[PROMO Xtra] In a world cluttered with ad messages, video games are becoming a sought after medium for marketers.

Brands can find new potential in the gaming space as new platforms emerge, experts told attendees at Ad:Tech New York during a session on gaming. Video games are going beyond standard product placement shots, for example, letting players fully experience a vehicles’ power and performance by virtually driving the car or drinking brand-name beverages for power-ups.

“The gaming ecosystem is huge,” Brandon Berger, partner and senior strategist for digital innovation at OgilvyInteractive, said. “It’s a great opportunity for marketers.”

Specifically, in-game advertising opportunities vary and include everything from banner ads, sponsored content, advergames (a game developed around a specific product), to sponsorships, brand integration and downloadable content, Berger said.

Marketers are tapping video games because it is a powerful medium, panelist Mitch Davis, CEO, Massive, Inc., a New York-based video game advertising network, said. Gamers have a following. There are more than 112 million gamers 13 and older, 70% of which are 18 to 34 years old and who play games an average of 15 to 20 hours a week, Davis said. Video games also offer “compelling” content and interactivity, he said.

Yet to reach the gaming audience, marketers must be choosey when pairing their products with video games, Berger said. Younger audiences typically favor console-based games, predominantly male, whereas a larger number of older women play casual games. Newer platforms, like the Nintendo Wii, which hits stores Nov. 19, however, will target a family crowd.

Beyond the demographic reach, marketers are hard pressed to keep their sponsored content in line with the game play experience. Ad integration is at its best when it’s part of the game play experience, such as a billboard ad in a sports game, Davis said.

“You have to be careful,” Davis added. “As long as [the integration] is done intellectually, it is well accepted.”

In a world cluttered with ad messages, video games are becoming a sought after medium for marketers.

Brands can find new potential in the gaming space as new platforms emerge, experts told attendees yesterday at Ad:Tech New York during a session on gaming. Video games are going beyond standard product placement shots, for example, letting players fully experience a vehicles’ power and performance by virtually driving the car or drinking brand-name beverages for power-ups.

“The gaming ecosystem is huge,” Brandon Berger, partner and senior strategist for digital innovation at OgilvyInteractive, said. “It’s a great opportunity for marketers.”

Specifically, in-game advertising opportunities vary and include everything from banner ads, sponsored content, advergames (a game developed around a specific product), to sponsorships, brand integration and downloadable content, Berger said.

Marketers are tapping video games because it is a powerful medium, panelist Mitch Davis, CEO, Massive, Inc., a New York-based video game advertising network, said. Gamers have a following. There are more than 112 million gamers 13 and older, 70% of which are 18 to 34 years old and who play games an average of 15 to 20 hours a week, Davis said. Video games also offer “compelling” content and interactivity, he said.

Yet to reach the gaming audience, marketers must be choosey when pairing their products with video games, Berger said. Younger audiences typically favor console-based games, predominantly male, whereas a larger number of older women play casual games. Newer platforms, like the Nintendo Wii, which hits stores Nov. 19, however, will target a family crowd.

Beyond the demographic reach, marketers are hard pressed to keep their sponsored content in line with the game play experience. Ad integration is at its best when it’s part of the game play experience, such as a billboard ad in a sports game, Davis said.

“You have to be careful,” Davis added. “As long as [the integration] is done intellectually, it is well accepted.”

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