Targeting Gen Y With In-game Advertising

Creating brand recognition with Generation Y can be tough. By practically becoming an extension to their computers and mobile devices, they are quickly moving the bulk of marketing to the Internet. Where is all that time being spent online though? For many, it's on games.

Believe it or not, online games are forms of social networking too. We're not just talking about Yahoo! Pool but a host of others like World of Warcraft, Lineage II, and Everquest—games that have subscribers in the millions and boast annual sales in the billions. In these simulated worlds, players can chat, shop, create interest groups, throw parties and do virtually anything save their homework.

The gamer demographics supposedly tend to be males in the early teens to the mid-thirties but in the recent years, online games have attracted a greater number of female players, including college students and stay-home moms. So it isn't that small of a niche.

Moreover, an Activision and Nielsen Entertainment study on In-Game Advertising (IGA) released results that indicated that avid gamers spend just as much time gaming, if not more, than most people do watching prime time television. The study also showed positive receptivity towards IGA.

If you're looking to provide interactive content for Gen Yers, games may be the way to go. Some hotel and automobile marketers like Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Ford, and Toyota and have already taken advantage of cross-promotion opportunities. Many brands make their appearance in virtual worlds through clothing and food as well. Of course, it doesn't always have to be blatant advertising since Generation Y can express disdain towards anything that appears remotely like aggressive sell tactics. There's always the option of developing interactive games on websites that provide more information on a product. This way, consumers that have already taken interest in a product can become more inclined to pass on fun links to their friends.

To get started, popular game forums and websites like GameSpy and Massive provide invaluable information on the kinds of appeals, reactions, and levels of popularity different games have on their players.