By Alex Villafania, hackenslash Reporter
INQUIRER.net
UPDATED: Macromedia Flash is of course now known as Adobe Flash. Thanks to anomalous_underdog for the heads up.–Joey Alarilla
A STARTUP video game development firm called Skyrocket Interactive Inc., a startup video game development firm, is eyeing to entice large corporations to use video games as a marketing tool, instead of fully focusing on creating original games.
In an interview with hackenslash, Skyrocket Interactive president and CEO James Ronald Lo said the company’s development approach would be on “advergaming,” a concept wherein a video game has a direct or indirect reference to a popular consumer brand.
Advergaming provides major brand names to extend their marketing reach to either a niche of gamers or an existing community of video game players. Likewise, advergaming can also use games as an interactive value-added service to their existing customers.
Three versions of advergaming exist: in-game placement advertising wherein brand logos are posted somewhere within a video game; online advertising, with a video game referring to the brand being played on the company website; while the third is direct reference of the brand, with the main mascot or product endorser becoming a playable character.
Lo, who started out the company with five other business partners, said Skyrocket is barely nine months old and is still gradually building its portfolio.
Despite the company’s relatively late entry into the video game business, they are already making headway in producing some games for local brands.
For now, all the games will be developed using Macromedia Adobe Flash, a graphics tool that can create interactive websites or games.
Lo said they are developing at least five games, all for popular consumer brands. He hopes that all the games will be launched sometime within the year.
Lo emphasized the value of advergaming for the company and also for its customers. It extends their market reach and provides an interactive method for customers, who may want to learn more about the brand.
“Besides, it’s fun to play a game with the brand present and there’s easy brand recall,” Lo said.
Lo said the demand for advergaming could rise exponentially as more people go online. However, Philippine firms have to slowly understand the benefits of using the Internet as a marketing tool prior to putting their name as a video game.
December 4th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
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March 29th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
GAMEVERTISING….
hmmm, Great Idea.
I think we should use that as the norm.
March 29th, 2007 at 1:54 am
Actually, there are already several companies here in the country that are planning to advertise on the games we play on the internet (online games) and on blogs made by fellow countrymen which is actually good.
It’s good to see that they’re now taking the opportunity on venturing and marketing their products in the virtual world.
Well, actually, isn’t it much more exciting and more realistic if we see advertisements or products in our games? haha
March 28th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
thanks anomalous_underdog
made the correction.
cheers!