Kiss your colleagues and not get caught? All that matters is the confidence that comes with the fresh breath, as toothpaste brand Close-Up's advergame Fire Freeze will have you believe. In other games, FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) firms have launched of late, Reckitt Benckiser takes you on a free-running adventure around the world, online.

Urban Thrill is a major component of RB's corporate brand campaign. Just over two weeks into the launch, it has had over one lakh visits. Reckitt's 19 Powerbrands, including Dettol and Harpic feature in it. The grand prize is a trip for two and a spending money of £2,000 to one of the nine cities where the game is set. “We are always looking for ways to make ourselves better known among the next generation of people,” says Mr Chander Mohan Sethi, CMD.

Close-Up's game is available on two DTH services — Reliance Digital TV and Dish T; the first time a game is available on two services. Says Mr Srinandan Sundaram, Category Head (Oral Care & Deodorants), Hindustan Unilever: “Gaming, combined with the wide reach of DTH TV is the ideal route to involve youth. With this game, we bring interactivity to otherwise passive advertising on TV.” HUL has online games for its deodorant Axe too.

Mr Manish Agarwal, COO of gaming portal Zapak, which has developed Fire Freeze, says the FMCG industry had been hesitant to invest much in advergaming as it hadn't been convinced about the reach. Zapak, working on over 300 brands, has cumulatively engaged over six million users, he adds.

Everybody is a target

Mr Rajit Ojha, Vice-President (Virtual Worlds and Advergaming), Customer Centria, a customer engagement company working on Godrej group's Powerplay which ties cricket and sale of its products online, says marketers are no longer looking at “typical gamer stereotypes”. “Now, everybody's a target, everybody's playing games.” Social gaming – such as Farmville on Facebook – has exploded, and marketers are looking at digital community building and more long-term connections with consumers. Earlier, a classic advergame lived for two-three months, rising and dying with a brand launch, he pointed out.

Mr Sanjay Behl, CEO, Reliance Digital TV, says advergaming has a “tremendous future” as it takes the brand beyond the 30-second commercial. Reliance Digital is one of the first DTH players to offer this service – it has hosted a game for Axe. The game is free (there are paid ones too) and will run for a month.

Mr Ojha of Customer Centria says the market potential of advergames is Rs 300-400 crore, and the “creation of core games” accounts for 25 per cent of this. Mr Agarwal of Zapak says marketers now realise users come to play the game, not be bombarded with branding. Advergaming online and on the mobile phone has definitely risen and advertisers would eye DTH and mobile because of their reach, he says.

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