In-game ads give retailers a new way to engage a broad audience

Although retailers may dismiss game marketing as irrelevant, games can be a fresh way to approach and engage a wide range of customers, according to a new study from Jupiter Research Inc. Games are no longer the province of primarily young, male consumers, Jupiter found. Nearly one in four online consumers—split evenly between men and women—play advergames and 80% have entered online sweepstakes. An average of 46% of online consumers between the ages of 30 and 59 play online games while half of consumers ages 65 and over play online games and 71% enter online sweepstakes.

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In addition, nearly one-third of video game players say they notice ads in games. Consumers also view in-game ads more favorably than online ads, according to Jupiter. Only 35% of online households say they’re annoyed by branded messages in video games compared with 85% that dislike pop-up ads.

“Consumers aged 13 to 34 are a particular sweet spot for prospective game marketers,” said Shar VanBoskirk, the Forrester analyst who authored the report. “These consumers represent a critical mass of purchasing power that notices, and doesn’t mind, in-game ads.”

Jupiter also found that two-thirds of consumers who play online video games on their own say they play more than once a week. Similarly, 50% of multi-player video gamers and 42 % of advergamers do as well. Because of the concentration required in game playing, recall rates ranged between 30% and 40%, compared with less than 10% for TV ads.