The role of an advergaming development company is to assist a brand in connecting with its audience using games rather than only using traditional advertisements. With the help of advergaming, brands can provide an interactive experience for people regarding their products or offers. Challenges, rewards, characters, and goals in the game could attract people towards the brand and allow them to interact for longer durations. Abhiwan Technology has created branded games for Thums Up Biryani Hunt and Vaseline SunCoins, where branded interactive games are used by brands in their marketing campaign. But a good advergame does not require just attractive graphics. There should be clear objectives for the campaign, enjoyable gameplay, and some relevance to the brand. Let us learn about the importance of advergaming, considerations while developing an advergame, and choosing the right development company in this guide.
What Does an Advergaming Development Company Do?
Advergame Development is creating a game for a brand, a product, or a campaign objective. The game itself is an advertisement, as the message is incorporated into the fun. As most players discover these games through their phones, there will have to be emphasis on mobile advergame development. The game should load quickly, be easy to play within minutes, and should be played using one finger. In developing a game, an advergame development company develops the concept for the game, designs the game, codes it, tests the code, and then evaluates the result once it goes live. The brand provides the objective of the game while the studio creates the game.
What Makes a Brand Game Memorable
An experienced Advergaming development Company integrates four characteristics into every brand game:
A Recognisable Brand Element
A product, or logo that can be identified by the player makes up a character/object. This character/object remains consistent throughout the game. In the end, it becomes the image associated with the brand.
A single goal
The player should understand the objective of the game within ten seconds, whether it be catch, match, race, or find. The goal is simple and therefore memorable. Complex rules are off-putting.
Rewards That Motivate Players
The points, coupons, or a slot in the leaderboard serve as motivation to get it done. Your incentive must be relevant to your clients. A relevant reward makes the gamification effort relevant.
Quick Starts and Replay Value
Mobile advergame development requires a rapid start, and the rounds should last about one or two minutes. Short rounds will fit between queueing or a pause. Players will tap the “play again” button.
Which Game Style Fits Your Brand Goal?
Pick the game style after you pick the goal. This table shows common matches.
| Brand goal | Game style | What to track |
|---|---|---|
| Introduce a new product | Product promotion game | Plays, time spent, clicks to the product page |
| Collect sign-ups | Lead generation game | Sign-ups, verified contacts |
| Create buzz at a launch or event | Contest or event game | Entries, shares, new followers |
| Bring people into a store | In-store or kiosk game | Foot traffic, coupon redemptions |
| Reward repeat buyers | Loyalty game | Return visits, points earned, redemptions |
Good Advergame Development matches the style to the goal, and a clear studio will tell you when a simple quiz works better than a full game.
Advergaming Development Company: Facts & Figures
An advergaming development company takes four to twelve weeks to complete. It depends on whether the game will be based on a template or it will be built from scratch. The firm deadline is fixed after discussing the brief.
There are more than 60 HTML5 game templates offered by Abhiwan, which you can play and select from before developing your own game. Reskinnable templates are perfect for short-term campaigns and small budgets.
The games can be played on iOS, Android, the Web, and kiosks. Test games on the platforms your audience uses. Check the load time on old mobile phones.
Abhiwan claims 98% client satisfaction, a 4.8-star rating, and 90% on-time delivery. It is their statistics. Check for references.
What to Look for in an Advergaming Company
Some of the points were mentioned below which will provide you an understanding regarding what to look for while taking services from advergaming company.
Playable Portfolio and Live Demos
Request live demonstrations instead of screenshots. Play the games yourself on your phone to test out the loading speed, controls, and game experience.
Measurable Campaign Results
Ask about how things have changed since the game was launched. Find out about measurable impacts, like the participation and completion rate of players.
A Concept Tailored to Your Brand
The objectives of your campaign will influence the idea of the game. While templates are quick, the studio must tell you about their limits.
Technical support after launch
There will be updates and fixes that need to be made once the game is played. Make sure you know about performance monitoring and troubleshooting technical glitches.
Development costs and timeline
Get a cost breakdown and timeline for development milestones and game delivery. Know what the price includes and if any add-ons will increase costs.
Abhiwan Technology's Advergaming Projects
Founded in 2018, Abhiwan Technology is a game development company specialising in branded games and interactive experiences that can be used as a part of a marketing campaign. Examples of projects include Thums Up's Biryani Hunt, Vaseline's SunCoins, Coca-Cola's FaceSwap, and Bajaj Finserv's Mind Maze. Each project shows how a brand can utilise the potential of interactive content in different ways, from mobile games and gamification to augmented reality. The format can be chosen depending on the marketing goals, target audience, and platform.
Abhiwan Technology utilises a six-stage process including brand and campaign analysis, game concept planning, design and development of the product, testing and optimisation, launching the campaign, and its performance support. The business can try different ready-to-use HTML5 game templates via PlayLab to decide which option works best for them – reskinning of the game or a custom build. Reskinning changes the visual identity of the existing game in order to make it fit the brand, whereas a custom game can be built specifically for the marketing campaign. The process starts with a conversation about the business' objectives, target audience, game type, and deadline.
What Is an Example of an Advergame?
Thums Up's Biryani Hunt and the FaceSwap AR kiosk from Coca-Cola, which is part of the Foodmarks India portfolio listed under Abhiwan Technology, are two examples of advergames. In the Biryani Hunt example, the brand makes its presence felt through gameplay. The FaceSwap AR Kiosk is an interactive experience using a webcam. These examples illustrate how different types of campaigns can be used by brands to reach out to their audiences. An advergaming development company can assist businesses in choosing the right format for their campaigns.
Is Advergaming Only for Big Brands?
Not necessarily. Smaller businesses too can opt for advergaming to promote their product offerings without having to build games from scratch. A ready-made template can be tailored according to the business needs using brand colours, logos, content, etc. An advergaming development company can assist the business in selecting an appropriate format, setting an objective, and defining metrics to gauge participation in the campaign. One could start off with a small game and then proceed with further improvements.
The cost depends on the game type, customization, platform used, and needs of the campaign; hence, businesses should get an estimate of the cost prior to development.
Conclusion
An Advergaming development Company will make your brand unforgettable by making your message into a game that players play and share. Great games focus on achieving a single objective, giving players clear roles and something worth playing for, and keeping the initial level short. Working with a firm such as Abhiwan Technology, you will be able to develop the initial game regardless of whether it is based on a template or a custom design. Ensure you play live demos, ask for results from their previous campaigns, and ask who will take care of the game once it has been developed.
Written By Vaibhav Karanwal
