In a field fueled by creativity, what could be more exciting than combining gaming and advertising or “Advergaming.” In 2008, an award-winning digital advertising agency NuWorks Interactive Labs, Inc. adopted the ingenious platform here in the Philippines to market a brand and elicit remarkable recall from consumers.
“The experience is not in the digital or virtual level. You can take it home and apply it in real life,” says Jeff Saez, Nuworks managing director. “It’s not just a matter of uploading it online. There is what you call viral mechanisms involved to make people aware that there’s such a game for the brand so that people can try it out.”
NuWorks has been recognized for its game “Purefoods Tender Juicy Shop for Mommy,” which featured Purefoods products as well as recipes that can be done in a real kitchen.
NuWorks founders Jeff Saez, Michael Hil Ng, Tomas de Leon, and Connie Balmaceda saw the potential of advergaming when they founded the company in 2009. They partnered with brands to develop games and applications that could attract consumers.
Saez noted that advergaming is a growing medium for promoting brands, and NuWorks is actively presenting this option for their clients who want to explore the possibilities of online advertising.
The trend in digital advertising has been harnessed by social media and mobility. It redefined business models as more job opportunities arise for online community managers and opened doors for ideas.
Leveraging digital advertising to grow the company, NuWorks is now employing about 70 people who are all immersed in the practice of “storyteching.”
“Not a lot of providers and software developers can conceptualize advergames that are really creative. Other outfits develop advergames but what makes the difference is how you execute the games. We combine our creativity and our technical know-how to come up with our products,” said de Leon, co-founder and digital production director of NuWorks.
During the Philippine Game Development Festival in 2012 , the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP) awarded NuWorks with the Best Advergame award. The company was recognized for its game “Purefoods Tender Juicy Shop for Mommy,” which featured Purefoods products as well as recipes that can be done in a real kitchen.
The NuWorks Team received the Best Advergame Award for “Purefoods Tender Juicy Shop for Mommy” during the Philippine Game Development Festival (PGDF) 2012.
“It’s a very exciting time for techies to go to game development. Wearable technologies that push augmented reality are coming, like Google Glass. We see a huge comeback of virtual reality,“ says Ng, NuWorks research and development manager.
“GDAP is one of the best outlets here in the Philippines to inform potential talents about the industry. Students thought that a foreign game development company made these breakthroughs. When they see the potential of game development in the Philippines, they’ll get inspired,” says de Leon.
Advergaming is a lucrative profession for both the techies and kids at heart. “You can’t be a game developer if you can’t play games. From games you play, you get inspiration to do development.” de Leon further states. “It is important that we love what we do or we won’t have come this far.”
Adds Ng, “Pursue your passion, pay attention to detail, and make sure you plan to finish!”
The advertising industry is full of creative minds coming up with clever ideas on how to capture and retain the market’s attention. With the amount of information available, being in this industry is challenging. Fortunately, NuWorks Interactive Lab founders Saez, Ng, Balmaceda, and de Leon have found their niche in advergaming.
