Table of Contents

Interactive Marketing        

Definition of Interactive Media        

Background        

Modern Concepts in Interactive Marketing        

Advergaming        

Mobile Advergaming        

Interviews with Top Interactive Marketing Agencies        


Interactive Marketing

Definition of Interactive Media

Interactive media refers to media of communication that allow for active participation by the recipient, hence interactivity. Traditional information theory would describe interactive media as those media that establish two-way communication. In media theory, interactive media are discussed along their cultural implications. The field of Human Computer Interaction deals with aspects of interactivity and design of in digital media. Other areas that deal with interactive media are new media art, interactive advertising and video game production.

While some traditional (non-digital) mass media would qualify for interactive media the term is usually only applied to digital media. Typical examples would include web based forums, games, telephony, emailing and messaging.

Background

The origins of interactive marketing could be traced to the first times when the consumer was expected to participate in any kind of interaction with the brand or company, besides the sales process and a two way channel of communication was created. Variants of early models in  interactive marketing would include mail order coupons that were to be sent back by interested consumers seeking more information. Then there was Teleshopping, where a customer would place order after having seen ‘infomercials’ on the Television. The Customer Loyalty Programs or Frequent Flier programs could also be seen as slightly evolved versions of interactive marketing as a consumer would track his loyalty score and seek redemptions from the brand accordingly.

With Internet and mobile phone usage gaining ground, companies are experimenting with different models to enhance brand recall.  The significant increase in possibilities for interactivity (especially over vast distances) brought by the internet has boosted the availability of digital interactive media. Subsequently, companies are using a variety of innovative ways to interact with the consumer and increase brand exposure.

A college student of today would get news updates on her cellphone, surfs the Net for information and tunes into television during her free time for entertainment. Interactivity occupies an increasing share of the customer mind space and exposure time. This is evident from the brisk growth in mobile phones and Internet connectivity. Following China from a distance, India is catching up fast on the mobile user base with a burgeoning market. Similarly, user base for broadband internet is on fast growth path. The Internet, armed with a personalizing and customizing edge, that once was considered a niche medium for advertising, is now becoming popular.

The country’s Internet user base is estimated at around 40 million now, and estimated to touch 50 million by 2008. As penetration grows, Internet and mobile broadband offer marketing opportunities, say industry officials. About 10 per cent of users are active on social networking in which users find people who shares tastes and activities on the Internet.

About 45 per cent of active Web users have been to online social networking sites, according to a recent study by Nielsen/ NetRatings.

The accessible audience may still be smaller than the traditional media comprising print and television, but online media is capturing an increasing share of the total media outlay for media planners of today. It facilitates an "extended dialogue" with viewers. The number of categories that are bullish about the medium has also gone up in the recent times. Last year financial services companies spent 2.5 per cent of their budget on Net advertising. Some of the sectors such as consumer durables, financial services and even fast moving consumer goods are expected to spend up to four per cent of their budgets on this medium.

Interaction of the consumer with the brand on the internet is said to be a rather strong influencer in terms of turning exposure no other form of communication comes close to turning exposure to promotion into immediate customer action as the Internet, which allows customers to make purchases immediately after experiencing a promotion.

In the ambit of mobile interactivity, currently, there are more than 36.15 million mobile customers who use mobile phones functioning on CDMA technology, which its supporters say has reached level of quality for broadband content that enables cool games that can be used to target young consumers.

A combination of such developments and factors makes it imperative for marketers to pay serious attention to the field of interactive marketing. The Internet, wireless devices, large consumer databases, and other technological advances have made new forms of direct-to-consumer marketing possible. At the same time, companies seek more accountability from their advertising. Consequently, allocation of resources to interactive marketing is growing rapidly. Demand for interactive marketing is no longer primarily from “direct-marketing” or online marketing companies. Even companies that have relied more on “image” advertising in the past are now including interactive marketing contact points in their mix.

Modern Concepts in Interactive Marketing

This report aims at exploring some of the modern concepts interactive marketing. We shall discuss some standardized models and cite examples of campaigns using the particular model.

Advergaming

Advergaming is the new tool being used to connect consumers with brands and companies through games on the internet or mobile phones. Top of the mind examples would include a rubber model of Hrithik Roshan dancing in response to mouse movement or a Parle Must bites campaign where the objective was to steal a piece of the snack from the pack while the lady wasn’t watching.

Unlike other media such as television where viewers generally multi-task, an estimated 93-94 per cent of Netizens engaged in a gaming session prefer to concentrate on the task at hand while only a small percentage may engage in simultaneous tasks like chatting online. This makes advergaming an effective way to communicate with people.

Advergaming is expected take-off now more than ever as the new version of Flash — a multimedia tool used for creation of new applications on Internet — enables one to include video in advergames, thus making the experience a lot more exciting and enriching.

Currently the business of Internet advergaming is still small in India and is pegged at Rs 1-1.5 crore per annum. But it has potential as worldwide net advergaming is already an Rs 1,000-crore business.

One of the most prominent customers for the concept, the film industry is trying to create advergames around certain specific movie properties that would help create interest in the movie as well as give mileage to the brand associating itself with such a promotion. Advergaming is expected to work very effectively for certain genres of films.

Example: Superfooter

Super Footer was created by an advergaming agency, Jump for the beverage giant Coca-Cola's as their offering for the World Cup Football season 2006. The game duly captured the spirit of the football fever with its simple yet addictive gameplay. In this game, the player's objective was to convert each kick into a goal within a set amount of time, adjusting for parameters such as target, curve and force. To move ahead in the game, a minimum score was required for each level. As the player progressed in the game, the play became tougher and the defence stronger. To further maximize the reach and the spirit of the popular sport, both games were tied up with attractive contests. The top scorers for both Web and Mobile platforms grabbed exciting prizes comprising iPods and world-famous FIFA merchandise.

Mobile Advergaming

The recent years have seen a rapid increase in the use of wireless devices like Mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and Smart phones. This revolution has been crucial in paving way for innovations in related fields like Mobile advergaming, which successfully combines the benefits of advertising and Wireless gaming. The key benefits include:

  1. Brand Establishment: The interactive nature of advergames ensures that the consumer interacts with the brands and therefore the brand-identity, in its truest essence, can be readily established.
  2. Brand Recall: Typical advergaming agencies generally familiarize themselves with the brand before working on the campaign. Hence, the games are not only truly engaging but also are an accurate reflection of the brand and its market image. The result is a higher recall rate since the consumer spends more time with the brand through the game.
  3. Consumer Reach: Mobiles are hugely successful as a lifestyle consumer electronics product in India and have a high market penetration. This facilitates a higher rate of consumer reach for Mobile advergames and consequently, for the brand communication, even in comparatively remote regions, where the cell phone culture is picking up fast. Advergaming agencies even tie-up with major cellular networks to ensure maximum reach.
  4. Market Research: Mobile games have potent market research capabilities. With Mobile advergames, demographic assessments or statistics for particular regions, if required, are also just a click away. This instant assessment feature renders incomparable speed and flexibility to research processes.
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Example: Jurm, a Bollywood Movie

A first-of-its-kind venture, Jurm’s release ushered into the country the concept of using mobile games as promotional tools for films. The game required piecing together a puzzle to uncover the stills of stars of the movie in the least amount of tries to score the highest. This helped register and establish the brand—the movie—throughout the game. The advergame finally culminated in a ‘Meet the Stars’ contest that awarded the winner an evening with the stars of the film.

The game was made available to the subscribers of the Reliance India Mobile network, where it ...

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