Disney plans to mix
ads, video games to
target kids, teens
By Michael
McCarthy, USA
TODAY
NEW YORK — To
reach kids and
teens to promote
Disneyland's 50th
anniversary this
year, Walt Disney
Co. will use one
of the hottest —
and most
controversial —
gimmicks in the
media business: "advergaming."
Advergaming is when
companies put ad
messages in
Web-based or video
games. Sometimes the
entire game amounts
to a virtual
commercial for a TV
show or product.
Sometimes
advertisers sponsor
games; sometimes
they buy ad space
integrated into
them.
The online arcades
put up by
advertisers that
include Disney,
Viacom's Nickelodeon
and even the U.S.
Army rival titles
from the $10 billion
video game industry
in entertainment
value and high-tech
expertise.
But ad critics such
as Jeff Chester of
the Center for
Digital Democracy
decry them as
"digital
infomercials" that
blur the lines
between content and
commercials and
often collect data
on consumers playing
the games.
"These are not just
harmless games. It's
part of the
brainwashing of
America," Chester
says.
As part of an
18-month global
campaign that kicks
off on May 5, Disney
will roll out an
interactive,
multiplayer game
called "Virtual
Magic Kingdom." It
aims to provide a
virtual visit to
Disney's five global
resorts and 11 theme
parks to anyone with
an Internet
connection. The
target: "tweens"
ages 8 to 12 and
young teens.
Visitors will be
able to play free
online games based
on real attractions,
such as the Haunted
Mansion and Jungle
Cruise. They'll also
be able to chat,
create their own
avatars, or graphic
icons representing
real-life Web
surfers in
cyberspace, and earn
virtual points that
can be redeemed for
T-shirts and other
goodies at the
actual parks.
The goal: push kids
to urge their
parents to visit a
Disney park during
the anniversary
promotion that also
includes the opening
of Hong Kong
Disneyland on Sept.
12.
"We hope it becomes
a real hangout for
preteens and teens,"
said Jay Rasulo,
president of Walt
Disney Parks &
Resorts, during a
recent news
conference about
anniversary-marketing
plans.
Jeff Logsdon,
managing director at
investment banker
Harris Nesbitt, says
Disney's strategy
"is clearly a clever
way to engage with a
key part of their
target market. Kids
10 years old and
younger have really
grown up with the
Internet."
Forrest Research
predicts advergaming
will grow into a $1
billion business
this year. As
marketers try to
target kids and
elusive Gen Y
consumers, Madison
Avenue is waking up
to the fact that
Webwise younger
consumers like video
games — and disdain
pop-ups, banner ads
and other
less-subtle forms of
online advertising.
And rather than get
a kid's attention
for just 30 seconds
with a TV
commercial,
advergames can
capture them for
minutes or hours.
"If a kid likes a
game, they'll play
it 15 times," says
Tim Spengler,
executive vice
president of media
services company
Initiative.
"Companies are
asking 'What's my
game strategy?' "
But companies
wanting to create
successful
advergames have to
be careful about the
quality of the game
experience, says
Michael Goodman,
senior analyst at
the Yankee Group.
"The key is to
remember that it's a
game first and an ad
second. If it's a
good game, consumers
will recognize
they're being sold.
But they won't
care," he says. |