Advertising Speakers Announced for Casuality Seattle

Seattle, WA. - June 1, 2006 - Casuality Seattle announced today speakers for a full day of in-depth advertising sessions June 29 at Casuality Seattle: A Conference for Casual Game Developers, Publishers and Distributors. The event will be held in downtown Seattle at Benaroya Hall June 27-29.

The casual games industry is leading the charge to TV like advertising models inside of interactive electronic entertainment media. While core games have created and legitimized a model in which the customer typically believes they incur the sole cost of the production and delivery of premium content, the casual games industry is pioneering the concept of advertising-supported and funded game play, yielding huge benefits for both consumers and marketers alike.

"Advertising, after many fits-and-starts, has become a critical source of revenue in interactive media business models, both Internet and iTV," said Michael Zeisser, SVP Liberty Media Corporation. "We are excited to help grow the casual games industry by sharing our experiences with how to attract advertisers to emerging interactive media platforms."

Attendees will spend a full day gathering a complete perspective of casual games advertising, learning about all forms of game advertising including: the advertising agencies' perspective, success stories from other interactive media, casual advergames and commercials in casual games followed by an exploration of next steps to define the casual games industry's advertising model.

"Despite the attention console online gaming receives, North American casual gaming revenue more than doubled online console gaming revenue in 2005. Revenue from casual game advertising alone generated $124 million, far more than in-game advertising for core products. This is a testament to how genuinely mass market casual games have become," said Alexis Madrigal of DFC Intelligence who will be releasing a study of the casual games space in partnership with the Casual Games Association this June. "In the near term, casual game advertising revenue will continue to grow, reaching $173 million in 2007."

"Casual games, because of how they are delivered and consumed online, represent a sophisticated advertising platform for marketers looking to reach gamers today," said Dave Madden, EVP of WildTangent and Chair, Interactive Advertising Bureau's Games Committee. "The IAB is excited to work together with the casual games industry to define some common units and measurements that can scale across all game platforms, thus enabling marketers and agencies to make larger financial commitments to the rapidly growing medium."

Confirmed games industry speakers:

"Advertisers and Agencies"
Brandon Berger, Digital Innovation, Ogilvy Interactive

"Lessons Learned from Interactive Media Advertising"
Michael Zeisser, SVP Liberty Media Corporation
Top Hagopian, SVP & GM Open TV

"Advergaming Case Studies: How Advergames Can Benefit Casual Game Operators"
Dan Ferguson, Director of Game Development and Founder, Blockdot
Garry Kitchen, President and CEO, Skyworks
Mike Burns, Chief Creative Officer, Fuel Industries
Moderator: Robb Lewis, Senior Director Product Management and Marketing, Trymedia Games Macrovision

"Commercials with Games: Will the TV Advertising Model Work with Casual Game Content?"
Ran Cohen, Director, Emerging Media, Eyeblaster
Chris Houtzer, Senior Product Manager, Games, RealNetworks
Moderator: Robb Lewis, Senior Director Product Management and Marketing, Trymedia Games

"Creating an Advertising Model Inside of Interactive Media: Next Steps"
Dave Madden, EVP, Wildtangent & Chair, Interactive Advertising Bureau Games Committee
Greg Lanz, VP Sales, iWin Inc.
Chris Early, Studio Manager, Microsoft Casual Games
Ralph Rivera, VP and GM, AOL Games

About The Casual Games Association's Casuality Seattle:
The Casual Games Association's Casuality Seattle is designed for industry professionals, industry executives, and professionals interested in creating, marketing and distributing games for everyone. The event will allow plenty of opportunities for networking and meetings as well as detailed and informative workshops for those looking to expand their knowledge of casual games.
For more information on Casuality Seattle please visit: http://seattle.casuality.org/

Media Contacts

Casual Games Association

Christine Souliere
+1 (801) 499-1985
christine@casuality.org