IGA Exec Talks In-Game Ads

Ed Bartlett, founder of in-game product placement firm Hive Partners and now European VP at Hive's parent company IGA Worldwide, spoke with GamesIndustry.biz in an interview publised today about IGA's current in-game ad initiaves, including the company's multi-game deal announced last year with Electronic Arts. IGA has found publishers and developers receptive to advertising propositions, Bartlett said, though interestingly he also noted that "we've seen some resistance from the smaller independent studios." One of the commonly reiterated benefits of in-game advertising and product placement has been its potential to allow smaller studios to remain independent by taking advantage of the model's alternative revenue stream. For example, by signing a sponsorship deal with the Electronic Sports World Cup, Nadeo was able to release its Trackmania Nations for free. "They've gone from the retail copy of the game having only sold tens of thousands to the free download having over 2 million players. By having a bigger audience you bring in more ad revenues which means you can offset the costs even further," said Bartlett. He added, "When you look at a big triple-A console release you're never going to be able to offset the entire cost of the release through advertising." Today's interview comes in the wake of an independent report issued by behavioral research firm Bunnyfoot last month, concluding that in-game ads are currently having little effect on gamers. Bunnyfoot's research focused on sports games, the genre with the longest history of product placement and advertising, and included titles such as NBA Live, SmackDown vs. RAW, Project Gotham 3, and others. "Highest [Sponsor Fixation Index] scores were found with NBA Live and Smackdown Vs Raw; however, recall and recognition figures were surprisingly low; a pattern evident across all titles. Moreover, PGR3 elicited no consumer engagement at all, resulting in 0% on all scores," reads the report.