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Advergames and Casual Games

Thu 18 Mar 2010 4pm GMT, 12pm Eastern Time, 9am Pacific Time

To view the video case studies from this webinar, please click the links below:

Promotional games developed specifically by brands have existed since the early 1980s, and free online product-affiliated games have now become a mainstream promotional tool for many companies. This session will address precisely what is understood by ‘advergames’ and also consider the options that are available to brands wanting to explore this medium.

The session asks:

How does the demographic differ between the hardcore console playing gamer and the casual advergames player?
As advergames become ubiquitous, is their impact lessened?
How can one achieve game visibility? Is viral success limited to just a few games?
To what degree does fun influence brand perception and intent to buy?
Success stories – what’s working

Speakers

Bella Acharya

Director, Entertainment and Devices, Advertising Business Group, Microsoft

As the Director of International Ad Sales for Xbox and Casual Gaming, Ms. Acharya oversees Microsoft’s advertising sales force and drives market outreach efforts throughout all International markets outside of the US including EMEA, Americas and Asia-Pacific.

A seasoned executive with eight years of media sales experience, Acharya joined the Entertainment and Devices (E&D) division in 2001, the year of the initial Xbox release. She ran the US casual gaming ad sales team and her products included MSN Games and Messenger Games prior to expanding her team’s product suite to include Xbox. Before joining the E&D team, Acharya successfully worked within different product groups at Microsoft including MS-DOS, Windows 95 & WindowsMedia.com with a variety of roles including International Producer for MSN 2.0. By working closely with Microsoft product groups and sales teams, Acharya strives to cultivate this emerging space through evangelization and market based solutions designed to meet the needs of Fortune 500 marketers.

Acharya recently moved to London with her husband and daughter to launch the International sales team and accelerate growth within EMEA. She received an MIS degree from the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL and holds a United States Patent from a concept she drove on WindowsMedia.com.

Helen COPNALL

Senior Global Product Manager, Microsoft E&D

Helen Copnall has worked in online media since 1996, and for the last 8 years at Microsoft in a variety of product marketing roles covering social networking, console games and casual gaming. Her responsibilities have included , UK Product Manager for WL Messenger, EMEA Product Manager for Xbox LIVE and she is currently Product Manager for Games on Windows Live Messenger.

Company Profile

Microsoft Advertising provides advertisers and publishers with media, tools and services to drive deep and profitable engagement with their audiences. This includes a global media network that includes MSN, Windows Live, Office Live, Xbox LIVE, Live Search, Facebook and more; the Microsoft Advertiser and Publisher Suites, which simplify planning and management of campaigns and content; and a range of services that help advertisers and publishers untangle the complexities of digital media and get more out of their marketing and content investments. Microsoft Advertising makes buying and selling media simple, smart and cost-effective across media and devices in the Microsoft network of properties and beyond, which spans 42 markets and 21 languages. Visit http://advertising.microsoft.com for more information.