Popcap tests ads

Popcap which is a leader in casual gaming recently released their results for the research that they did on one of their flagship titles, Zuma. According to Shankar Gupta, of Gaming Insider, one thing in particular stood out about the test results. Popcap tested different setups for their game ads. One setup allowed the users to download the game and play for as long as they wanted for free but they had to view video ads during the natural breaks in the gameplay. Another way the users could buy the game to make the ads go away. The last setup allowed the users to play the first three levels for free with ads but then locked them out until they actually purchased the game.

Popcap is not your usual in-game advertiser. They specialize in online games and are not a developer or in-game advertising company.

Popcap is in two businesses, they are trying to sell their games, and now they are also considering selling these in-game ads, which have very competitive clickthrough rates. The tests showed that the two configurations work in different ways. The best configuration to sell games is the one where the game locks up after you play the first three levels.

"Once the player’s got through the first three levels, they don’t want to stop. But then they buy, and the ads stop showing, so there’s no inventory for the advertiser. Conversely, the configuration where users could play as long as they wanted with ads showing the whole time served the most impressions, and delivered the highest number of clickthroughs, but didn’t drive conversions"

For now Popcap is going with the setup that will allow them to sell more game and get less clickthroughs. They believe this is the best way because they are not confident in their ability to sell all of the advertising inventory that they would have if they chose to use the other setup method.

Britain's newest recruitment method

According to Massive Inc. "the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) launched the UK and World's first in-game recruitment advertising campaign." This campaign was launched with TMP Worldwide, who is GCHQ's recruitment advertising partner. TMP apparently led the strategy and partnered with Massive, which happens to be owned by Microsoft. This campaign is supposed to "promote career opportunities in the British Intelligence services via online in-game ads on selected games in the UK."

It is debatable whether this is the first usage of in-game ads as a recruitment tool. The United States Army developed not a campaign but an entire game geared towards promoting the Army and encouraging recruitment.

The one month campaign began at the end of October. According to Massive's press release they will give GCHQ a "highly effective and relevant means of promoting exciting career opportunities to the online gaming audience, through real-world scenarios and realistic street and billboard advertising placements in selected PC and console games in the Massive Network."

In-game advertising has been used successfully to promote companies and some global brands and increase sales and awareness. However, a one month campaign will not be very effective given the shortness of its duration. Also there could be complications with integration because game titles can take years to develop.

Sega GET's in on the game

Sega's American division partners with GET Interactive another in-game advertisement provider. Sega is now the latest publisher that has signed with a in-game advertising company. Sega is partnering with the ad company for a new that they are developing. Sega would not release the name of the title that is in development.

According to Gamespot.com now that gamers have resigned themselves to the "unstoppable force" that is in-game advertising the revenue stream is increasing. With publishers like Eidos signing with ad companies like Codemasters and Sony going as far as buying an external company to be their in-house in-game ad division other companies cannot afford to be left out anymore.

According to GETs their advertising system will be different from all of the other because instead of a static ads impression the gamers will be able to order the product through the game via in-game commands. The company claims that their methods are opt-only but they did not elaborate as to how the process would work. Everquest did the same think with Pizzia Hut, being able to order pizzia without leaving the game.

IGA Worldwide enters relationship with NBC Universal

On October 30, 2007 IGA Worldwide one of the premier in-game advertising companies that has been flying under the radar in the industry entered a strategic relationship with NBC Universal. IGA Worldwide is the largest independent in-game advertising network. IGA signed the deal with NBC Universal's Digital Media division. The companies announced that they had entered into a multi faceted agreement. With this new relationship NBC Universal's Digital Media Advertising Sales team can now sell a part of IGA’s "premium in-game advertising inventory, as well as create customized packages for marketing clients on the IGA network."

“We couldn’t be more proud to partner with NBC Universal Digital Media, the leading advertising sales force in the industry, to offer strategic, innovative placements for both their current and future clients, said Justin Townsend, CEO, IGA Worldwide. “The partnership is validation that in-game advertising is an important part of the media mix for advertisers of all sizes as well as the publishers in our network.”

According to IGA the spending on in-game advertising is expected to grow 33% over the next five years. Also the industry is growing faster then the online advertising. IGA claims to be at the forefront of the in-game advertising industry offering 360 degree advertising solutions "that help brands to understand and exploit the rich and diverse opportunities available now and in the future." It will be interesting to watch this company and the in-game advertising industry over the next few years

IGA Worldwide

Growth still strong

According to Reuters growth for in-game advertisements is still growing. The video game sector is supposed to have above average growth through 2011. Video games are supposed to make up part of the growth of the global entertainment industry. In the United States the video game industry is supposed to top the music industry. The growth that is supposed to happen will be in key areas like online and wireless gaming as well as the new generation of console and the in-game advertising business.

"By 2011, the worldwide gaming market will be worth $48.9 billion at a compound annual growth rate of 9.1% during the five-year period, with gains slowing every year because of the maturation of the current generation of consoles, according to the report. The compound gains handily exceed the 6.4% advance that PwC eyes for the overall entertainment economy during the period."

The growth of the video game industry continues to grow with sales going steady and increasing. In-game advertising is only part of this huge growth spurt that is supposed to bring the video game industry to the forefront of business and technology today. With video games becoming like the new movie industry the growth that it is experiencing isn't expected to end anytime soon.

Eidos with Double Fusion

One of the top game publishers in North America and Europe, Eidos Interactive, announced that they have signed a three year deal with Double Fusion the in-game advertising company that is growing and having great success in the in-game ads industry. Eidos will be featuring Double Fusion created and bought ads in ten of their titles over the next three years. The titles are in development as of now.

The advertising will be displayed in several different formats. There will be ads as well as product placements that follow the games plot line and be "in character" for the surroundings. The in-game ads will be made so they can be rotated or changed after the game's release. This will keep the advertising fresh and effective. The ads will be able to be changed over the internet for different marketing campaigns.

Double Fusion is one of the up and coming in-game advertising companies that are able to offer companies the ability to reach the gamer demographic with targeted ads. Double Fusion is doing very well signing deals with several major companies as well as large game developing companies. According to Digital Battle the executives at Eidos are thrilled to be partnered with this innovative and creative firm.

Halo 3

The launch of the long anticipated game Halo 3 was a huge marketed event and still has events that will revolve around the massive success of the final chapter in the Halo series. While this is not in-game advertising directly is it still game marketing and advertising with the potential to be in-game advertsing. The launch of Halo 3 drew sponsors like Mountain Dew, Microsoft, and Comcast cable to help promote the launch. In the first week there were $300 million in sales and 40 million hours spent on Xbox Live in just the first week. In-game advertising could be tied into Xbox Live even though it is a subscription service ads could reduce their cost. Massive game launches like this one usually draw sponsors for events as well as the potential for in-game ads. Bungie included the ability to record videos during game play according to Shankar Gupta says that this is a huge opportunity for Machinima creators. Machinima is when videos or movies are created in games. This creates many marketing possibilities because of how easy it is to create and distribute movies especially online. Machinima movies also have the potential to draw corporate sponsorship in order to facilitate a better movie. The Red vs Blue series from Halo 2 was very popular with online viewers. Advertisers could get ads in these movies or sponsor them as a guerilla marketing tactic that would be actually rather cost effective.