SAN FRANCISCO - The rise of social networking and augmented reality in mobile games has taken the long-hyped area of advergaming to new levels, according to panelists at CTIA.

During the hour-long "Taking In-Game Advertising to the Next Level" panel, speakers discussed case studies and the specific synergies marketers, advertisers and game publishers are leveraging to produce relevant and effective campaigns within mobile games. The session was moderated by Melissa Harkcom, director of F&L International, London.

?We work with brands to create highly engaging casual games and brand integrated entertainment for online, mobile and social networks,? said Phill Simon, creative director of Mondo Studios, San Francisco.

?Brand engagement in today?s crowded environments is hard,? he said. ?More channels exist than ever before to reach consumers, such as social networks, mobile, casual game sites and Web portals.

?What we focus on is consumer packaged goods.?

Mobile gaming
According to Mr. Simon, 55 percent of online gamers are adult women.

The vast majority of women are playing casual games online or on social networks, including Farmville and Bejeweled.

Mondo worked on a mobile campaign for cat food brand Friskies.

The company created the Wonderland Quest game, which has a Web version and an iPhone application.

Mondo saw that 2 million-plus players participated in the game with an average play time of 10 minutes.

A Dynamic Logic study found that the game influenced purchase intent and brand loyalty.

?Games integrate the brand,? Mr. Simon said. ?Games entertain and encourage longer and more frequent brand interactions ? consumers are much more likely to respond to the marketers call to action.

?In addition, games can be measured and gain immediate insight through user behavior and campaign performance tracking,? he said. ?Games cut through the clutter and engage people and grab their attention.

Facebook revolution
Facebook has paved the way for how marketers view social media.

There are many game applications that are currently using Facebook?s API.

?Facebook has created the move to social,? said Mike Breslin, vice president of marketing at Glu Mobile, Dallas. ?Through Facebook, there?s Facebook Connect ? we use that API so you can post scores.

?It?s a useful vehicle for us to drive game play and to drive those game play minutes that are essential in a game,? he said. ?The other thing Facebook brought in was the desire to want to be connected to people.

?Usually the first app that people download is Facebook, because they want to stay connected.?

According to Mr. Breslin, Glu?s key focus right now is to broaden its funnel.

In the next 12 months, he said that users will be educated about what their mobile devices can really do.

?People are now realizing that their phone does more than voice, it?s an extension of your personality,? Mr. Breslin said. ?People are finally realizing that they?re devices, they?re portals to entertainment.

?Now, the next step is discoverability and making it easier for purchase,? he said. ?There?s a pull strategy in place ? memory and battery life are going to be issues.

?It?s interesting, everybody wants higher quality, but those are big games ? unless you have a lot of memory, you don?t have a lot of room.?

Mobile opportunity
Mobile is a new form of media and brings with it a new world of opportunity to engage with consumers.

Alex Bubb, senior partner manager of games at Ovi Publish, Brighton, England, agreed that Facebook plays an important role in mobile games.

?A majority of users download the Facebook application via the App Store,? Mr. Bubb said. ?In addition, mobile brings location-based capabilities to devices.

?It?s not just a concept, there?s really a demand for that,? he said.

Augmented reality
Augmented reality makes a lot of sense for marketers, according to Greg Davis, general manager of North America's Total Immersion, Los Angeles.

?There?s a lot of levels to obtain, but augmented reality is a feature that fits into a large ecosystem,? Mr. Davis said. ?What?s interesting about augmented reality is it looks at a second life.

?When Budweiser had a real island in second life, it was much more realistic ? the whole experience with augmented reality is hyper-realism,? he said. ?It?s when the virtual and physical merge together ? there?s real value as opposed to diluting the experience.?