Author: Jordan L. Howard

What many people might not know, is that there are a few types of in-game advertising. The two most prominent types are ‘dynamic in-game advertising’ and ‘static in-game advertising’. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how these two types of in-game advertising drastically differ in the amount of time needed to launch an ad campaign.

Dynamic in-game advertising can be implemented, updated, or changed in real-time. It popularly takes the form of placements such as billboards, posters, and hoardings situated throughout a 3D video game environment. There are literally no lead times involved with dynamic in-game advertising – once a client signs an insertion order and sends over the creative materials, the ads can get delivered into a game environment immediately. There is absolutely no development or programming needed at all for a dynamic in-game ad campaign to launch. What is needed however is an Ad Server, which is a tool that can stream 2D image ads inside any video game that has integrated a reciprocally configured SDK (Software Development Kit). The ad server is a fantastic tool, because among other capabilities, it allows for geo-targeting and frequency capping, which are two requirements that most brands and media buyers have before running ad campaigns. Once an advertiser’s banners are uploaded to an in-game ad server, the advertisements can be viewed by players around the World in a matter of minutes.

Static in-game advertising is typically what most people think of when discussing or comprehending advertising inside video games. Static in-game ads are programmed directly into a video game, and is done so during the development and production stage of a game’s life-cycle. It can be compared to product placement in films and tv shows, in that the ads are hardcoded into a game and are usually integral parts of the storyline of a video game. With static in-game ads, substantial lead times are required in order to launch and execute an ad campaign. It’s not unusual for a complete timeline of 6-12 months from initial concept to actually seeing the final product inside a live video game.

Depending on what the goals of an advertising campaign are, will dictate which in-game advertising channel is most appropriate. For example dynamic in-game advertising campaigns would be best suited for time sensitive promotions such as a movie or album launch, due to the ability to take ads in and out of a video game. Whereas static in-game advertising would be best suited for campaigns looking to build long-term awareness and more of a customized experience for gamers.

To learn more about in-game advertising or to run a campaign, contact us at http://www.rapidfire.com/contact-us/

Starting January 6th, 2014 and running until January 31st, 2014, RapidFire ran the dynamic in-game advertising (DIGA) campaign for McDonald’s, promoting the ‘Big Mac Hunt’ in Germany.

DIGA is the type of in-game advertising that can be served in real-time inside of console and computer video games. Dynamic in-game ads are commonly featured on billboards, hoardings, and posters situated throughout game’s virtual 3D environment.

Not only is McDonald’s well-known for being the World’s largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, but they’re also well known for being one of the most innovative and effective advertisers of any brand in the World. It comes to no surprise then, that they’ve jumped on board with RapidFire’s renowned platform for advertising inside of video games. McDonald’s ‘Big Mac Hunt’ campaign promoted a fun activity across Germany where people could scan QR codes on various adverts such as TV commercials, Bus Stops, etc, for a chance to win Big Mac’s. The in-game ads that ran on RapidFire’s network, heavily featured QR codes where gamer’s could use their smartphones to scan their TV or computer screens while playing.

Using our proprietary ad serving technology, we were able to geo-target the ‘Big Mac Hunt’ campaign (based on a gamer’s IP address) to the German market. Our network happens to have significant reach in the German market, with regards to both ad impression and unique gamers.

Working closely with McDonald’s media buying agency, OMD, we delivered the campaign across five of our blockbuster PC and Console video game titles. One of the campaign’s many strengths, was the innovative QR codes that were utilized in the campaign. It helped add a form of measurement and direct response that normally wouldn’t be included in a standard brand awareness campaign.

To learn more about in-game advertising, or to start a campaign, feel free to reach out to us!: http://www.rapidfire.com/contact-us/

If you were to ask the average person how they would envision a typical Gamer, most people would conjure-up an image of a lonesome teenager playing 24/7 in his parent’s basement. If you have the same vision as above, we’re sorry to disappoint you, but it’s completely wrong.

What most people don’t realize is that average gamer is actually 30 years old, has a full time job, and enjoys a household income of over $40 000/year. With respect to gender, 55% are males and 45% are females. That being said though, there are still plenty of pre-teen and teen gamers, which are easily reachable via advertising.

Now to the hard facts: Did you know that 43% of gamers see more value in spending on video games than on DVD’s, movie tickets or music? It’s been widely reported in the past couple years that the video game industry is now the LARGEST entertainment sector in the World with regards to revenue, having surpassed both the film and music industries. The total consumer spend on the games industry in 2012 alone came up to $20.77 billion, and it’s still going up.

Video games are one of the most innovative and frankly a perfect advertising channel for brands and advertisers. In-game advertisements are being delivered when people are most receptive – when they’re relaxed and having fun, which translates into increased ad-recall and increased positive emotions towards the brands being advertised. In fact, the majority of gamers are able to recall brands that they’ve seen in video games, and 70% of gamers perceive brands as innovative if they’ve advertised inside of video games.

AND, here’s the cherry on top for brands and advertisers – with dynamic in-game advertising, ads can be geo-targeted, age-targeted, and also run on a CPM price model. These 3 attributes above make in-game advertising so easy to test, and should allow media buyers to include gamification as part of their next ad campaign.

To learn more about in-game advertising or to run a campaign, contact us at http://www.rapidfire.com/contact-us/

With an estimated 30 million gamers in the UK, video games provide an effective and creative advertising channel to reach consumers.

One issue though for many brands and media buyers is not knowing how to execute an in-game advertising campaign, or in a broader sense, not knowing the various types of in-game advertising. Most people visualize advertising inside of video games as strictly hard-coded or product placement, but this is just one of several types of in-game advertising.

Did you know that you can actually run a real-time advertising campaign inside of video games, just like any other digital channel, using nothing more than standard IAB creatives?

Let’s take a look at the three types of in-game advertising below.

Dynamic In-Game Advertising (aka DIGA)

The newest, and by far the most popular type of in-game advertising, DIGA allows media buyers to purchase real-time and geo-targeting capable advertising inside of video games. The adverts appear inside a 3D game environment, on virtual objects such as billboards, posters, and bus stops – all of which are objects that you’d expect to see in a realistic sports or urban environment video game.

Ad networks are able to deliver dynamic in-game ads in real-time using an ad server, in the same way that banner ads are served on websites and blogs. The technology even allows the ads to be placed in games that have already been released; allowing game publishers to earn an additional recurring revenue stream.

One of the benefits of DIGA is the ease of planning and launching a campaign. DIGA allows brands and media buyers to run time-sensitive promotions, on a convenient CPM price model. An advertiser only has to supply standard IAB creatives, and the ads get integrated into blockbuster video game titles on console, PC, and mobile platforms.

Static In-Game Advertising

Often what most people visualize when it comes to in-game advertisements, static in-game advertising takes the form of product placement inside of console, PC, and mobile video games. The advertisements are planned and integrated into a video game during its design and development stage, and therefore allow for much more customized integration. For example, static in-game advertisements are typically integrated into the storyline of a game, or allow players to interact with a brand.

For brands and media buyers looking to reach a global audience, static would be fantastic channel to pursue because it lacks geo-targeting abilities. It wouldn’t be ideal however for brands looking to promote a time sensitive campaign, as static in-game ads remain in a video game for its entire life cycle (typically three years).

Advergames

A portmanteau of the words “advertising” and “gaming”, advergames go well beyond just in-game advertising. In short, it’s a custom build video game with a sole purpose of promoting a brand or product. Advergames can be played on just about platform, and range from a fully functional 3D game to a simple browser based mini-game. Typically, an advergame’s storyline, gameplay, and environment will heavily promote the commissioning brand or product.

One of the main benefits of an advergame, is the ability for a brand to build a fun and positive connection with consumers. Similarly with static in-game advertising, advergames are best suited for brands and media buyers looking to drive awareness on a global scale. Costs, development time, and a lack of targeting abilities provide obstacles for most companies pursuing advergames as a channel.

In summary, video games are a must-have advertising channel if your brand or client is looking to drive awareness and connect with consumers in a new and exciting way.

Dynamic In-Game Advertising (DIGA) is a really unique and effective advertising channel, as it allows for a wide variety of targeting and delivery options. Did you know that DIGA supports geo-targeting, day-parting, and frequency capping? – That’s right, almost all the same functionalities that you can find with most other online display advertising channels.

One of the lesser known but equally important capabilities of dynamic in-game advertising, is that media buyers can actually strategically age target their ads. This targeting method is not achieved within the ad server, as is the case with the latter, but by utilizing the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) which applies a rating to all commercial video games.

Common ESRB ratings for video games include ‘E’ for Everyone, ‘T’ for Teen, and ‘M’ for Mature. By knowing the ratings of each of the video games in our in-game advertising network, we’re able to determine which video games are best suited for advertisers and media buyers.

Take for example an energy drink brand, like Red Bull, whom we recently ran a campaign for. Red Bull would be targeting their ads to teenagers and young adults, who would benefit from an energy providing beverage. We would then deliver their in-game advertising within video games that are predominantly rated ‘M’ for Mature, or even certain games rated ‘T’ for Teen.

Another example would be a movie aimed at families and kids, such as Universal Pictures’ recently released film, ‘Despicable Me 2’. In this case, the in-game advertising for the film would take place within video games that have a rating of ‘E’ for Everyone in order to reach the appropriate demographic.

As you can see, dynamic in-game advertising allows media buyers to strategically age-target their ads based on game ratings and genres. To learn more about in-game advertising, or age targeting, feel free to contact us at: http://www.rapidfire.com/contact-us/

The latest eighth generation video game console to be announced is the Xbox One, which came from Microsoft on May 21st. The announcement was one of the most highly anticipated events in video game history, as many predict the Xbox One being the industry leading console over the competing PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Wii U.

Little has been revealed thus far about the Xbox One’s capabilities when it comes to video games, as most of the details released have been around the Xbox One’s hardware and more general functionalities. That being said, we’ve been able to identify a few areas that may affect the future of dynamic in-game advertising.

Various sources have indicated that the Xbox One will require a constant 24 hour internet connection, in order to play video games or utilize the console. A constant internet connection means that we’ll most likely see more online multiplayer games for the Xbox One compared to games produced for the Xbox 360. A required internet connection is actually a fantastic thing for dynamic in-game advertising’s future, as it allows more games to be compatible with in-game advertising, and ultimately it will expand the amount of gamers capable of being displayed in-game ads. As a reminder, dynamic in-game advertisements can only be displayed to gamers playing with an active internet connection, because only internet access allows the ads to be delivered in real-time to gamers (via an ad server).

Another reported aspect of the Xbox One, is its ability to digitally record live gameplay, essentially like a ‘DVR’. This would give in-game advertising companies like us, an incredible tool for our Ad Operations team. Just to give you some insight, RapidFire provides screenshots and video examples of every in-game advertising campaign that is run for clients. Currently we record screenshots using a capture card, which is a third-party tool that connects to the game console and complicates the entire process. Having a digital video recorder built into the console will streamline Ad Operations, and we assume will also improve image and video quality.

Lastly, we can obviously expect the Xbox One to drastically improve the graphics of video games. The improved hardware and capabilities of the new console, will be nothing but a positive for in-game advertising, making the ads more prominent and better situated within the virtual environment.

Modifying our SDK to fit within Xbox One games, as well as other eighth generation console games, is a big focus of ours at RapidFire. Our goal is to be the first ever dynamic in-game advertising network to deliver in-game advertising within an eighth generation console.

To learn more about RapidFire, or about in-game advertising, contact us at: http://www.rapidfire.com/contact-us/

Earlier this month, IAB UK (Internet Advertising Bureau United Kingdom) released a research study indicating that the entire digital advertising industry has grown by 12.5% to almost £5.5bn (appx $8.5Bn USD) since 2011.

This barely comes as a surprise, as the digital advertising industry has been one of the fastest growing advertising channels over the years.

Several digital advertising sectors contributed to the overall industry growth which includes, video advertising, social media advertising, mobile advertising, and of course in-game advertising.

Within the report, IAB UK highlights in-game advertising as one of the fastest growing digital advertising channels. Since 2011 in-game advertising alone has grown 30% to £23.4 million (from £18.0 million in 2011).

The study is specific in that it mentions ‘online in-game advertising’, which is just another term for dynamic in-game advertising‘ which happens to be our flagship service. Dynamic In-Game Advertising is the type of advertising that takes the form of billboards and posters situated throughout a virtual video game environment. The ads can be updated in real-time, geo-targeted, and are very to online display ads with regards to capabilities.

To download or learn more about the IAB UK report, visit: http://www.iabuk.net/about/press/archive/uk-digital-adspend-up-125-to-almost-55bn

To learn more about in-game advertising or to start a campaign, contact us at: http://www.rapidfire.com/contact-us

We’ve been getting asked quite frequently lately, how the new Sony PlayStation 4 will affect in-game advertising, and what opportunities would arise with regards to our services. We thought we’d address this in a short blog post.

The PlayStation 4 is considered an eighth generation console, which makes it more powerful and advanced than the seventh generation consoles which include the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii. It will undoubtedly be a powerful piece of machinery, and will boast the following reported specs:

• Semi-custom accelerated processing unit (APU) developed by AMD in coordination with Sony
• The graphics processing unit (GPU) consists of 18 compute units to produce a theoretical peak performance of 1.84 TFLOP/s
• The PS4 will contain 8 GB of GDDR5 unified system memory with a maximum bandwidth of 176 GB/s, which is 16 times more than the PlayStation 3.

If you’re not a technical person, this blurb above basically means it will be a BIG step up from the seventh generation consoles.

With regards to Dynamic In-Game Advertising, which is our flagship advertising channel, the new PlayStation 4 won’t affect our services too much. Our business model will remain the same, and the advertisements/billboards within the game will still take the same form. The new and improved graphics which are expected with the PS4, will definitely further enhance the visibility and clarity of the advertisements/billboards, which is great news for advertisers.

Additionally there have been reports of new functionality where gamers can take screenshots and videos of their gameplay, and then share it with friends. At RapidFire we currently utilize a capture card and other third party tools in order to send clients screenshots and video of their campaigns in action. With this new functionality it will definitely simplify the process, and allow RapidFire’s Ad Ops teams to deliver the screenshots and video in a more timely fashion.

With regards to our Console Integration service, this could change our offerings a bit. For those of you that don’t already know, Console Integration takes the form of advertisements integrated within the dashboards of video game consoles – so it’s not technically an ‘in-game’ channel. Nonetheless though, it’s equally as effective in reaching the elusive video game playing demographic.

Little has been revealed about the new PlayStation 4 dashboard and layout, but we do expect great things and several new advertising opportunities. With the PlayStation 4, we do expect some sort of internet browsing capabilities, similar to the newly introduced internet explorer of the Xbox 360. With internet browsing in the console, ads will be able to feature click-through capabilities that can direct gamers to an advertiser’s website or eCommerce page. The PS4 could also feature more engaging ad placements, due to a more enhanced dashboard and menu.

As more information is revealed about the new PS4 console, we’ll continue to add to the blog any relevant updates on this matter.

To learn more about RapidFire and our in-game advertising services, contact us at http://www.rapidfire.com/contact-us/.