Mobile game advertising has varying business logics depending on the type of .... Gangadharbatla, H. (2008) Facebook Me: Collective Self-Esteem, Need to ...
Advertising in mobile games: A conceptualization of mobile in-game advertising Jari Salo and Kimmo Alajoutsijärvi, University of Oulu Abstract
Changes in advertising mediums and sophistication of mobile technologies are propelling the advertising field and have positively influenced the success potential of different types of game advertising forms. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the current state of mobile in-game advertising and then place it into a wider discussion evolving in advertising field. Mobile games based advertising can be seen as one form of branded entertainment. This study employs literature review as methodology and synthesises a framework for positioning mobile in-game advertising into wider field of advertising. For academics this paper identifies a number of fruitful research opportunities. For managers insights are provided on how to conduct mobile in-game advertising. Introduction Whole spectrum of new advertising channels enabled by the internet technologies have appeared during last 15 years. Websites have evolved from simple HTML based static websites into AJAX and mashups created websites providing dynamic content creation (Yee, 2008). Changes in advertising and technologies has created prominent advertising options for companies including targeted website advertising, search engine advertising (i.e.) optimization, virtual worlds and online social communities advertising (Armstrong and Hagel, 1995; Ducoffe, 1996; Dahlen et al., 2003; Gangadharbatla, 2008). These have been to a great extent discussed both in academia and in popular press. However, less attention has been paid to mobile phones as advertising channel. Of course mobile marketing has been studied intensively over the last 5-10 years (Tähtinen and Salo, 2004), but specific area of mobile marketing namely mobile game advertising is scarcely studied (see Salo and Karjaluoto, 2007; Salo et al, 2008a). To clarify a bit mobile marketing can be defined as: “Any form of marketing, advertising or sales promotion activity aimed at consumers and conducted over a mobile channel” (Mobile Marketing Association, 2005). Thus, mobile game advertising can then defined as “a game application used by a company for advertising purposes in a mobile handset of a customer and application can be downloaded computer software like a preinstalled game or it can be SMS based game played in a certain context (e.g. in a connection to a TV program)” (Salo and Karjaluoto, 2007). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the current state of mobile in-game advertising and then place it into a wider discussion evolving in advertising field. The disposition of the paper is as follows. In the first section we introduce and then define mobile in-game advertising by differentiating those from other games and advertising. After that, we review the earlier works relating to in-game advertising. Then, mobile in-game advertising is placed to the current marketing literature as form of branded entertainment discussion. The final section presents suggestions for future research and implications to managerial practice.
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Mobile game advertising logic Changes in advertising mediums, sophistication of mobile technologies and acceptance of advertising are propelling the advertising field and have positively influenced the success potential of different types of game advertising. Based on the degree of reach and the degree personalization and customization the literature has identified mobile game advertising to be different from other more traditional advertising forms (Salo and Karjaluoto, 2007). Degree of customization and personalization is relatively high but reach is low as compared to TV or newspaper advertising. Mobile game advertising has varying business logics depending on the type of advertising (Salo et al., 2008a). Thus, a number of companies and specific competencies and resources are needed to plan and conduct successful mobile game advertising (see. e.g. Salo et al., 2008b). For example, digital media agencies, advertising agencies, game developers and telecommunication companies are needed to compose expertise needed. Before the competence needed for mobile game advertising is gathered, advertisers need to ponder on what type of mobile game advertising they are engaging into. In addition, Salo et al., (2008a) identified four different forms of mobile game advertising where the degree of brand visibility or involvement in the game varies. Four forms where presented in a continuum where at the left end is a pure mobile game with no advertising or some non intentional advertising and at the right end are mobile advertising games that are purposefully created as advertisements. Between them at the left side are mobile in-game advertising focused on here and on the right side mobile game sponsorship. In-game advertising according to Yang et al. (2006) refers to placement of advertising and brands inside games. For example, mobile in-game advertising represents games in which advertising is present in various forms including billboards that are visible in the game and (e.g.) branded sports gear when the player plays the game. Thus, mobile in-game advertising is advertising placed inside a mobile game (Salo et al., 2008a). The game application can be downloaded computer software like a preinstalled game. Also the browser based games like WAP, XHTML and HTML based games (Shchigliket al., 2004) can be thought of as mobile in-game advertising forms. Still, within all four mobile game types are dozens of business models where the party who pays and gets paid varies (see MacInnes et al., 2002), assuming that we are not dealing with games developed and shared without fees. Basically mobile in-game advertising games are funded by the advertiser. Telecommunication operators, telecommunication service providers, content providers and other third parties will receive their share of the gaming industry revenue as downloading and other fees. Connecting mobile in-game advertising to marketing literature Advertising field has witnessed increase on research what advertising is and is not (see Richards and Curran, 2002). Product placement is clearly one form of advertising where one party pays to reach or influence selected consumers. Recently, it has been suggested that product placement can be traced to the emergence of motion pictures and is contributed namely to Lever Brothers who in 1890s placed their branded soaps to films (Hudson and Hudson, 2006). There has been a lot of research on product placements and how consumers connect the world seen on the film to their social words and their consumption (DeLorme et al., 1994; 1999). This area of research is increasingly important as consumers are no longer 2
seen as passive users of media waiting for advertisements but they are seen as active users of media (see Lazarsfeld and Stanton, 1944; Katz, 1959; Louro and Cunha, 2001). Consumers are passive or active users of media depending on their, current and new needs (McCarty and Shrum, 1993), values (McCarty and Shrum, 1993), and usefulness of media (Canary and Spitzberg, 1993) among others. The advertising media or channel has influenced conceptual definitions provided by scholars, for example in the 1920s advertising was comprehended according to Starch (1923 p. 5) as “advertising is selling in print”. Print refers to the most popular media of that time. Currently, the authors include forms of the Internet and mobile internet based advertising to under the umbrella of advertising (see e.g. Journal of Advertising). These already well established advertising mediums are web based advertising (e.g. web sites, search engines), e-mails (subscribed or spam), banner ads, advertorials, chat room advertising, pop ups and pop-under ads (see e.g. Ducoffe, 1996; Parsons et al., 2000; Dahlén et al., 2003). Authors suggest that we need concepts other than product placement to demystify and introduce mobile in-game advertising into the marketing discipline. However, it is noted that ideas and concepts presented in product placement are applicable to understand and describe in-game advertising and should be used to enhance the brand management (see Panigyrakis and Veloutsou, 2000; Louro and Cunha, 2001). There has been an emerging discussion of entertainment marketing (Hackley and Tiwsakul, 2006) and mobile entertainment (Shchiglik et al., 2004). On one hand, the emerging discussion of entertainment marketing (Hackley and Tiwsakul, 2006) focuses on “brand references within mainstream marketing” which could include almost any conceivable advertising method. Entertainment marketing seems to encompass everything from movies sponsored by a wine company, to NFL games occurring in particular branded stadium. Therefore, defining mobile in-game advertising games as forms of entertainment marketing would not clarify the concept but rather blur it even more; as entertainment marketing is too broad and misleading. Entertainment marketing could be assumed to involve marketing of any entertainment (e.g.) promoting a movie. On the other hand, mobile entertainment includes mobile television (see Södergård, 2003), mobile (music) videos, sound, animations, mobile games, adult content and of course more traditional ring tones, wallpapers and mobile jewels. Mobile games are clearly a form of mobile entertainment, and as the authors narrows down our focus from mobile games to mobile in-game advertising games, the difference appears. Meaning that, mobile in-game advertising games are created as advertisements while mobile games are created for entertainment purposes. The entertainment marketing and especially mobile entertainment are the buzz words of contemporary managers and consultants. Thus, the authors need to adjust the current branded entertainment concept to develop a proper home for mobile in-game advertising games; one that places them in their rightful spot in the realm of marketing as a tool that enables “the connected customer” era promoted by Marketing Science Institute (MSI, 2006). Following Hudson and Hudson (2006) product placement - branded entertainment continuum, the authors suggest that mobile advertising games are neither pure advertisements, nor pure entertainment services. As such, mobile advertising games could be seen as a form of branded entertainment (see Figure 1).
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Figure 1. Context for understanding mobile in-game advertising
Advertising
Entertainment
Traditional product placement
Branded (mobile) entertainment
Mobile entertainment
Mobile in-game advertising
Hudson and Hudson (2006) provide the following definition for branded entertainment, “the integration of advertising into entertainment content, whereby brands are embedded into storylines of a film, television program, or other entertainment medium.” Within this definition, mobile in-game advertising games are conceptualised as “other entertainment medium”. Furthermore, all mobile entertainment services, including the previously mentioned television, video clips, ring tones and wallpapers, could be included under the classification of branded mobile entertainment, if they are branded. Otherwise, they are pure entertainment goods and belong to mobile entertainment. In addition, from branded entertainment perspective mobile in-game advertising can be seen to belong to a relational or adaptive brand management paradigm presented in Louro and Cunha (2001) as brand identity is augmented with games and consumers may be seen as active community of game developers. Management of brand placements in mobile games can thus use traditional advertising theories and specific applications of both product placement theories and brand management ideas (Panigyrakis and Veloutsou, 2000; Louro and Cunha, 2001; Hudson and Hudson, 2006) to further improve the effectiveness of brands placed in mobile games. Conclusions, research and managerial implications The paper illustrated with a literature review the absence of research on mobile in-game advertising games but noted that there is some research in both mobile games (Salo and Karjaluoto, 2007) and in the advertising field that has focused on in-game advertising in computer and video games (Yang et al., 2006). The study established a connection between mobile in-game advertising and advertising in the branded entertainment sub-section. Based on the analysis and synthesis conducted so far, following topics are suggested as future research avenues for the academic community. First, what are consumer attitudes toward mobile in-game advertising and more precisely, how do consumers perceive, accept, and react to them? (Kavassalis et al., 2003). What kind of cultural differences there are in relation to previous question? Second, similar to product placements in movies, are there types of brands that are better related to mobile in-game advertising and how can this novel forum increase brand equity most effectively? (see Hudson and Hudson, 2006) Third, what types of mobile 4
in-game advertising games are perceived as fun and useful by the customers, and in which situation? Are they single- or multi-player games? Are they sponsored or full advertising games? Fourth, what other supporting promotional activities are needed in combination with mobile in-game advertising? Fifth, how are regulations (e.g.) legal changes influencing mobile in-game advertising games? More specifically, what is ethically accepted to be advertised and in which form? Finally, research is needed to show what type of brand placements are welcomed in mobile games such as, advertisements before or after download or adds integrated in games or full mobile advertising games. Researchers and managers with various research traditions can approach these questions with qualitative methods to broaden and deepen our understanding. They can also use surveys to generalise the observations to a larger group of customers. Armed with findings from these future research areas we can together attempt to understand how mobile in-game advertising should be organised to be more effective. For managers, an elementary framework that can be used to facilitate decision making regarding investing in mobile game advertising campaigns is provided. First, it seems that a brand can be and should be integrated into the plot of the game (see Nelson, 2002). For example, if the advertiser employs mobile advertising games, the brand can be woven tightly to the storyline of the game or more precisely the storyline is created for the brand. Second, initial reviews suggest that mobile in-game advertising games can augment other advertising channels (Salo and Karjaluoto, 2007) and they should be used in conjunction with other advertising channels in the form of hybrid or integrated marketing communications. In addition major benefits of mobile in-game advertising were identified. These are possibility to create a specific storyline that fits advertisers brand, brand exposure can be controlled better than in traditional media, and mobile can be easily integrated with other marketing campaigns and currently legal regulations are less strict in mobile advertising. Until further research is conducted these suggested benefits of mobile in-game advertising and the presented classifications provide only a hint on how to cope with the emerging channel. Limitation of the paper without a doubt the conceptual nature of the paper and empirically based research is needed. Hopefully the research conducted, although conceptual in nature, provides some insights to this emerging field and opens doors for future research. References Armstrong,A. and J. Hagel III, J. (1995). Real profits from virtual communities, The McKinsey Quarterly 3 (3) 127–141. Canary, Daniel. J. and Spitzberg, Brian. H. (1993), “Loneliness and Media Gratifications”, Communication Research, Vol. 20, No. 6, pp. 800-821. Dahlén, M., Rasch, A. Rosengren, S. (2003). Love at First Site? A Study of Website Advertising Effectiveness. Journal of Advertising Research, 2, 25-33. DeLorme, Densie E., Leonard N. Reid, and Mary Zimmer (1994), “Brands in films: Young moviegoers' experiences and interpretations”. Proceedings of the Conference of the American Academy of Advertising, Atlanta, GA.
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