The continued growth in the GCC’s online advertising expenditure combined with increasing internet adoption rates are set to advance the development of “adver-gaming” throughout the GCC region in the near future, exposing consumers to innovative marketing messages in entertainment and gaming-oriented media contexts.
Hyzonia.com, a next-generation online marketing solution, has been recognized as the leading figure in adver-gaming in the Middle East by offering 'Adver-gaming As A Service', which enables advertisers to easily create and customize adver-games and run their campaigns in an adver-gaming network; giving users unprecedented easy access to them without the need for special platforms, high-end devices, downloads or complex installations.
"The potential of online adver-gaming has dramatically increased over the past few years largely because of the surge in internet adoption rates and the growing popularity of the internet as a communicating and advertising medium,” said Maryam Alimardani, Managing Director, RENA, a Dubai-based company that created Hyzonia.com.
"Online adver-gaming offers a cost-effective and productive advertising solution that delivers brand messages across various target segments in a more engaging and entertaining way. The key to this innovative marketing tool is that Hyzonia.com adds interactivity and "Engagement" to the advertising message, facilitating the evolution of online advertising from an interrupting to an entertaining experience. What this means is that we are able to offer a powerful web-based marketing platform for advertisers to reach their target audience via a network of easy to play online adver-games and monitor their audience behavior to have a better marketing analysis and information,” Maryam added.
A recent study by Madar Research revealed that online ad spending is expected to grow by 30% in 2009 and around 50% in 2010, as advertisers take advantage of more cost-efficient and highly targeted means of advertising. In line with this, adver-gaming – which uses online games to promote brands or products and represents some of the most visited aspects of branded websites, will enable revenues from online game advertising to rise from USD 120 million in 2004 to USD 500 million in 2009, according to research from DFC Intelligence.
"Furthermore, what is so special about Hyzonia.com is that it is not just one adver-game, but it is actually a network of customizable adver-games by which advertisers can target various niche markets and cater to their specific demands. As such, Hyzonia.com actually reaches out to millions of people, while retaining a key ability to target precise audiences," said Maryam.
Developed on the Microsoft .NET technology and benefiting from an architecture on top of Cloud Computing, Hyzonia.com offers a scalable network of customizable adver-games through which advertisers can reach and engage specific target audiences based on their interest, location, age and gender, and monitor the results in real-time.
Underscoring the success of its new unique technology, Hyzonia.com recently received the 'Microsoft Technology' and 'Best Strategic Entertainment Online Portal' awards during the Pan Arab Web Awards 2009. “Advertisers and their audience alike also benefit greatly from Hyzonia.com’s reliable and secure standard, offering a satisfying gaming experience and considerable branding exposure from virtually anywhere with an internet connection,” Maryam concluded.
Hyzonia.com adver-gaming networks encompass a diverse mix of audiences with 49 per cent of users in the 18-49 age bracket, 26% in the 50-above group and 25% in the 18-under age bracket. Moreover, Hyzonia.com offers an interesting level of parity as 44 per cent of all users are women, with those aged 18 and older representing a third of the total population, which represents a significantly high portion in this market.
© 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
