video game placement

A New York Post article published on March 14, 2006 discussed an interesting aspect of product placement: placement in video games. Visa has teamed up with the makers of the game CSI 3:Dimensions of Murder. In addition to it's logo being placed on billboards in the game Visa has also gotten its product into part of the action of the game. In the game, Visa's fraud monitoring system flags spending on a victim's account which prompts CSI detectives to investigate. In this way Visa not only gets to be a logo displayed but the brand becomes a part of the game and a part of the action. This is valuable because consumers are usually more receptive to this type of advertising message. The vice-president of Visa's advertising sums it up this way, "It's not just an ad in a game. It allows the consumer to understand our product."

Visa isn't the only company placing their products in games. Sony, Puma, Nike, and Coca-Cola have all jumped on the video game product placement bandwagon.

The main issue here is how much placement gamers will tolerate. If there are too many ads in the game, gamers will not enjoy the game and it will not sell. So far, advertisers have not reached the limit of what gamers will tolerate but they will continue to push the limits. Visas integration is proof of that.