Online Gaming - An Advertisers Untapped Goldmine

 Marketers and brands are trying to find out the latest trends and marketing ideas that captivate an audience and makes them loyal to the brand while others go for impression rates and reach. Marketing and advertisements are everywhere; at home, on the television, the Internet, even in public bathrooms. However there is one medium that is still untouched; online gaming.

 The other day I was playing Xbox Live, and realized that the wait times between games is quite annoying and occasionally long for all gamers. There is nothing going on but a loading screen or being able to do repetitive tasks during the loading screen. EA Sports games are what I would consider the grandfathers of advertisements within games. In recent years they have allowed gamers to use an athlete during the loading screen while exposing the gamer to multiple ad placements; but what if we could take it a step further?

People purchase games to have fun and connect with friends online. If marketers were to create advertisements that directly link and relate to the game and audience, then gamers would be forced to watch them instead of a loading screen that lasts anywhere between fifteen and one minute. This would easily be the most effective way to reach your audience directly compared to television due to the fact that most viewers will not leave the screen due to them wanting to play online. However advertisers must be careful not to alienate their loyal fan-base by placing ads that aren't catchy nor repetitive. In regards to games that require players to interact during the load-times, ads can be placed along side the screen, similar to a banner ad that plays video. Advertising is all about finding the next big thing that can launch your brand to the forefront of the market and surpassing all competition. The first brand that can properly capitalize on online-gaming will surely reap the rewards.

Social Media & Dating - When Is It Right To Make The Next Step

Have you ever seen one of those old corny pioneer movies that portray a man asking the father to go on a date with his daughter? What if life was like that today? Fortunately it's not. However there are stipulations in which the dating world follows and these stipulations are quite odd indeed. Welcome to The Oddities In Life.

I remember when I was growing up and going out dating that there was no Facebook or other social media platforms existing to enslave our titles when dating.  In today's society, before a couple can be officially declared a couple, they apparently now have to post it on their status saying they are dating so and so, and occasionally will even see the dates in which they began dating included. The kicker is if you knew that couple before they posted their relationship status to Facebook, then you get the joy in laughing at the fact that this so called “new couple” have actually been dating or “seeing each other” for the past several months. There is also the fact in which I'm sure many of you have been asked; are you and ... Facebook official yet? This question continually haunts every relationship as to when it is appropriate to post it on Facebook. This to me and I'm sure many of you readers will agree, the relationship status declarations on Facebook is one tedious tasks that has integrated itself into our relationships.