Monthly Matters is a monthly review of marketing news in the world of entertainment. The October 2006 issue largely focuses on the evolution of in-game advertising; however, of note was the 2006 October Mixer of the San Diego Chapter of the International Game Developers Association, obstacles in the development of serious games, and High Moon Studios’ Hallowe’en costumes.

• Closing in on two business degrees, this semester I was required to enroll in Introduction to Business. The textbook describes brands as tangible items, such as names and logos. Since this is an introductory course, I realized that most people probably accept this common refrain. I argue that brands are products of perception. They are cultivated in the human mind. Names and logos are merely elements of the overall identity. Brands consist of far more than what you see.
• On the prowl, in-game advertising migrators are extending their reach into mobile, casual, and sports games as well as gambling.
• Early this month, Double Fusion was contracted to provide services for massively multiplayer online games PowerFootball and ManagerZone. Double Fusion also contracted with Playwize to advertise in the online PC game Pokerwize.
• Greystripe received US$1.2 million Series A funding for development of the AdWRAP technology used in conjunction with GameJump.com, part of the Greystripe ad network.
• Exent partnered with developer and publisher Alawar to provide services and received worldwide rights to advertise using Alawar’s extensive catalog of casual games.
• Controversy arised in regards to IGA Worldwide’s technology used for popular title Battlefield 2142. Gamers speculated about the possibility of spyware. This resulted in quick reaction from IGA Worldwide CEO Justin Townsend who was interviewed by Gamasutra. Justin outlines the why, what, and how of the data captured to support ad performance analyses.
• October Mixer 2006 — a social gathering of industry professionals organized by the San Diego Chapter of the International Game Developers Association — was an incredible success. Of the 25 people who registered to attend, 92% were in attendance at Pizza Port in Carlsbad, nearly double the attendees we received in August. Noel Llopis and I spoke at length about his experiences as an author and the effort necessary to write a book. Becoming an author has long been an aspiration of mine.
• Serious games are growing in popularity with more support from various industries. A recent article published by Gamasutra, Inside the Army Game, details the extent of the United States Department of Defense’s involvement in this sector. Being a strong supporter of serious games, I’m always on the lookout for people who want to talk about serious games as part of a lecture or panel organized by the San Diego Chapter of the International Game Developers Association.
• Since today’s Hallowe’en, I might as well mention that High Moon Studios announced in mid-October the design and manufacturing of high-quality costumes based on the vampire-western video game, Darkwatch. That’s one way to infiltrate the public consciousness. I’m curious about the possibility of a movie deal now.

Monthly Matters is a monthly review of marketing news in the world of entertainment. The November 2006 issue is largely focused on the evolution of in-game advertising.

• Exent Technologies ranked 12th on the 2006 Deloitte Israel Fast 50 ladder as one of Israel’s fastest growing companies. With the European Union recently selecting Exent for the Sixth Framework Program Games@Large initiative, and Portugal Telecom announcing a partnership to launch free-ad supported games with the Sapo.pt Games-on-Demand portal, this powerhouse company shows no signs of weakening.
• Phoenix Marketing International published a study that suggests Coke, Pepsi, Nike, and Adidas are the top advertisers that adult gamers most actively recall from their state of play. Managing the frequency and saliency of advertising are important and difficult tasks, particularly in the entertainment environment. Stepping over the line of memory recall and invading the immersion of players could yield disastrous results. Advertisers, tread lightly. Or not. It’s your money.
• Microsoft has in the meantime opened a somewhat new avenue for reaching consumers. The Xbox Live service now provides Xbox 360 console owners access to television shows and movies. It’s only a matter of time until the rebirth of television advertising, and that’s where the real money will be made. Advertising has traditionally suffered from being a one-way mouthpiece. Through digital content delivery services, advertising has a window of an opportunity to make a comeback as interactive, entertaining, and perhaps even fun media.
• Speaking of interactive advertising, Atrativa Latin America contracted with Eyeblaster to leverage an in-game advertising platform for casual games. Atrativa is the leading casual games distributor in Latin America with partners such as NET, the largest cable television and telecom company in Brazil, and Yahoo! Brasil. Atrativa is offering streaming video ad inventory on twelve best-selling games including Super Collapse 3, Mah Jong Medley, and Sudoku by GameHouse. More Eyeblaster-enabled games are expected to be distributed by Atrativa.
• Intriguing statistics flood into the sea of green every month from market researchers, but the Keller Fay Group published a report that is extremely relevant to the business of branding. According to Keller Fay, 15% of consumers account for one-third of word of mouth exchanged in the United States. These brand champions are involved in 1.5 times more word-of-mouth conversations than average consumers. Women are more likely to engage in word of mouth than men — that’s a no-brainer according to a recent study lending credibility to the notion that women engage in more conversations than men. Women are also more likely to act on word of mouth. But don’t get too excited. It’s still a coin toss.
• The Keller Fay report also identifies baby boomers as relevant to word-of-mouth campaigns; influential people as power listeners and power talkers; and the Internet as a resource for brand champions rather than as a primary channel for communication. Entertainment and media are the popular areas of concern; however, these industries are closely followed by the beverage, public affairs, food and dining, retail, travel, and automotive industries.
• David Edery, fellow blogger and the new Worldwide Games Portfolio Manager for Xbox Live at Microsoft, recently published an article in Harvard Business Review titled Reverse Product Placement in Virtual Worlds. David has talked about this subject before, but he can’t reprint this particular article. You can download the article for a couple bucks from Harvard Business Online, but if you’re a student you can probably get a free copy from your college library.

Early this morning, I attended the annual Fleet Week Breakfast sponsored by General Atomics. The breakfast was hosted at the Admiral Kidd Club on the Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center overlooking San Diego Harbor.

During the mixing period prior to the speech, I was introduced to Captain Mike Allen, Chief of Staff for Navy Region Southwest, who sat across the table from me. I also discussed entrepreneurship and other business topics with Jim of DRS Technologies, whose MBA is in Organizational Development.

Opening the program was Lisa Richards, who twenty-plus years ago established Hospitality, which operates Picnic People of Southern California. As the 2006 Chairwoman of Fleet Week San Diego and President on the Board of Directors, Lisa introduced the speaker — The Honorable B. J. Penn, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Installations and Environment. Penn paid tribute to and thanked military men and women for serving in defense of the nation and as volunteers for community improvement.

In retrospect, the event was solid with an attendance of around 250 people. Being an entertainer and a marketer , I’m more attracted to events that have a little more pep, but excitement is not why people attend these socials.