Advertisers are scrambling to find places where people will still watch their ads. How do you get people to not skip them on TV with their DVR? How do you keep them from ignoring them online? How do you keep them from changing the station on radio? How do you get them to pick up a newspaper?
Some companies are leaning heavily on interesting creative to not only capture viewers the first time, but to get them to share it socially. Another tact is to do pre-roll ads before online video. Or the ad that pops up before the site you're going to finishes loading. All these methods work to some extent. Today I saw a new one.
In-Game advertising for game credit to the rescue. Now, I'm not a real big online or Facebook gamer, but I do play a bit. Today, when I logged on to my Avengers game on Facebook, there was an offer to earn a gold bar within the game if I watched an ad. I figured, why not – I could use the game currency and it wouldn't delay me too much.
The ad said I had to watch the whole video to earn my gold bar. I figured, it was just over a minute long, I could do that. It was helpful that the ad was a high concept, high production value ad for Fiat. It started with a typical beauty shot of the car driving a winding road that had a drop off to the sea on one side. But then the car drove off the road and into the ocean. Other cars drove into the ocean in various areas. It was intriguing. Basically, they were driving to America from Italy. At the end, they drove out of the ocean onto the American shore. You can see the spot below.
I got something I needed for the game I play. And I didn't feel cheated because the ad was a good experience. That is one good way to get someone to watch your ad. What else have you seen that has gotten you to watch an ad? Did you feel good about it or annoyed?
Mike McClure, gaming the system or systemizing the game?
Enjoy reading this great article!