The evolution of advergames development: A study in the Netherlands

Despite our exposure to advergames, and studies about their effects, we know very little about the other side of the coin, i.e., advergames developers. In this paper, we report on a study of advergames development companies in the Netherlands. After deriving statements concerning the advergames market through three interviews, we cross-validate these statements with eight companies. Several statements are statistically significant, including the following: advergames are increasingly becoming cross-platform; the technological platforms for developing advergames have changed considerably; an increasing number of clients demand social media components in their advergames; budgets for advergames will increase; the intermediary role of advertising companies will become less prominent; companies will make more strategic choices regarding advergames; advergames that can be played for an extended period of time will become more popular and ensure customer loyalty.