Massive case study shows in-game ad power

Microsoft-owned in-game advertising network Massive Inc has released details of a case study showing the effects of in-game advertising on gamers.

The study used a campaign for Microsoft's Bing search engine as its example and found that 60 per cent of gamers claimed to have a more positive idea of Bing simply as a result of seeing the adverts.

After seeing Bing ads in a game the percentage of gamers visiting and searching on Bing.com rose by 108 per cent. Of this total two-thirds were new users.

The ads ran in several Xbox 360 titles from November to December 2009, including Activision's DJ Hero and Take-Two's NBA 2K10.

"The gaming community embraced the in-game ads and interacted with the brand," said Kirsten Ward, director of digital advertising for Bing and MSN. "The campaign exceeded our expectations across the board. The fact that we’re able to measure that kind of ad effectiveness is truly compelling for brand marketers."

The study also utilised market research firm comScore's AdEffx Action Lift for Gaming digital advertising measurement methodology. As a result Massive claims that the return on investment (ROI) for in-game advertising can now be proven to be as strong as for other forms of digital marketing.

"We believe the AdEffx Action Lift for Gaming research methodology is a 'game-changer' for in-game advertising,” said Mike Hurt, senior vice president of comScore.

"Companies will now be able to measure campaign ROI in a standard, comparable way to other digital media and further realise how effective and influential in-game advertising is at reaching targeted gaming audiences."

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