In-game advertising efficiency

One of the problems raised by many advertisers is that in-game advertising is difficult to measure.

Regarding the cost of advertising, for static advertising it is measured function of the forecast sales and average hours playing the whole game. For dynamic advertising, agencies use a 10 second of cumulative exposure during the game as a metric.

As in-game advertisng is a very adaptable medium, costs of campains can go from 50000€ to 300000€ and even to 1 million euros for integrated camapins.


DIGA campaigns - Monitoring and tracking (Source: IAB UK)

The gaming agencies have software that uses IP addresses for geo-targeting of in-game adverts. This also allows a unique user number to be generated locally which can recognise a gamer when he or she next appears online. Advertising can be targeted by date, time of day and frequency (it can also be frequency-capped to provide weekly reach). They are able to record the time that each ad impression takes places, what type of content the advertising was (for example a billboard or video stream) the duration the ad was seen for, the size of the ad relative to the player and the angle that the advert is being viewed at (angle of deflection). They then provide a report to their clients showing the results of the ads served including the reach of the campaign.

Until DIGA became a reality it had been difficult to reach mass audiences with in-game advertising. This is no longer the case as gaming agencies can now place ads in multiple games just as traditional outdoor media owners can provide a variety of poster sites.

DIGA facilitates high reach campaigns that connect brands with an engaged audience and is a targeted, accountable and measurable medium. The reporting metrics and general reach have put the in-game advertising industry in a strong position for the future. However, until more UK research is carried out and a common currency is agreed within the industry, advertisers may act with caution when considering adding in-game advertising to their media plan, despite being very keen to understand how they can benefit from this sector. With a continuing build up of research and the introduction of a standard buying model used by the industry to trade in-game advertising, the medium will, in time, see even greater growth possibilities.

“The single biggest hurdle for mainstream acceptance of the medium at this stage is the necessary research to prove the effectiveness and value of the sector, something each of the stakeholders is working hard to address having learnt valuable lessons from similar issues with the painful initial gestation of online. The issue of metrics standardisation across networks may be harder to solve, however with the market only ever to likely support a maximum of three substantial vendors globally, even this may not prove insurmountable.” - ED Bartlett – IGA

DIGA: Dynamic in-game advertising
See more on: http://www.iabuk.net/en/1/tradingandmonitoring.html

Agencies also published some reports about advertising efficiency, see the links below:
http://www.massiveincorporated.com/casestudiesa.html
http://www.doublefusion.com/advertisers/html/research.html
http://advertising.microsoft.com/research/jeep-gaming-case-study


quote:Jennifer McLean at Double Fusion comments that: “In-game advertising combines the branding power of television with the levels of accountability and measurability that advertisers are used to from the Internet. If a brand invests in a 30-second placement, it is guaranteed the ad will be seen on screen for that period of time, a commitment no other medium provides its customers.”