Research has shown that 42% of gamers play online for one or more hours per week. 50% of people who play advergames will do so for 25 minutes. And 90% of people who receive advergame challenges from someone they know will not only play an advergame, but will respond with their score to whoever gives them the challenge.

So what do these statistics mean when applied from a business perspective?

For starters, more revenue, more brand exposure, and a very positive ROI. Advergames are interactive games that a business can place on its website for visitors to play. A company’s advergame can incorporate corporate colors, logos, products and advertising messages. A small, interactive and easy-to-install form of entertainment, advergames can be placed anywhere on a website and offered for free or incur a monthly charge to play.

Before they penetrated the Internet, advergames were most commonly distributed on floppy disks. But their goal was the same as their modern counterparts; provide promotional incentives with the goal of eliciting consumer response, and increasing consumer awareness.

Advergames are usually commissioned by companies that want to add more to their online presence. A game development company will develop the game and customize it to meet their client’s requirements. Advergames come in almost all types, from reworked arcade-style classics to memory games. However, if requested by a company, it is usually possible to create a unique advergaming experience.

If your business is a food establishment, you can create an advergame that looks and feels the same. Let’s say, for example, that your establishment has a game room. If you choose to create a pool advergame, your establishment’s colors and logo may appear on the pool table felt. Similarly, if you choose a dart advergame, your logo and colors could appear on the dart flights and/or on the dart board.

Advergames can offer continuous play or allow players to take a break between games. During the break is a perfect opportunity to inform players about your daily specials or products that you plan to introduce in the near future.

Advergaming offers businesses a unique and powerful way to engage with visitors on a one note, but on multiple levels. Players receive extended exposure to your company’s brand or cause, which may result in future purchases from you. And if your advergame is especially creative, visitors will most likely tell their friends about it. This is also known as word of mouth or viral advertising.

Many advergames also include the option to track each visitor’s gaming experience. This can provide a company with detailed information that can then be used to fine-tune an advergame for even more exposure and impact.

With so many benefits, advergames can create an exceptional brand environment for almost any product or service. And with revenue from ad-supported games expected to skyrocket over the next three years, there’s never been a better time to learn more about how they can benefit your business.