Viral Advergaming - A New, Yet Old Piece of the SEO Puzzle
I remember the first day I interviewed with Intrapromote co-founders Doug Ausbury and John Lustina for a sales director position like it was yesterday. I was all dressed up with a tie while Doug and John were wearing the standard .com apparel of semi-casual attire while sporting the obligatory goatees.
We started off the meeting by discussing a little about myself and my experience with SEO. Shortly thereafter, John and Doug were talking up Intrapromote on how unique their company was and what a great work environment it was to work and grow personally and professionally.
Having already had several years of SEO experience with an Ad Agency under my belt, it made the interview quite smooth and effective for all parties. That is, until we started talking about a VERY unique marketing medium known as Viral Advergames. Viral what?? I knew nothing about the whole Advergame thing prior to my introduction to Intrapromote, but fortunately I did some homework before the interview so I could speak somewhat intelligently about the subject.
So, what exactly is a Viral Advergame & what makes if different from a traditional video game you ask? An Advergame is custom branded or in some cases “sponsored� video game promoting a particular company brand, product or service where a traditional video game doesn’t promote anything (except bad behavior in some cases.) The “viral� part of the game has to deal with being a video game that allows for peers to play the game online and pass along to family or friends to play as well via email, word-of-mouth, etc.
Due to the incredible demand of SEO, Intrapromote hasn't developed an Advergame in quite some time. However, the games we developed and promoted online in the past, we had a perfect batting average worthy of induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. I have a feeling we'll be getting back into the "game" here in the near future as this medium continues to gain traction...once again.
There's a lot more to discuss on Advergames in terms of creation, promotion, SEO benefits, etc., but its Friday and this boy needs to get crackin' at his desk. Check back often for more posts about this old, yet new piece known as Advergames.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I'll be starting my fifth year with the company this coming October and looking forward to many more years to come.
Happy Friday, y'all!!!