• by Larry Dobrow , December 5, 2003

Ever since the automaker debuted its BMW Films series in 2001, it has been hailed as one of the few companies to tap the Internet's marketing potential. And while topping that high-profile, high-budget project isn't likely to happen anytime soon, BMW made a push for a different sort of online media innovation this week with the unveiling of a game linked to the launch of its X3 sport activity vehicle.

Created by Skyworks Technologies, the BMW X3 Adventure is designed to appeal to the active, affluent young turks who the company is hoping to sell on the merits of the X3, a lower-priced variation on its X5 model. The game includes a viral marketing component through which players can invite their friends to compete against them and compare results on a private scoreboard. It is configured for both Windows and Macintosh platforms, and has been battle-tested on older computers.

Visually, the X3 Adventure features three driving and extreme-sports segments, boasting a level of realism that's more PlayStation than Pong. To wit: in order to give players a "feel" for driving the new vehicle, Skyworks did real-world physics modeling and asked BMW for product specs, such as the car's weight and the length of its axles. "BMW wanted a game that was high-end in terms of look," says Skyworks President and Chief Executive Officer Garry Kitchen. "I'm not claiming it's a console game, but it's a lot closer to Xbox than what you typically see online."

Given the sporadic effectiveness and flat creative of many Internet marketing efforts, BMW deserves a hearty slap on the back for thinking outside the banner ad. While it's likely that the X3 will eventually be marketed in more conventional ways, the online game is designed to pick up - in spirit if not in execution - where the initial X3 promotion left off. Hoping to generate advance buzz, BMW placed surfboard-shaped wireless kiosks featuring X3 information in locations around the United States. "The BMW X3 Adventure game continues what we hope will be a fun, evocative campaign that promotes not only the car, but its personality and the adventure-seeking lifestyle it caters to," BMW of North America Vice President of Marketing Jim McDowell said.

But will online games ever become a top-of-mind option for companies hoping to more effectively market themselves on the Web? Given that Skyworks has already created games for a host of big-name companies in a variety of product categories - Pepsi, Microsoft, Mattel, ESPN, and GlaxoSmithKline - the firm obviously believes that more than a few marketers have awakened to the opportunities offered by sponsored online entertainment. "Companies are frustrated by Internet advertising," Kitchen says. "They're frustrated trying to find the next big idea and the next way to get consumers excited." The key, he believes, lies in creating an online experience that will reflect favorably on a brand or product - as opposed to a banner or rich-media ad that offers little more than a temporary distraction.

"If I've got a new product, I can run a banner ad that says 'I have a new product,' or I can say 'come play this game and enter a sweepstakes,'" Kitchen continues. "People don't chase down new product launches; they chase down great online experiences." In that sense, the games might be viewed as rich media ads that Web users actually want to see.

Several challenges still exist for Skyworks and its ilk, the most pressing of which is demonstrating consistent ROI. "I think the interactive marketing business as a whole is struggling to come up with ROI that people can more easily understand," Kitchen explains. "It's not as easy to understand as the impact of a TV commercial, where you can see a bump in sales in certain areas." Certain measures are available - Kitchen notes that for most of Skyworks' games the impression lasts 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the number of repeat plays - but many marketers are looking for more concrete metrics.

Another concern, predictably, is cost. To put it simply, online games don't come cheap: the price range for a Skyworks game runs anywhere from $25,000 to well into the six figures. "We fight a lot of uninformed brand managers who think we can do something for $800," Kitchen shrugs. "I haven't met with a brand that didn't say 'these are great, we'd love to use them,' but it's tough to get them to understand cost." He emphasizes that his company's games are very inexpensive and cost-effective when compared to "normal" advertising. Kitchen is clearly not the most impartial commentator on the subject, but he cautions that games created on the cheap can do more harm than most companies realize: "A bad game, whether it doesn't download right or whatever, can turn people off on a company or product. The totality of the online experience is what matters."

Along these lines, another minor irritant for Skyworks and other companies that specialize in sponsored digital entertainment are ad agencies that claim to be able to do the same work at a fraction of the cost. It's a safe bet that few global ad behemoths have stashed away in a back room somebody like Skyworks Chief Technology Officer David Crane, an Activision founder who counts the 1980s classic "Pitfall" among his creations.

"I think one of the reasons BMW chose us was that to a certain extent we created the genre," Kitchen says. "When we first started doing this, the Internet was either an afterthought for most companies or they'd come to us four weeks before they wanted something to happen. Now, people are coming to us much earlier. It's become pretty clear that online and offline have to be on the same page."

To play the BMW X3 Adventure, visit www.bmwusa.com/newX3.