GameCyte

Nielsen Media Research released a report last week, covered in an article at Adweek, that details an increase in game sales as a result of Gamestop TV. The two-hour video reel is produced once a month by Channel M, an independent production company, and runs on loop at Gamestop stores, and its content consists of a blend of original content and advertising. The idea, of course, is for the advertising and original content to be as indistinguishable as possible according to Eric Hebel, the chief operating officer of Channel M:

“It’s better if [consumers] are watching something and don’t know it’s paid for,” he says. “We can have the hosts of the program talking about a game so that it doesn’t look like an ad, but it could be part of the deal.”

Of course, few gamers walking into Gamestop would expect any sort of objective content about the games. It simply isn’t in the company’s best interest to have video running that undermines any of the titles it sells, so the content, whether paid or not, is generally laudatory. This effusive coverage has led to significant sales increases in those titles mentioned during the video:

The strategy appears to be working. Last week Nielsen Media Research released a study showing that the titles advertised on GameStop TV showed an increase in sales of between 19 and 36 percent. Products mentioned during the broadcast, but not in specific ads, also got a boost, although it was not as significant. On average, the unadvertised products saw a sales spike of 20 percent.

In addition, people are now spending around 50% more time in Gamestop stores. There’s no mention of the overall impact on the smell of Gamestop stores across the country.

While the idea that, in a video reel produced for a retailer, the content should be indistinguishable from the advertisements doesn’t disturb me (since one should have a healthy amount of skepticism whenever walking into a retailer), the possibility that such an approach might become more pervasive is unsettling. If Gamespot features, for example, were to be paid for by advertisers. . .

Oh. Right.