, its development, and testing on the required platforms before the launch.
What Are Some Real-World Advergaming Examples?
One such example is the Biryani Hunt that was developed by Abhiwan Technology for Thums Up. This is one such game created for the promotion of the beverage and the food culture in an entertaining way, giving users a fun way to relate to the brand without being bombarded with advertisements. Some other known examples are those of the runner games, scavenger hunt promotions, and the match-three games based on the product launch, all done via mobile advergame development in today's scenario. The key to good advergame development is that the game must be entertaining in itself, and the branding comes from the entertainment.
How Much Does Advergame Development Cost?
The cost depends mostly on the size and the platform. The browser-based game with basic functionality without complex graphics would cost approximately $5,000-$15,000, while the mobile advergame with high-quality art, animation, unique features, and other stuff would cost between $15,000-$50,000 and even higher. The campaigns, which use leaderboards, social networking integration, analytical features, bonuses, and any other functions, take much more time to implement. The only way to determine the cost of developing an advergame is to ask for a quote from the advergame development company according to your requirements.
Conclusion
The trick is to look for an Advergaming Development Company that considers your game as something meant to entertain gamers. An effective advergame offers people some motivation to play, to interact with the brand, and to return for more. This guide provides information about what makes an advergame effective, what factors must be considered prior to selecting an advergame development company, and what advergame costs. No matter if you need a seasonal campaign or want to include the promotion of a new product in your marketing strategy, the advergame will transform your entertainment time into something memorable related to the brand. You may see the application of this concept in practice in Biryani Hunt, the Thums Up promotional game created by Abhiwan Technology.
Written By Vaibhav Karanwal
