• by Ken Liebeskind , July 16, 2001

Computer games are becoming a new form of advertising to the high tech community.

Noetix, a Seattle enterprise software developer, which hadn't done any advertising before this year, developed a game for prospective customers to play. The company knew its audience - IT professionals - were serious gamers, so it hired the MagiGroup, an interactive agency in Kirkland, WA to create a game called Noetix DataDome, which is being used to generate brand awareness and names for the company database.

The game was launched at an Oracle Users Group conference in April, because Oracle application users are the company's key market. Since then, the company has sent the game via email to Oracle lists and the lists of industry trades such as DM Review. Direct mail has also been used. The lists have included about 10,000 names.

Ann Markley, VP of product marketing, calls DataDome a twitch game, meaning it's based on how fast you play. Players earn points for landing ships in a futuristic world. The company is giving out a home entertainment center prize in September to the top scorer.

As the game is played, a series of lead generation questions is asked, which provides Noetix with player names and their interest in learning more about the software.

When asked whether the players are in a position to buy a Noetix software product, Markley said, "A lot of them are decision makers or major influencers."

There is a strong viral element to the game, which helps the branding campaign. Players earn additional points by emailing the game to friends.

The company reports it has generated 700 prospective customers for Noetix software so far.

While the game was the company's first foray into advertising, it has since bolstered its efforts with the email and direct mail that are related to the game and print advertisements in trade magazines, Markley says.