By Afton Nelson
Staying on top of the latest marketing trends is challenging. Today’s technology allows trends to change quickly. Plus most consumers expect constant engagement and stimulation. Miss one trend and you may miss a big opportunity. Successful marketers must not only stay current of the latest trends, but also find ways to set them.
Nordcurrent, a Lithuania based international publisher and developer of free-to-play and casual games for smartphones and tablets, is one company staying ahead of the curve. Their recent integration of the Coca-Cola brand into its hit game Cooking Fever is part of a comprehensive in-game marketing campaign and represents one of the latest marketing innovations.
Because Cooking Fever has been downloaded almost 200 million times and is adding between two to three million new players each month, the potential reach is huge.
Laying the Groundwork
In-game marketing isn’t new, although previous campaigns were mostly run in PC and console games. For example, In 2008, Barack Obama’s presidential campaign ran billboard ads in popular sports games, such as Burnout Paradise, and because of the flexibility of the platform, the ads only appeared to gamers living in swing states.
Downloadable games got a start with the trend when Norcdurrent partnered with FC Barcelona in 2016 to allow Cooking Fever players to serve food and sell merchandise in the football club’s stadium and even to the players themselves. The NFL jumped onto the trend in January 2018, when it teamed up with Angry Birds to offer team uniforms for the game’s characters. For the most part, however, mobile and free download games still represent the untamed wilderness of opportunity.
The Present Realities
Because of the immersive nature of games and player investment, product placement can have a bigger impact. Additionally, messages and product placement can be worked into the game in a way that feels organic and vital to the playing experience. With the help of updates and other internet enabled features, in-game marketing options are highly customizable.
Nordcurrent CEO Victoria Trofimova explained, “Traditionally game players did not favor in-game branding. But thanks to the free-to-play nature of mobile games, we believe this is changing.”
Trofimova admits it‘s still early to know just how this trend will develop, and whether mobile games will follow content marketing model in movies or TV shows. But there is no doubt the Cooking Fever game will help Nordcurrent understand what kind of numbers and reach are possible. Results from the first few months are promising. “Our players already saw the Coca-Cola brand several billion times,” said Trofimova. “Most importantly, the brand is shown to new players from the very beginning of the game.”
The Future Possibilities
Brand partnerships like the one Coca-Cola has with Nordcurrent can be beneficial for both product and developer. For the brand, it’s the ability to quickly reach millions of players around the world and capture the global targeted audience, turning engaged players into positive brand advocates. Further, the products are shown to real players allowing the views to be easily tracked, avoiding potential fraud.
Developers benefit when fans of a specific brand are attracted to the game through social networks and convert to loyal game players. In this way, branding can be used as a potential revenue source.
“Our experience with Coca-Cola and FC Barcelona show it‘s possible to integrate very different brands into the games,” Trofimova explained. “Ultimately, this platform will be valuable for products with wide appeal and international potential.”
In the coming years, mobile game user numbers and time spent playing will continue to grow, and the general growing interest in mobile games should result increasing and creative ways of in-game product placement.
https://www.wired.com/2008/10/obama-campaign/
Afton Nelson is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in advertising and currently writes B2B marketing content for a variety of clients. In addition, she writes travel and family content for local magazines. in her spare time she likes to hike, spend time with her family and write stories for kids.