iMedia Connection with great one, two punch on game articles

iMediaConnection publishes two great articles today, one on in-game advertising and the other on what they call "alternate reality gaming".

The first is a nice "how to" on in-game advertising, but as I mention in my earlier post, I would classify this as being relevant for packaged retail games. Same moral to this story, make sure you're relevant or suffer the consequences.

Second article is pretty interesting. Alternate reality games are those online mystery adventures that marketers send people on to generate buzz for their products, like ilovebees (Halo) and Art of the heist (Audi). I'm not sure I like the name since it hides the true intent of these initiatives, which is product promotion. May I suggest, "red herring marketing", a marketing technique that diverts from what you're really marketing... until reveal. Don't get me wrong though, I think these things are way cool, for those that participate. The real question is whether or not this gets any traction beyond the hard-core audience. I doubt it.

Article on "In-game advertising"

Article on "Alternate Reality Gaming"