In today’s tough economy, companies are looking for the most cost-efficient and relevant ways to market their brands, goods and services. Over the past few years, viral marketing became the Holy Grail to spread the word about new products and services. Another channel is gaining on viral marketing nowadays – that of online gaming. 

Games are not only fun, but they are powerful marketing tools used for generating traffic, reaching targeted demographics, promoting brands, and displaying advertising and marketing messages. This is because online games have become one of the most popular - and fastest growing – forms of entertainment and furthermore, online games are affordable and convenient.  With millions of people playing games online, tapping into this market via Flash animated games is a winning proposition. We have seen great success with recent games and in-game advertising.

By developing games in Flash 10, its possible to bring the best Web-based game experiences to market. Flash is the most essential component behind almost everything one does on the Internet today - from watching YouTube videos to listening to Web radio to viewing ads. Flash 10 pushes the envelope and extends online applications even further than was previously capable. With Flash 10, the opportunity exists to make huge strides in terms of visual fidelity.  The software offloads rendering tasks to the graphics card, rather than solely on CPU, allowing great improvements in frame rates, faster interfaces and enhanced video playback.  In addition Flash 10 automatically adjusts video quality as bandwidth fluctuates. 

Consumers are pickier than ever; they demand and expect the most engaging experiences.  With Flash 10 online games, companies can inject brands and deliver their messages with real-time effects for cinematic experiences that will delight their users. 

In this session, Bergstresser will discuss how companies can brand their goods, products and services in-game and why Flash 10 is the best platform to deliver those games.  He will also use examples from his own company, Vector Entertainment, and the challenges and opportunities the company faced in making the decision to use Flash 10 for its casual MMO, Vector City Racers (www.vectorcityracers.com)