Mom’s Got Poker Skills: Publishers Get Into the Game

CM Comment: “Advergaming” continues to show strength as an effective way to connect with the over-50 segment.

September 23, 2009: summarized from min online -- Still think gaming is for social shut-ins and pimple-faced teens who converge at Comic-Con and midnight releases of Halo 3? Then you may be missing out on a boatload of traffic and revenues, said panelists this week at OMMA Global in New York. In a playful panel entitled “Grandma’s Got Game: Can Casual Gaming Deliver Real Revenue to Mainstream Sites?” publishers and game providers agreed that games aimed at all demographics have become traffic and cash cows for non-gaming sites.

“We saw games inventory double,” said Kyle Lewis, general manager, AARP.org. Lewis admits that his own sales staff was a bit overwhelmed and he was taken aback at the level of usage and ad opportunities that the site’s games section opened up for the company.

Almost all of AARP’s gamers are over 55, but they show remarkable hang time and loyalty. Gamers in sites like AARP.org will see advertiser messages as pre-rolls before game play or as banners during play. Given the amount of time people spend playing a titles, “It’s really a branding opportunity,” says Lewis. “We are able to say to pharmaceutical or packaged goods advertisers that this is an opportunity to capture your intenders in an environment where they are open to advertisers.”

All of the panelists agreed that the casual gaming market for the over-30 segment is going to grow quickly in coming years. The aging demographic in the U.S. guarantees that several generations raised on digital gaming will bring these habits into middle age.

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