With the rapid proliferation of “time-wasting activites” like playing online games, one thing most small businesses think about them is that they don’t want their employees playing on company time. But what if you could use that gaming time—if not for your employees, for your company? Product placement has been around in movies for a long time, so is it any surprise that companies nowadays are taking advantage of the more interactive medium of games? Below are a few different types of “advergaming” and how you can possibly make use of them.

The game as a crowd-drawing tool

One of the most straightforward ways of taking advantage of advergaming is to make a game, and get people to spend a lot of time playing it. This increases your site’s traffic and you can get more money for the advertising space on the site. If you’re looking to promote your own brand, you can put your own company messaging on the site so you can get more eyes on what you have to say. You won’t be making money from third-party advertisers, but you won’t have to spend as much on external advertising, either.

The game as an attention-getter

Using the game as a way of drawing attention to the product or service is another way of using advergaming. One way to think of this is to imagine a game set in any given historical period. Often, playing that game can make people more interested in that time period, and leads them to researching it and maybe even further. That’s the power of curiosity and passion. The real trick is to try putting that power to work for you. But you have one advantage: you’re already passionate about what you do. Therefore, all you really need to do is to find a way to make a game that will encourage others to tap into that same well of passion and interest.

The game as a stealth bomber

This is where product placement (as we currently know it) comes into play. When you watch movies from the fifties, sixties or seventies, you’ll often see a Marlboro truck or a Pepsi sign. In the movie The Muppets, Disney included billboards featuring their then-upcoming feature, Cars 2. Placement like this is subtle and often something people don’t even consciously see. However, that subliminal messaging is still making a subtle impact on people that see it. So in advergaming, you might be able to help sponsor the game in exchange for a small bit of space within the game. This is especially good in console games, because players can take extra time off a computer to explore a virtual world. If you have the budget, buying virtual space in a game might be one of the best investments you can make.

All these things have become even more important with the advent of mobile technology. People are now able to take games with them wherever they go, and companies can take advantage of it so they can keep their brand in front of people all the time. Getting started is easy—just look into some companies that specialize in mobile marketing in Charlotte and find out what you need, and you’ll be on your way to more immersive marketing than ever before.