By: Ilya Vedrashko
"Behavioural research consultancy, Bunnyfoot, has conducted an independent study that reveals a lack of engagement between video game players and in-game advertising in sports titles. Overall, SFI [Sponsor Fixation Index] scores were comparatively low, especially when contrasted with the prevalence of brand placements.
These results demonstrate a significantly poor level of engagement with consumers and exposed an apparent weakness within games to efficiently capture consumer attention. Despite following the model of real world sports advertising, current methods are not optimising consumer engagement and are failing to influence the consumer in any significant way, the key driver for any marketing campaign and its validation."
-- press release
Funny how in an earlier article, they wrote: "The key benefit to a gaming environment is the ability to capture consumer attention."
(caption: Gamers stare at Lara Croft's butt, not ads.)
Original post: http://adverlab.blogspot.com/2007/01/study-in-game-ads-fail-to-engage.html
What does one expect. Game designers are continuously trying to get more realistic pushed by gamers who want to have as much realism as they can get their hands on. Like advertising in the real world gamers expect and need in-game advertising to make it real. But unlike the real world gamers never 'watch' advertising. In between the multitude of inputs the gamer has to deal with ads are the least important. It's information not relevant to winning or enjoying the game.
So yes, gaming environment does capture consumer attention'. But the last thing consumers will capture are the ads. As soon as they would it's 'Game Over'.
Any new methods which will have a bigger impact might only have as result that they will irritate the gamer.
Lennert