The current global recession has made it essential to get the most out of ever decreasing advertising budgets. Are branded Flash games worth considering as part of your advertising efforts?

Branded web based Flash games can be a great, fun, engaging way to advertise your brand, product or service online. They offer a number of advantages over traditional advertising, at a fraction of the cost. Branded games are a great way to get potential customers onto your website, keep them there far longer than they would usually visit and encourage repeat visits. Your game can directly feature the product or service you are trying to promote, or simply highlight the main benefits and problems it solves. Using branded Flash games encourage players to interact with your brand in a way that's just not possible with traditional, passive advertising.

Because you're offering a great, addictive game for people to play, your audience are less likely to even perceive what they are viewing as an advert. As long as you don't overdo the advertising element within the game, you can get your marketing message across to your audience, without the negative feelings associated with some other forms of online advertising. Plus, a branded game will usually engage your audience for many times longer per visit than other forms of advertising. The player is seeing your advert for the full duration of game play, which can add up to minutes rather than seconds on average.

When effectively distributed, they can offer potential exposure far above and beyond what you could get for a similar spend using traditional advertising. It's not unusual for branded games to get millions of plays and after the initial production and distribution costs, they can continue working for you over the long term. Unlike traditional advertising, branded Flash games can continue to provide good brand exposure years after initial launch.

Targeting a particular demographic with a branded Flash game is difficult, so we don't recommend them for niche market products or services. The nature of the internet means your game will be available to a worldwide audience of online game players, which covers a broad age range as well as geographical location. If you're trying to increase awareness of a mass market product the potential exposure is massive and can help launch a product to a new, worldwide audience.

Despite all these advantages, it's extremely important to find the right developer for your branded Flash game. Just getting your branded game produced and including it on your website isn't enough to guarantee success. Distributing your branded game to a large number of online games portals and community sites, as well as including your game on your own website, is recommended for best results. This way you're not relying on player pass-ons to dictate the success or failure of your game. Finding a Flash game developer with expertise in both branded Flash game development, to give you the best possible interactive experience for your brand, and the distribution needed to get the most out of your branded game will ensure you get the best possible return on your investment, in these tough financial times.

About the Author:
Simon Walklate is a partner in Multimedia Graphic Designers The Motion Monkey who specialise in Flash Online Game Design and Development.