IP e-Games expects 20% revenue growth from advergaming

By Alex Villafania, hackenslash Reporter INQUIRER.net IP E-GAMES, the online gaming arm of IT firm Intellectual Property Ventures Group (IPVG), said its advergaming business could grow from the current five percent to about 20 percent in the next two years, driven by strong interest from advertisers seeking to shift from traditional tri-media to the targeted market offered by online games. Advergaming refers to virtual product placements within a video game. Virtual billboards, kiosks and even items that include the logo or names of a product signify advergaming. In some cases, real products can have virtual versions in a game and can be either bought or consumed by virtual characters. Speaking during the recently held Internet & Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines conference in Manila, IPVG president Enrique Gonzalez said advergaming is still in its infancy but will be a new and encouraging field for advertising firms and their clients. Advergaming targets a specific market, which are gamers with disposable incomes. He said the typical age of gamers is between 12 to 25 years old but the average age is 15, with most them having money to spend on playing online games. Citing several studies they have commissioned, Gonzalez said advergaming benefits both game publishers and advertisers as it generates revenues as well as specific measurement of usage. "We can measure the impressions depending on the click overs, and the consumption or usage of the virtual versions of the product. The advertiser will know who are using them and maybe change their marketing approach depending on the usage," he said. He also said the potential is huge as there are currently an estimated 15 million Internet users in the Philippines, 2.6 million of whom are online gamers. "The growth of the online gaming business is fast; by 2010 we estimate that the number of gamers could grow to 6.3 million," he said. However, Gonzalez said that advergaming would still take some time to take off in the Philippines as advertising firms and their clients are still wary of the new online gaming media. "It takes values to sink in but advergaming is the next stage for advertising."