Step 1: Analyzing Attributes of Prospective Partners

Millions of people around the world play video games on a daily basis. As a result, video games present an amazing marketing opportunity. But how do you identify which game is appropriate for your brand? There is endless variety in the scope and presentation of video games—from vanquishing zombie hoards on your PC, to buying and selling real life locations on your mobile phone, to throwing a game-winning touchdown on your console. When it comes to branding and product placement, it’s important to find the right game to reach your target audience and maximize the value of your investment.

This three-part article series will discuss some of the issues that brand owners and video game publishers face when pursuing marketing and promotional opportunities within games. This first article focuses on game attributes—determining what types of games are best suited for your brand. Future articles will consider user interactions with brands—analyzing how a user's relationship with the brand may affect game play and the brand's marketing success, and the effects of user-generated content on branding within video games. Combined, these articles will show you how to handle the issues you face when harnessing the enormous marketing potential of video games to promote your brand.