Advertising companies know their target audiences and will do just about anything to get the word out about their products.  Since online gaming has become such a booming business, with many eager gamers spending countless hours online fighting battles and getting the bad guy, advertising agencies have wisely realized this is a viable option to permeate information regarding products.

Take, for example, the brilliant strategy implemented by Pizza Hut.  They teamed up with the makers of the game Everquest II to enable gamers to order pizza to be delivered while still online playing the game.  Players would simply type in a code at the game prompt which would take them immediately to Pizza Hut’s online ordering system without interrupting their game play.  Hence a gamer could slay a dragon one minute, then turn around and order a pepperoni pizza the next. Without missing a beat they could be back to the game, feverishly racking up their score while the good folks at Pizza Hut worked on their order.  This would be a video game player’s dream fulfilled if only they didn’t need to get up from their game to answer the door when the delivery driver arrived.

The Pizza Hut feature in the game hit a nerve with some people.  Some blasted it as a ridiculous feature to add to a video game, while others speculated that this sort of feature would open the door to all sorts of other offerings to gamers, thereby making it even easier for players to never leave their homes.  The important fact surrounding this instance, however, is that the addition of the Pizza Hut prompt in the Everquest II game really got people talking.  So even if there weren’t that many pizzas ordered using the new method, the names of Pizza Hut and Everquest II were plastered all over blogs and other websites as people weighed in with their opinions.  In the advertising world exposure such as this is priceless.

Another method of advertising utilized by online game manufacturers is to add previews to games for upcoming offerings.  This means that when a gamer logs on for the first time to play their newly purchased game they will likely be offered a free preview of a soon-to-be released game.  Sometimes the previews also offer short trial plays, thereby allowing the gamer just enough time of playing the game to get interested before the trial play ends.  After all, who better to market new games to than the players who are already in the habit of purchasing games?

So why is online gaming such a hot advertising medium? The answer lies in the statistics surrounding online game play.  Gamers will often spend hours on end playing games online, and this makes for a great captive audience for advertisers.  As more people turn to online games for entertainment, as opposed to television or other entertainment means, advertisers are realizing that they need to grab consumers’ attention however they can.  If people aren’t going to watch television, which allows them to be inundated with advertising via commercials, then advertisers will need to reach them in whatever way they can. 

Advertisers need to be wary, though, of too much advertising when it comes to online games.  Many gamers take their games quite seriously, spending countless hours building up their characters and reaching desired levels in the game.  Tacky advertising attached to certain games may cause a backlash.  For example, if an advertising banner periodically scrolled across an online role playing game like World of Warcraft or Neverwinter Nights the resulting response from serious players would likely be that of rage.  Not only would the product advertised not be looked at in a positive light by the gamers, but the game manufacturer would likely receive endless complaints and would undoubtedly lose revenue in lost sales as word spread of the advertising.

It’s a fine line between clever advertising and downright annoying advertising when it comes to online games.  The innovative Pizza Hut instance will likely set the stage for many other clever advertising campaigns.  Advertisers must take heed, however, and not overstep their welcome into the online gaming world.  An ill-planned advertising campaign could be a recipe for disaster.