Internet advertising is gradually shifting away from flashy, in-your-face, click-me-now ads to a more subtle form of communication with ‘advergaming’, which are designed for and around a brand, and ‘in-game’ advertising, which means brand placement in an online game.

Companies that develop advergames believe that since cricket, racing and action are the three most popular online gaming categories, advertisers in verticals such as FMCG, electronics, telecom and automobiles would adopt advergaming in a big way.

The medium is considered to be more focused in engaging the target group. Some statistics suggest that one memorises advertising information and messages from games ten times better than a 30-second commercial shown in other media.

According to various studies, the market for advergaming is projected to touch $68 billion by 2012 in the US alone. Yashraj Vakil, COO of Dream11, pegs the advergaming market in India at over Rs 70 crore.

Dream11 did a recent advergaming activity called “India Ka No. 1 Selector” for PlanetM, which required consumers to buy a product from a PlanetM store, get a code and use that code on Dream11.com to play Fantasy cricket game and win prizes.

The PlanetM contest captured over 3 million eyeballs and saw an increase in footfalls across PlanetM stores. “We do a lot of research on the brands for which we work before designing an advergaming concept. This research includes the brand message, brand identity and perception, target group, game genre relevance and the latest trend in gamers’ preferences,” Vakil said.

Zapak, Reliance Entertainment's online gaming portal, launches at least 4-5 advergames every month. Its clients include TATA Motors, Maybelline, Cadburys, P&G, HUL, Marico, Intel, Microsoft, Sony and M& M.

Arun Mehra, COO of Zapak, said, “There is a huge potential for advergaming in India. In–game and advergames are built on the premise of viral growth, which keeps users coming back frequently, and as such the brands and the messages are well positioned to deliver desired results for advertisers.”