So what's the best game for your brand to play?
A big plus on the advergaming side is time. Casual game producers like New York-based Arkadium can "reskin" a game and place it on a brand's site within a week, says Jessica Rovello, the company's chairman. Arkadium, which developed content for Hearst, National Geographic and Mattel, among others, has a portfolio of games that can be matched to a product or a target audience. For Mattel for example, the company designed a complex, 30-games-in-one virtual world for the toy company's U.B. Funkeys collector toys.
For client Suave, Arkadium used a Match 3 game that showed the product. "For a site that targets women you can't go wrong with a mahjongg game or a spider solitaire game," says Rovello.
Indeed, while graphically complex console games like the Xbox 360's "Need for Speed" appeal to dedicated, mostly male gamers, easy-to-learn casual games are the growing purview of women, report game developers. "(The games) are a great stress reliever," explains Rovello.
Nevertheless, in-game ad networks like Massive say the popularity of their console game titles insures greater gamer involvement. Male gamers spend 12 to 20 hours per week on average playing their favorite games, says Alison Lange Engel, Massive's global marketing director. Console game developers are also rapidly moving into family-oriented, social gaming like Activision's "Guitar Hero," which reportedly appeals to a wider demographic. "Our business has really grown around the content," says Lange Engel.
Getting in the game
The potential in video game advertising continues to grow as developers seek more fans with free, downloadable, ad-supported games. Internet-connected games for the PC mean dynamic advertising -- or ads that can be constantly updated while the game is being played -- will become cheaper and easier. Matching different versions of an ad to different geographic areas, more narrowly targeting ads to different user demographics, and interactive ads are increasingly the rule in video game advertising.
"I think the growth is in scalability," says Double Fusion's Shumaker. "The innovation in our business is the business model that can hone in with even greater detail on the ad format."
Advertising in mobile games is also growing up fast. Ad-supported downloadable mobile games are becoming more sophisticated as handsets advance. eBay, for example, was featured in a soccer game developed by Israel-based innerActive Smart Media, which works with telecom operators and online sites to distribute its games. "Games are becoming more complex while (phone) screens are getting bigger, the memory better and games work faster," says Ziv Elul, co-CEO of innerActive.