Massive Inc is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corp and is also a leading network for video game advertising.
By: Captain Maverick
Published: Jun 3, 2008
Updated: Sep 2, 2010
Interpret LLC is a leading new media research firm that today released research results that provided further insight into the brand impact of dynamic in-game advertising.
The study illustrates how the video game player has a positive opinion of how the ads affect their video gaming experience.
Massive contracted Interpret to conduct the research into in-game advertising for four of Massive's advertisers; adidas for their brand name footwear and apparel, quick-service restaurant brand that is looking at a specific promotion that ties into gaming for a menu option, a candy company that is marketing a new candy bar brand, and an entertainment company that is advertising a DVD release of their film.
The adidas test ran through the Massive Network in Major League Baseball 2K7 bu 2K Sports, and among those exposed to the ads, 40 percent could recall the company tag line, "Impossible is Nothing." This was an increase of 90 percent over those not exposed to the ads in the control group. The number of gamers that were exposed to the ads who agreed with the statements "adidas is the only brand for me" and "adidas is an inspirational brand" rose by 70 percent when compared to those that were not exposed to the ads. Additionally, those that were exposed to the ads said that the ads enhanced the realism of the game.
These results were seen across all game genres and all advertisers studied. The research showed that an average of about 70 percent of the gamers agreed with the statements that the in-game dynamic ads added to the realism of the game. They further said that the ads fit the games in which they were served and "looked cool".
{slot15}The quick-serve restaurant ads appeared in Need for Speed Carbon, a racing title published by Electronic arts and also showed a substantial increase in product awareness by the group that had seen the ads versus the control group. The candy bar company ran their ad campaign in NASCAR 08, another Electronic Arts game where 56 percent of those who saw the ad recalled it as a creative ad. In fact 72 percent agreed with the statement that the candy bar is "a great snack to eat while playing video games".
The entertainment company ran its DVD advertisement of its hit film release in Rainbow Six: Vegas, an action shooter title published by Ubisoft Entertainment. 66 percent of those exposed to the ad in-game recalled the ad and had a positive opinion about the DVD movie. While purchase intent for the DVD rose 23 percent from the control group to the test group, 80 percent of the gamers exposed to the ads in-game said that they would probably or definitely purchase the DVD.
What does this mean for the future of in-game advertising? Well in a nutshell, it means that we are more likely to see much more in-game advertising. But this could also be a great support for the video game industry as the costs to create video games continues to skyrocket because games have become more and more like major productions involving massive numbers of people with huge technical budgets, in-game advertising could be one way of off-setting the cost of producing video games and keeping the purchase cost to the end user more reasonable. Meaning the end user may be instead be spending more on the products they see advertised in the video games instead of spending more on the games themselves.
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