Social gaming on Facebook and other networks is taking the games industry by storm. Social games was without a doubt the biggest buzzword filling the halls of the Moscone Center and the recently concluded GDC. While micro-transactions for virtual items and offers make up the primary business model, we wouldn’t be surprised to see more in-game product placement in the future. As it turns out, according to Mashable, Zynga’s FarmVille is about to feature brand-sponsored crops.
“An ad agency in Tel Aviv is working on a rollout campaign for Elite Taami Nutz, which is apparently a peanut-filled version of a popular Israeli chocolate bar. “The new crop will roll out with a simultaneous farm design competition on April 14. The peanuts cost 20 credits to buy, sell for 78 credits and can be harvested in 16 hours,” Mashable writes. “Given the fact that FarmVille has 82 million users worldwide, do you think it s wise to run an ad campaign for a regional product on this platform ”
It’s certainly an interesting idea, and one that brand marketers will need to pay attention to as social games continue to grow.
