Online Gaming Increases Brand Awareness

Online Gaming, the topic of PR Week’s May 12, 2008 Inside Information section was entirely foreign to me. The article eludes that PR professionals are using online gaming to achieve their dreams of “captivating consumers with brand messages for hours.”

According to Joe Kessler, partner at SS&K, “success is derived from consumer insight, between the nature of the game and the brand supporting it. It’s never a good idea to do a game just to do one.” The article also states that “online games can increase traffic to company Web sites, and draw attention to other content.”

One example of online gaming that struck me as useful was MSNBC.com’s NewsBreaker Challenge. The challenge was launched April 14 and ended May 9, 2008. MSNBC.com incorporated a “falling brick” game with featured headlines reporting on varying news from “Britney Spears to the 2008 Presidential election.” The individual players with the highest scores were eligible to win an Xbox 360. Furthermore, at the end of the contest, the media agency with the top average score won a one-day MSNBC.com homepage takeover for a national charity of its choice.

Games are typically separated from work, and therefore this approach to PR is refreshing. For more on companies that are using online games or to read “Online Gaming Increases Pitch Time, Brand Awareness” by Nicole Zerillo, click here.