Advertising game
Sponsored games are games that are used in an entertaining form of advertising, one speaks in this context of advertainment or Infotainment. Recently is that this mostly computer games also as ad-games − ad is known for advertising (or advertising) −. Many commercial games are to enhance the attractiveness and with them to collect data coupled with sweepstakes.
The best-known advertising game is likely to be the Moorhuhn game. Many well-known companies use advertising games as advertising material, customer loyalty as well as attracting new customers. Also non-commercial companies and institutions use sponsored games to spread their messages. So, there are also sponsored games, promoted by educational institutions, when they advertise for example for the use of condoms.
Customers deal - differently than in most other advertising forms - here voluntarily and actively with the advertising message and consult with "Infotainment" entertaining. As a result, this advertising in other ways appear as for example television advertising (TV spots) or unaddressed (mailings), which passively perceived and felt so often as annoying. The Bochum applied communication Research Institute came to this conclusion: "While almost 90% of all test persons assess TV spots as disruptive, is advertising in advertising games on more than the half of sympathy."
In addition to the communication of brand and advertisement companies goal of obtaining address of existing and potential customers with ad-games mostly. As consumers of advertising games must register frequently, use the full range of functions of the games or participate in related competitions. The data are used typically for further marketing measures.
Sponsored games for personal computers can be roughly into two groups to divide, online games and traditional computer games, there are but examples of hybrids.
Online games offered on the World Wide Web and to draw the attention of players for an extended period on the advertising message and encourage, where appropriate, a frequent visit to the website. Mostly are such games in Adobe Flash, Macromedia Director (Shockwave) or Java (rare with more powerful authoring systems such as Virtools or wild tangent) written and can thus platform independent.
Offline games are offered for downloading (download) or on CD. This ad-games serve mostly the image, marketing or to detail introduce a product or service and increase awareness. Including "political 1" the FPÖ, which was distributed on the occasion of the Austrian National Council election 1999 on a so called shape CD, as well as "America's Army", which was established by the U. S. Army to look after recruits are examples of this form of advertising the game. Games that promote a sports organisation, such as the NFL and FIFA, also fall into this second group.