Tom Bramwell
20:40 (BST)
08/08/2007
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In-game ads increase brand familiarity - study
Microsoft-owned firm says results validate previous claims
Research commissioned by Microsoft's subsidiary Massive Inc. suggests that in-game advertising increases brand familiarity by 64 per cent.
Massive and Nielsen Entertainment split 600 North American gamers into control and test groups and then analysed their response to questions following a session with ad-free and ad-supported copies of EA's Need For Speed Carbon.
The study found that the average brand rating increased by 37 percent from control to test groups, while average purchase consideration and ad recall rose 41 percent and ad rating by 69 percent.
Automotive, consumer packaged goods and quick service restaurants all enjoyed significant gains between groups.
Massive CEO Cory Van Arsdale said the results proved theories built upon limited studies in the past three years.
"As marketers struggle to stand out in cluttered media forms, the Massive network provides both a deeply engaged audience and sophisticated capabilities for creative execution and delivery, resulting in memorable, positive impressions among highly desirable demographics," he argued.
Massive Inc. was founded in 2002 and acquired by Microsoft last year. It has placed campaigns with games including EA's previous Need For Speed title, Most Wanted, which had static adverts for Cingular and Burger King among others.
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