Advertising in mobile games - A summary

This post is kinda like a summary. Of everything I’ve talked about advertising on mobile games so far. A couple of my friends asked me to explain mobile games, the concept of advertising in mobile games, how they do it, why they do it, and of course some official facts and figures to back up my claims. Though I’ve talked about mobile games and advertising in mobile games quite often in this blog, I thought it would be nice to summarize it in just one post to make it easier for my readers. So, here it goes.

If you were to rate some of the most favorite pastimes of mobile users, mobile video games would certainly be one of them. From kids to teenagers to adults, everyone likes to spend a little time on mobile games every now and then. And downloading a game to your mobile phone has become ever so easy thanks to mobile advertisers. You have ad funded mobile video games that are free to download and they are very popular among people now. In fact, media analyst Screen Digest predicts that by 2012, over 60 million mobile games will be downloaded per year. That’s a monstrous number which just goes to show the popularity of mobile video games.

There are two ways in which advertisers place their ads in mobile video games. First, ads are placed before and after a game. This is by far the most common form of advertising in mobile video games. You download a game and when you’re about to start playing it, you’ll be shown some ad spots. Then when you finish playing the game, you’ll be shown some more ad spots. This method works well with users as they are not disturbed during the course of the game. Also, advertisers tend to gain from this as there is no way these ads can go unnoticed.

Second method is called product placement. Now, this method is even more refined and the ads are blended seamlessly into the gaming environment. In this method, you’ll not find ads popping up before or after the game. Instead, you’ll find them placed within your game. The soccer players might be wearing Nike jerseys, the boxers might be wearing Adidas shoes, and the signboards might have Microsoft logos. This way, the brands are shown to us in a subtle way and it doesn’t distract our attention on the game at all. So, this method is also pretty popular with advertisers these days.

The mobile advertising industry is growing fast and ad funded mobile games have never been so popular. There are plenty of companies that offer free mobile games for download which are completely ad funded. Going by the popularity of these games, the prediction made by Screen Digest very much looks like a possibility in the next few years.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Mobile Games.

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Nokia and France Telecom join hands to offer mobile internet services

The latest joint venture in the world of mobile phones is the one between Nokia and France Telecom. Both companies have stated that the reason behind this JV is to provide mobile based internet services to mobile users in nine European countries.

Both Nokia and France Telecom have mutually agreed to contribute equally toward this JV. According to the agreement, Orange, the mobile phone division of France Telecom, will provide its mobile music store to users. Nokia, on the other hand, will offer location based advertising and search services to Orange’s customers through its digital mapping service. This apart, both Orange and Nokia have agreed to offer mobile video games to users.

Orange’s customers can use these services as often as they want and the charges for Nokia’s services will also be added to their mobile bill, thereby eliminating the need for a separate credit card transaction.

Most people overlook Nokia when they talk about companies that will make big bucks through mobile advertising. But I think Nokia is a serious contender in the race. It started off by acquiring Enpocket, then developed its own mobile internet platform Ovi, and has now joined hands with France Telecom. I already predicted a Nokia vs. Google fight in the mobile advertising industry and going by the actions of Nokia, I think I was right in predicting that. What do you say?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Nokia, Mobile Web.

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Download free mobile games from freemobilegames.mobi

Just a couple of days back we saw a report from Screen Digest which said that mobile video games will become hugely popular in a few years from now and over 60 million games will be downloaded every year. Now, we have another company which lets you do exactly the same – download video games to your mobile phone free of cost.

Freemobilegames.mobi is a site which allows you to download ad funded mobile games for free. It’s basically a simple procedure. You go to the site, select the kind of handset that you have, look at the categories of games for that particular handset, select one, and download it to your mobile phone.

Now, though these games are supported by advertisements, you’ll have to pay a small charge to download and play the game, if you don’t have unlimited data plan. If you have unlimited data plan, then the games are absolutely free for you. The advertisements will be shown before the start of the game and after the finish of the game.

I think the site’s future depends on the value they provide for users. If the games are varied and interesting enough for uses, the site can expect quite a handful of downloads regularly. That aside, I think the domain name is one heck of a name. I’ve already blogged about dot mobi domains becoming very popular and ‘costly’ and this domain name is simply the best you can get for a site that offers free mobile video games. Don’t you agree?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Mobile Games.

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DIDMO wins Frost & Sullivan Mobility Award

DIDMO, a Scandinavian mobile advertising company, was presented with the ‘Entrepreneurial Company of the Year’ award for its achievements in mobile advertising by Frost & Sullivan Mobility Committee.

The Frost & Sullivan Mobility Awards recognize the best in the mobile and wireless industry and award them every year. This year’s winner, DIDMO, is very popular with mobile users all over the world. It offers free, ad-supported, full version mobile video games to users for a period of 24 hours. After this period, customers may decide to purchase the game or not. The ads are very engaging and are shown only for about four seconds. This has gained significant popularity among mobile users, which is evident from the fact that the average click through rate of these ads is around 5-10%. Just to put this in perspective, I’ve got to tell you that the click through rate of ordinary ads is around 1-2%.

In my opinion, recognitions like this will help a company sustain its position in the industry and make the industry more competitive, thereby bringing the best out of every company in the industry.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Mobile Games.

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