Reaching Teenage Boys with Advergaming

Let’s say your Pepsi or Coca-Cola, and you have a new product targeting 12-18 year old boys. Now, how do you reach them? You could try television advertising, but they will more than likely record the program with their DVR and flip right past your commercials. You could place an ad in the local newspaper, but they won’t even see it. What about radio? Maybe you could place the ad on the CHR station in your market. Surely they will be tuning in to hear “today’s new music”. I’m afraid not, a friend downloaded that song three months ago, and they have been listening to it ever since. As a matter of fact, their bored with it. You can try social sites, billboards, internet, phone books, and see very poor results. How can you possible reach these kids? All they do is go to school, play sports and most of all, play video games.

Ahh… yes… video games. There is the magic tool companies can use to effectively market the hard to reach male teenage audience. Advergaming has become one of the tools of choice for marketers trying to reach this target segment. Sometimes it’s just a sign or billboard in the game as the player is racing up and down streets trying to get the girl, the car, or another prize. In other cases, the car you are driving is actually the product being advertised. However, the product must relevant to the player for the advertising to be successful. If you are trying to market newest, fastest sports car on the new Tela Tubies video game, you won’t sell anything. Yet if the Mazda’s new car is the “hero” car in the game “Need for Speed”, the car will be noticed by the players.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal explores Nissan’s use of only advergaming to introduce the new GT-R sports coupe. To expose the new GT-R to young males, Nissan partnered with both Sony Videogames and Electronics Arts (EA). Nissan worked with both companies to hold off on the unveiling of the actual model by covering the game models in black prior to the release. After the unveiling, players could download a game patch to see the actual model. Both companies also allowed users the chance to drive a prototype version of the unit to build up excitement prior to the unveiling. EA even “chose” the GT-R as this year’s hero car for their game “Pro-Streets”. In this game the player continues to advance in levels trying to reach the “Hero Car’.

But does advergaming really work? Do the players actually see those road signs and logos as they scream by during the race? Recent tests discussed in Advertising Age using eye catching technology did confirm that 80% of gamers noticed ads when playing a game. However, size didn’t matter. Rather it was placement that most increased noting scores. Eyes placed at “eye level” right in the action of the game are much more likely to be noticed than ads on the top of the screen above or below the action. But if you really want to promote your brand to this audience, one must take an interactive approach. Anytime the gamer interacts with the brand, they will develop a much better position in the consumer’s mind. Discovery Network pioneered these efforts through sponsorship of “extra Levels” of the XBOX game Gears of War”. Advergaming, while still relatively new is a great marketing communication channel. So, if you need to target teenage boys like my son, you better plan on learning about Halo 3, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, Madden 2008 and others.

Branding Your business in a Digital World

Building your brand in an increasingly fragmented world is becoming more and more difficult with every passing day. When I was a teenager in the early 1980’s we had just three television channels, one local newspaper, three radio stations and one phone book. The local General Store in the small town where I lived advertised on two of the radio stations, in “the paper”, in the phone book, and every once in a while ran a few ads on TV. Their efforts kept people coming to the store to purchase everything from lumber to groceries. It was relatively easy for the owner to decide where to invest his advertising dollars.

Today in that same market there are 12 radio stations, two newspapers, three phone books, hundreds of television channels, two regional magazines, billboards, mobile marketing, direct mail, and the many digital opportunities associated with the internet. It’s no wonder businesses are finding it difficult to develop new brands. Which one of the many new digital venues will work best to develop a brand position in the minds of the consumer? Which medium or mediums will give me the largest “share of mind” that may be leveraged into market share?
This is the question facing all marketers today. We are all flooding to the new ground and the digital media, yet will we be able to build the brand? When was the last time any of you visited plumbing web site. There are hundreds if not thousands of plumbers on the web, yet I haven’t visited a single one. It seems that we don’t visit a web site until we have an interest in the product or service. So if a plumbing company places the majority of their budget on the web, and we aren’t aware of the brand, how will we know which of the many listed in a Google search will we call? Can we build a brand with just digital media?

At the same time another plumber uses three radio stations, one newspaper, and two phone books to position his business. He doesn’t feel the digital media will brand his business as well as the more “traditional” media. When his business fails to grow as quickly as he expects, he hires a marketing company to study his brand awareness. He finds out that only 8% of the market even knows about his business, yet he spent tens of thousands of dollars advertising his business. How can this be? The study also informs him that customers are searching the web when they need a plumber.

This is the scenario repeated daily in all levels of corporate America. How do we best develop or improve our brand’s image in today’s fragmented world? One must find a balance between both the new digital media world full of search engines, customer generated content, social networking, online video, etc... and the “traditional” media world with its large mass audiences and local content. It is a balance best obtained through a well developed marketing plan where the brand is the focus. In the past we were able to focus intently on the customer. Today we need to continue that focus, while we try to find the best media mix for our company.

Today the little General Store is gone, not because of the advertising, rather a mall, and many focused big box stores in a town twenty miles away. The general store couldn’t compete with the aggressive pricing and marketing of the “big” stores. By trying to offer everything to everyone, the store soon meant nothing to anyone. Today’s digital world is changing and as marketers, we need to ensure that our clients don’t go the way of the General Store.

Use Your Cell Phone to Control Your Bar TV

You walk into your favorite club, take a seat, and select your favorite Gwen Stephanie video. But rather than walking up to video Jukebox, you just make your selection via your “remote control” cell phone. Suddenly your selection plays on the big screen TV above the bar. You also receive a text message stating “show this message to your server, and receive $100 off any appetizer or dessert”. You have just experienced another new media mobile marketing channel. Akoo, the company to introduce this unique technology was recently featured in an article in the New York Times.

While many companies are using digital signs to send mobile marketing messages to cell phones, Akoo is the only company offering two-way communication and interaction. The customer is allowed to choose the content they want on the digital advertising screens. In return the company has the opportunity to gather important marketing information about the customer while sending them a marketing message. A fourteen day trial at a McDonalds store resulted in a 17% increase in sales.

M-Venue, an IP Based digital media and marketing platform integrates with more than 2 billion mobile devices nationwide. The new marketing technology works especially well with modern smart phones such as Apple’s iPhone or Microsoft’s Mobile Windows devices such as the Motorola Q. Customers visiting the retail locations can play their favorite songs, videos, sport clips, weather, as well as pre-approved user generated content. M-Venue also allows customers to “tag” songs that they later can purchase via iTunes or other audio vendors. But wait, there’s more. M-Venue also includes a built in loyalty program. Customers build up loyalty points that are tracked via your cell phone that may be redeemed for premiums at the sponsoring business.

Akoo’s marketing potential has many advantages. The program allows marketing opportunities closest to the point of purchase, which will lead to increased sales and ticket value. It allows for a loyalty program that will entice return customers and brand loyalty. Akoo appears to be a great tool to leverage proliferate smart cell phones while maintaining the all important non-intrusiveness required of all good mobile marketing campaigns. One question posed by marketers is whether Akoo can keep the content fresh. If they fail, customers will become bored and ignore the product.

Google Searches Turn Up More than Frogs

Determining what comes up when you type in the name of a business into Google sometimes can be a marketing nightmare…or blessing. Take the case of Budweiser, no pun intended. When you Google Budweiser, you come up with a typical Budweiser logo or two, but you also come up with three very interestingly “dressed?” ladies. The famous Bud-Weis-er frogs painted on the chests of the three women may be a marketer’s nightmare or blessing.

In the case of Budweiser, I would think this a blessing. Their target audience of mature beer drinkers may get a real kick out of the picture. In fact I did. Then I immediately sent the picture to twenty or so male friends, many of whom may have consumed a “barley pop” in the past week. Yes Budweiser consciously or unconsciously used me to advertise their brand to many friends in my address book. I’m also sure that at least two of them passed them on to other friends as I ended up getting the pictures sent back to me later that day.

The viral affects of interactive media certainly can benefit or harm companies in a very short time. Budweiser may deny ever even knowing of the three girls in the photo. But they also may have been the ones who set it up in the first place. Either way, it’s helping beer sales. I’m drinking one now.

When you Google search most words you quickly receive the information you are seeking in just a text format. While only a few sites are designed to return search results as images, many more now also include videos from YouTube. These videos like the associated images may also help or harm the brand based on the content. A Google search for Mountain Dew displays a video of someone using Mountain Dew to make a homemade glow stick. Thousands of viewers who saw the video and attempted the process found out later that it was a spoof. In this case, Mountain Dew experienced additional exposure from the video, but in a negative way.

Images and video displayed from Google searches offer companies an opportunity to improve or worsen their brand image. Yet with very little control, companies need to be aware of problems that may arise out of these issues.

Out of Home Video

Most of us have seen it by now. You stop to fill up your car, and a TV turns on bringing you four-and-one-half minutes of local weather, traffic reports, sport scores, and news. Gas Station TV is just an example of one of the many new advertising media bombarding the public. Out of home video advertising can also be found in bathrooms, malls, buses, grocery store check-out lines, and of course on billboards. As people’s lives get busier, marketers need advertising opportunities that go with them. TV advertising has grown well beyond the evening newscasts and primetime programming. Today video is found everywhere.

The Out of Home Video Advertising Bureau works to assist “advertisers in making informed decisions regarding out-of-home media. The OVAB is the official resource for information on out-of-home video advertising, marketing, and media metrics.” Companies like ESPN, CBS, and The Wall Street Journal are just three of the companies recognizing the opportunities from this new medium. All three have committed video and resources to help this fledgling medium continue to establish itself in the already fragmented advertising world.

The biggest name in out of home video advertising is the Wall Street Journal Office Network (WSJON). WSJON is an office building based communication network being rolled into the top markets in the U.S. The 42” televisions placed in the most influential office buildings in the largest cities offer many unique opportunities for marketing managers. The 39 year old professionals with household incomes of $147,143 and home values of $539,908 (Claritas) can be a very lucrative target audience, especially if you are Porsche or Mercedes. WSJON rotates fifteen second “journal briefs” covering the four sections of the Wall Street Journal, What’s News, Marketplace, Money & Investing and Personal or Weekend Journal. These segments are rotated throughout the business day from 6am to 9pm, updated every five minutes.

Not looking for the influential crowd found in the most prestigious office buildings? Then look no further than a retail store. You will find out of home video at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Costco, Circuit city and even your local grocery store. More than 250 million viewers are exposed to internal and external advertising messages as the walk through or check out of retail outlets. With CPM rates as low as just $2.25, PRN can offer effective affordable advertising options specifically tailored to certain stores and departments. Maybelline commercials can introduce their newest product directly to customers in the health and beauty section. PRN retailers and advertisers target their customer right before they purchase. You can influence a customer as he is reaching for your competitor’s product. While still relatively new, Out of Home video offers many unique opportunities for both retailers and advertisers.

You Will soon Hear Commercials on Satellite Radio

Do you listen to satellite radio to avoid all of the commercials you hear on broadcast radio, well get ready to change the dial. According to a recent article in Radio and Records magazine, Sirius Radio CEO Mell Karmazin wants to increase the amount of commercials aired during Howard Stern's radio program. Sirius also plans to increase the amount of commercial inventory sold on the NFL channels as well.

It's no wonder the struggling Satellite radio industry is working to increase the amount of advertising sold on it's service. According to a recent article in the Washington Post, Sirius lost $562 million in 2007. While XM Radio posted losses for 2007 as well. To add to their problems, the FCC still hasn't agreed to allow the proposed merger of the two companies. To summarize the company's financial status, neither has made a profit since they were formed.

To marketing managers interested in reaching a national audience of 17 million listeners, satellite radio will offer new opportunities in advertising. Satellite radio offers advertisers some unique opportunities not available elsewhere. For example, The Home Depot may want to leverage its sponsorship of Tony Stewart's NASCAR team by advertising their brand on Sirius' NASCAR channel. Its a great way to reach NASCAR's most loyal fans that invest in Sirius radio to avoid missing a race. These listeners are more likely to shop at businesses associated with NASCAR.

Quadrant One

Local newspapers are still a reliable source for local news about the region, state, and nation you live in. Explore it up and you’ll find local high school, college, and professional sports scores along with local, regional, state and national news. You can check the TV listings, see who died, look for a job and check your local grocery ad for sale prices. Of course I’m speaking about your local newspaper’s web site.

The paper version of the newspaper is changing every day. Paid subscriptions of nearly every paper across the U.S. are declining while the population in most of the towns is rising. The Minneapolis Tribune is just one example. Since 2002, the paper has seen a 10% decline in paid subscriptions while the population in the newspaper designated area has risen approximately 6.4%. Thus we combine these two into a 16.4% loss in market share since 2002. Due to similar losses in market share, newspapers across the nation are relying more and more on their web sites for new revenue.

This week four of the biggest newspapers companies in the U.S. combined forces to create a new company devoted to selling advertising on newspaper web sites owned by these four companies. The company will be able to offer clients advertising on more than 120 newspaper web sites that reach more than 50 million unique visitors monthly. Robert MacMillan’s article in the Wall Street Journal describes how Hearst, The New York Times, Tribune company and Gannet have come together to form the first ever newspaper online ad network called QuadrantOne.

QuadrantOne will offer online advertisers a variety of new media options to include pop-up and banner ads, video and audio advertising as well as contextual advertising opportunities. It will be very interesting to see how this partnership will pan out. Newspaper web sites are becoming more and more popular each day due to their combination of local and national content, yet there was no vehicle to offer a national advertising buy. With this combination QuadrantOne may soon give advertising giants Google and Yahoo a run for their money.