Trading and monitoring of in-game advertising

Static in-game advertising

Static in-game advertising is traded on projected game sales. This is derived from a calculation based on the rate for integration, projected game sales, the average pass through (average number of people playing per copy bought) and the average hours of game play (e.g. it takes on average 40 hours to complete a game).

The ‘gold disc’ issue

Jean-Paul Edwards from OMD highlighted one important issue facing the growth andappeal of static in-game advertising, commonly referred to as the ‘gold disc issue’. Currently, shelf titles (i.e. those that aren’t based online) provide the user with several options regarding nationality at the beginning of the game, so the game can be played in English, French, Spanish and so on. For each title, a disc needs to be created for testing on all of the games platforms which costs hundreds of thousands of pounds. As it is not economic to create multiple discs for multiple markets there is a global - or at least regional - disc that gets created. This is the reason why we have language choice screens when a game starts. The implications being that advertisers need to buy ‘hard coded’ or static (permanent) placements on a European (and sometimes global) level. Dynamic in game advertising campaigns do not face this problem, as they can be served nationally, and in some cases by region, based on the gamer’s IP address.

Dynamic in-game advertising

DIGA is traded on a CPM or Cost per Thousand basis similar to that of traditional online display advertising. The requirements that must be met in order for an in-game advertising execution to qualify as an impression differ between agencies. They are, however, usually based on the same two concepts: ‘Time on screen’ and ‘Size on screen'.

There is currently no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ trading model for DIGA in-game advertising, as the industry is still working towards agreeing a common currency which will, as with any emerging medium take time to put into practice. Currently gaming agencies have their own tracking models and campaign results will be offered to clients as a part of the overall booking process. See below for the 3 main trading models used in the UK.

Massive Network (DIGA)

One impression on the Massive network is equivalent to 10 seconds of cumulative exposure to a campaign within a game session (one sitting). What is meant by cumulative exposure is that as gamers progress through the game, and say for example, see an ad campaign for 4 seconds in one level, 3 seconds in another and then 3 seconds in yet another level, while playing in one game session - that campaign would then register as having delivered one impression. In order for each 1 second of exposure to be counted, the gamer view has to meet defined thresholds for the angle of view to the ad and size of the ad unit on the screen. These thresholds are designed to ensure that gamers are truly exposed to the ads before any impressions are counted towards the ad client’s campaign goals.

Double Fusion (DIGA)

One impression on the Double Fusion network is also equivalent to 10 seconds of cumulative exposure to an advertising campaign within one sitting (as above). However, they do not count impressions of less than 2 seconds or that took up less than 2% of the screen at the time viewed. There is also a minimum angle the ad must be viewed at.

IGA Worldwide (DIGA)

IGA count one impression as a minimum of 2 seconds ‘time on screen’ (any less and it doesn’t count and any more than 2 seconds is still counted as one impression). The average impression time is currently between 8-9 seconds, dependant on the game. The ad size must reach a minimum of 4% of the screen, the average currently being between 13% and 15%, again, depending on the game.

The choice of gaming agencies that clients and media buying/planning agencies choose to work with is very much influenced by the publisher relationships that each network or buying house has, and is therefore dependant on the audience that the client is trying to reach.

DIGA campaigns - Monitoring and tracking

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