Trying to Predict the True Upside of Marketing In-Game

Implications: What does this really mean for Microsoft in their quest to stay relevant?
 
There are a lot of predictions that marketing within games has some major upside but is there a precedent for predicting it's scalability.

Do major brand marketers outside a few key verticals really care about in-gaming marketing?

Analysis: Wow could Microsoft use some good news. Their search platform is gaining ground so slowly on Yahoo and especially Google I wonder if those guys are even worried about the Gates crew these days. MSNBC isn't bringing in the digital revenue they hoped and I saw a photo of the Zune on the back of a milk carton

So, the EA deal with MSN and Massive is really good news for Microsoft and here's why. If you buy into the old Jack Welch philosophy that if you're not 1st or 2nd in the space, it's probably not the greatest use of your company's time, then Microsoft has been wasting a lot of their own time. But n,ow, for a good number of marketers that want in-game advertising the list of vendors they would call runs like this:

1. Microsoft
2. Someone else 

I'm sure AOL would have some umbridge with that and maybe Google, Yahoo and plenty of other folks but Microsoft now has a competitive advantage in two really vital areas.

1. For marketers who didn't know they definitively wanted to do in-game marketing 9 months ago and are not hard coded into a game, here's a chance to do something effective in a far smaller window of time. Massive, Microsoft's gaming platform, is better at integration into games marketers care about than anyone else.  AdScape owned by Google is a smaller outfit without the reach at this time.

2. There's only one John Madden football game. Only one Tiger Woods golf game. You can do just fine with the third most popular news site. but no marketer wants to be in the third most popular football game. Brand recognition among the EA games are unparalleled.

So Microsoft, in a digital rarity, is #1 in the category. Instead of building something from scratch they bought or merged with best in breed companies. Great job gang. Have you filled a sizeable niche or is there really a huge upside here?

I'm pretty hesitant about most things. I never ever think mobile will be a big deal. I think most marketers don't have the patience for the long tail of social media. But I think in-game advertising has some long legs and there's a real simple reason why.

Because marketing in the live sports world and especially on the field of play and in the stands has exploded.

Digital ads you see while watching tv change by the 1/2 inning. Ads embedded in the ice of a hockey game are omnipresent. Ads on the top of the hoop when they go to 'dunk-cam' of the NBA. All of these very passive promotions bring in millions. Users can't or will likely do nothing by seeing a Coke ads behind home plate. At least not immediately. That's branding you see.

But it's so much different online. If Massive is going to use their behavior targeting for the guy who's been playing Madden football for the last 2 hours, now it's time for some Domino's and here's a coupon code... well that's active marketing and that's more valuable than passive marketing. There's no reason in-game marketing can't meet or surpass on-field and out of home advertising in stadiums.

Right now it's just the endemic marketers but others may follow suit and it's not in the distant future. Who knows, maybe even my financial client will dip their toe in the water. And when we're set to test, we'll probably begin with Microsoft and call the other guys later.