Advergaming - the next focus

New Delhi: India is adding over five million mobile phone users every month. With over 250 million mobile users in the country, the race is on among marketers to grab the next customer...

Coca-Cola, which launched the kholega to bolega initiative, has got 1.7 million responses within a month. According to company officials, it is the highest-ever achieved by any initiative undertaken by the beverage giant.

Companies like Coca-Cola, Domino's and ITC have used the medium by advergaming i.e advertising through gaming, which can be downloaded from the telecom operator's website to your web-enabled handsets.

While creating a game would cost about Rs 3-4 lakh and distribution cost between Rs 50,000 and Rs 5 lakh, the brand route works out to be much cheaper than other mass medium.

With personalisation and interactivity its key strengths, more companies are willing to experiment with the medium.

Gautam Chatwal, associate director (marketing), Jump Games, said: "Till now, we were working with FMCG brands. Now, we are speaking with financial companies and also companies making products for children."

The key challenge in mobile advertising is that it has to be led by another campaign to create excitement to hook the consumer. Marketers, however, believe that mobile phones are an effective way of reaching your target audience as the brand is being invited rather than being pushed into the consumer's domain.

Srinivas Murthy, general manager (flavours), Coca-Cola, says: "How I make myself interesting that the consumer invites me is the big challenge..."

India will have about 500 million mobile phone users by 2010. Medium marketers cannot afford to miss on their media plan.