Aap! - Alternative Advertising Possibilities

Source: Konami.com - Product Placement in Metal Gear Solid 4

Gamers have a “consistently positive” opinion of in-game advertising according to virtual media space broker Massive, which is owned by Microsoft, after conducting a survey whose results it recently announced.

Media research firm Interpret looked into four of Massive’s advertisers: an unnamed fast-food restaurant, candy company and entertainment studio, plus Adidas footwear and apparel, and found the ads are having an effect, showing significant percentage increases in brand recognition when compared to those who didn’t see the in-game ads.

With the Adidas promotion, for example, gamers who saw the ads in 2K Sports’ Major League Baseball 2K7
said things like “Adidas is the only brand for me” and “Adidas is an inspirational brand” 70 percent more often than those not exposed to the ads.

Massive’s study suggests that gamers don’t view negatively on being influenced: 70 percent of gamers said the ads enhanced realism, fit the games they appeared in (universally sports games, except for the ads in
Rainbow Six: Vegas) and that the ads “looked cool.”

Source: Nielsen Entertainment executed study for Massive in January
2007. Data from surveys with 600+ gamers in North America who played
Need For Speed Carbon on Xbox 360 & PC platforms. Game published by
Electronic Arts.

Read the release after the jump.

In-Game Advertising Research Proves Effectiveness for Brands Across Categories and Game Title

Adidas, other leading brands from quick-service restaurant, candy
and entertainment categories drive key marketing metrics for brands and
products advertised throughout Massive Network.

NEW YORK — June 3, 2008 — Massive Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary
of Microsoft Corp. and a leading network for video game advertising,
and Interpret LLC, a leading new media research firm, today released
research results that provide further insight into the significant
brand impact of dynamic in-game advertising. The study demonstrates
that the gaming audience has a consistently positive opinion of the ads
and how the ads affect their game experience.

Interpret conducted detailed research on behalf of Massive and four
of its advertisers: adidas utilizing brand advertising for footwear and
apparel, a quick-service restaurant (QSR) brand promoting a tie-in to
gaming and a specific menu option, a candy company marketing new
creative for its candy bar brand, and an entertainment studio
advertising the DVD release for a hit film. The study measures a broad
range of brand metrics across game environments and suggests best
practices to guide advertisers and their agencies within this rapidly
maturing medium.

adidas tested ads it ran through the Massive Network in “Major
League Baseball® 2K7,” published by 2K Sports, a publishing label of
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. Among those exposed to the adidas
ads (the test group), 40 percent recall the company’s tagline of
“Impossible Is Nothing” — an increase of 90 percent over those not
exposed to the ads (the control group). The number of gamers exposed to
the ads who agreed with the statements “adidas is the only brand for
me” and “adidas is an inspirational brand” rose 70 percent over those
not exposed to the ads. In addition, 73 percent of gamers recalling the
ads agreed with the statement that “the ads enhanced the realism of the
game.”

“The influence of gaming on our target for adidas can’t be denied,”
said Brian Mathena, group media director for Carat. “The scalability
and effectiveness that Massive’s dynamic in-game solution provides is
evident in the results of our efforts. Massive has consistently been a
true partner in consulting on the best gaming solutions for adidas and
the rest of our clients.”

Drawing on its unparalleled experience in video game advertising
research, Massive has conducted studies for more than 30 clients across
North America and Europe assessing the impact of in-game ads across
numerous key brand metrics, including purchase interest, brand
recommendation and brand attributes. Results such as these released
today help the advertising community understand how and why in-game
advertising works, and guides the development of best practices for
this important component of media plans.

Across all game genres and advertisers studied, the research
revealed that an average of 70 percent of gamers agreed with statements
that the dynamic in-game ads “contributed to realism,” “fit the games”
in which they were served and looked “cool.”

A leading QSR brand executed custom ad creative for select titles
with strong results. Among those gamers exposed to the QSR ads in “Need
for Speed Carbon,” a racing title published by Electronic Arts Inc.,
the number saying that they would recommend the QSR brand to others
rose by 39 percent compared with the control group, and those assigning
the QSR brand the highest possible brand rating rose by 17 percent from
the control group to the test group. Fifty-six percent of exposed
gamers agreed with the statement that the ads made the gaming
environment feel more interactive.

A global candy bar company executed a branding campaign in “NASCAR®
08,” published by Electronic Arts. Seventy-five percent of gamers
recalled the candy bar in-game advertising with 56 percent recalling
the specific ad creative. Within the test group, 72 percent agreed with
the statement that the candy bar is “a great snack to eat while playing
video games,” an increase of 29 percent from the control group; the
proportion agreeing that the candy bar “gives you energy” and “is cool”
rose 24 percent and 21 percent from control group to test group,
respectively.

An entertainment studio ran a campaign advertising the DVD release
of a hit film in “Rainbow Six: Vegas,” an action title published by
Ubisoft Entertainment. Unaided awareness of the DVD increased 16
percent among gamers exposed to the ads as compared with the control
group, with 66 percent of those recalling the campaign having a more
positive opinion of the DVD following in-game exposure. Purchase intent
for the DVD rose 23 percent from control group to test group, with 80
percent of exposed gamers responding in the survey that “they would
probably or definitely purchase the DVD.”

“The depth of this research reflects Massive’s commitment to
offering advertisers an understanding of how in-game advertising can
impact brands across game genres and advertising categories,” said Cory
Van Arsdale, CEO of Massive. “As the in-game medium matures and
establishes its position on the media plan, advertisers and agencies
are eager for insight into creative nuances and best practices for
maximizing its impact. We view this type of guidance as an essential
part of our role as an industry leader and innovator.”

Methodology

Interpret implemented a test/control methodology for each game in
which Massive dynamically served ads, totaling over 1,000 gamers across
the United States. Both control and test group respondents played the
same game title that was studied for each ad client. The control group
consisted of those who had played the game but were not exposed to ads
delivered from Massive. The test group had played the game on a
connected Xbox 360 system or PC during the time the ad campaigns were
live, and had the opportunity to be exposed to the ads delivered by
Massive. Both groups were asked the same set of questions about the
brands and ads included in the study, and the respondent differences
were evaluated to identify significant shifts in each brand metric
measured.

About Interpret LLC

Interpret is a next-generation media and market research firm with
a focus on evaluating and measuring the intersections of content,
advertising, technology and consumer behavior. Interpret’s management
team has unique experience pioneering new custom research methodologies
and analytics to help companies Plan, Test and Measure™ their new media
strategies. In addition to campaign ad effectiveness testing,
Interpret’s suite of products and services include GaMeasure and
GamerLog, two syndicated services developed to deliver planning and
measurement intelligence to the burgeoning field of in and around-game
advertising. The firm is headquartered in Santa Monica, California,
with offices in New York and London. More information can be found
online at: http://www.interpretllc.com.

About Massive Inc.

Massive Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft, is the
creator of a leading network for dynamic video game advertising. The
Massive Network offers advertisers the ability to reach an aggregated
gaming audience in real time across multiple platforms. Over 200
blue-chip advertisers have run campaigns across the Massive Network
throughout North America and Europe. Publishers in the Massive Network
generate revenue through dynamic in-game advertising, enabling them to
fully realize the value of their content while preserving and enhancing
the game experience. Massive’s technology allows for all forms of
downloadable media and advertising content to be contextually
integrated into the game environment, including image, audio, video and
game object formats. More information can be found online at
http://www.massiveincorporated.com.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader
in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses
realize their full potential.