So I headed along to the IAB conference last Wednesday, that was there to promote the newly formed Game Steering group. This is where the big boys of in-game advertising (Massive, EA, IGA etc) have come together with the common goal of boosting interest in the medium.
It’s no secret that in-game has performed well below initial expectations, although that’s more because previous projections have been crazy high rather than there being very little acceptance of it. However, from speaking to several people there, it seems a common feeling was that one of the main things holding back greater spends is unfamiliarity from the client. In my mind, part of this stems from where the budgets come from. This is digital, and should be handled by digital departments, but the format can be better likened to outdoor in many respects. Put this on many digital plans and clients will ask how it’s tracked and what the expected ROI will be. This is yet another scenario where online’s great trackability, which is without doubt one of its greatest assets, is one of its greatest weaknesses, because it’s still not seen by all as a pure branding environment.
A similar situation could be seen with online video. “It’s online, but it’s like TV?” would have been the question during discussions about budgets for 4OD, SeeSaw and YouTube. However, we didn’t see a great deal of confusion or a massive delay in taking this up because:
a) online TV, from a creative and booking POV is something any client that does above-the-line will understand, even at a basic level, and
b) TV guys, with their years of experience and access to big budgets will find it easier to sell in this new concept than digital planners can with in-game
Rob Fahey, a journalist for The Times, spoke and made a interesting observation that at this point, game production houses don’t need advertisers. It’s great as an additional revenue stream, but essentially when they can charge £35-50 a game, there isn’t as much motivation as to get involved. His view was that in order for in-game to really work, both developers and planners need to work closer to ensure that in-game is taken seriously – a poignant point considering it was at an event promoting an organisation tasked to do just that, although that shouldn’t remove anything from the statement.
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