Prior to Eyeblaster, Cohen served as VP Business Development and Senior Director of product marketing in C.A.C Media, Comverse Technology and Odigo. Working with a company in the beginning stages became an integral part of Cohen’s work ethic and solid background. ADOTAS takes a minute to talk to the Director of Emerging Media about his role at Eyeblaster, how the gaming industry has become a part of his life and about the in-game advertising factory at Eyeblaster.

Hi, Ran. Before Eyeblaster, what was your experience?

I joined Eyeblaster to support the expansion of Eyeblaster’s Advertising Campaign Management (ACM) suite to additional emerging digital platforms such as games, mobile and IPTV. My experience did not include an in-depth understanding of the gaming industry; however, I had a strong background evaluating business environments and emerging technologies, and opportunities where the two areas fit well together. In the past, I was involved with business development in instant messaging, user oriented mobile applications and IPTV projects. In this context, I collaborated with third parties and leveraged emerging technologies to introduce new revenue-generating products.

How does your current role at Eyeblaster differ from your professional history?

The focus of this industry is on providing value to end users through entertainment- this is different from my past work, and it’s very rewarding. I am pleased to have helped bring to market eb.in-games, Eyeblaster’s in-game ad product, which creates additional monetization options for game developers — and additional incentives to deliver quality content to end users.

Did you have an interest in Eyeblaster before joining the company? How did your experience, which did not involve in-game advertising, come to prepare you for the Eyeblaster opportunity?

I had been following Eyeblaster for a few years before I joined the company. The introduction of Eyeblaster’ Advertising Campaign Management product suite, which provides a comprehensive set of tools and products to interactive agencies, brought about the need to expand such capabilities to additional platforms. I thought this new opportunity presented a tailored fit between my skill set and the company’s needs.

What company gave you a start within the technology world and how did you make it to where you are today?

Odigo, an instant messaging and presence startup that was later acquired by Comverse Technologies (NASDAQ: CMVT) gave me my start and provided a solid background with technology products. Like many other startups, the company began in a small apartment with high expectations and a heavy workload. I joined the company in its very early stages and was lucky to get the opportunity to face growing challenges on both the business and product sides. Those years were very intense, and I was exposed to and involved with the many different ingredients required for success of any product. Since then I have taken part in many other projects, all having something to do with innovation. Those experiences lead me to my role at Eyeblaster today.

Among other accolades, IGA is looking towards its 10 millionth consumer before the end of March. The independent company also plans to significantly increase its reach and the number of games in its network by the end of the year in addition to publishers and developers like EA, Atari, Acclaim, Codemasters and Valve.

In a press statement, Justin Townsend, CEO, IGA Worldwide said, “We are thrilled to offer advertisers a surefire way to reach millions of consumers with high impact advertising and highly measurable results in some of the worlds leading game franchises. Seven-figure budgets are no longer an anomaly and we are seeing more brands shifting dedicated budgets of this magnitude into the in-game space. This supports the general expectation that the market will grow by between 40 and 50 percent in 2007, with the latest market-size estimates for 2010 averaging $1.3 billion.”

Rumors have been flying since January when the Wall Street Journal reported that Google was talking with Adscape about a possible acquisition. The Journal speculated that Adscape could go for about $200 million, the amount Microsoft paid when it purchased in-game advertising company Massive, Inc. In February, the business and technology website Red Herring reported that Google would be purchasing Adscape for a much more modest $23 million.

Google has confirmed the acquisition with a post on the Official Google Blog from Adscape Media chairman and game industry veteran Bernie Stolar. “Our charge at Adscape has always been to honor the game that was developed and find new ways to enable that game to continue so others can enjoy it. That’s why we are so stoked to join Google—because these guys get it, and are committed to helping us continue our mission,” wrote Stolar. Neither Google nor Stolar have revealed exactly how much Google will be paying for Adscape.

According to an Adscape FAQ, Adscape’s technology is compatible with Google’s, but the company is not revealing how the two platforms will fit together. Adscape will be aiming at both large and small game publishers.

Top Spin 2 joins Double Fusion’s roster of sports games and gives them a channel to reach tennis fans contextually. “Top Spin 2 not only perfectly exemplifies an opportunity where dynamic ads mutually benefit the gamer and the marketer, but adding Triple A titles as such further enhances the network reach we offer at Double Fusion,” said Julie Shumaker, Double Fusion’s VP of worldwide sales.

Double Fusion powers the advertising in several soccer and baseball games from publishers like 2K Sports. Top Spin 2 features real-world athletes including Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova in real-world tennis events like Grand Slam tournament Wimbledon. The game includes multiplayer options over Internet, LAN, or on a single PC.

“We believe that in-game advertising, when implemented correctly, benefits everyone in the industry,” added Aspyr EVP of publishing Ted Staloch. “Double Fusion’s technology and use of contextual advertisements is an excellent example of proper execution that blends seamlessly with the gaming experience.”

Ads are embedded into games and other mobile qualities with Hovr, all without disturbing the user and their experience. With its AdLogic Platform, Hovr claims it can place dynamic, targeted and interactive ads across mobile content. According to the release, the use of the mobile phone affords Hovr a reach that includes the ideal 13-34 gaming demographic.

Vipul Sawhney, Hovr’s president, states “Advertisers are looking for new ways to get important product and brand information in front of targeted audiences. At the same time, consumers want a way to get mobile content without having to pay before trying it. Hovr’s technology lets the needs and desires of these two groups form a perfect marriage inside the Hovr community.”

Many other sites require users to pay anywhere between $5 and $12 to download games, while Hovr provides them for free with pre-roll and post-roll ads. Product placements are also embedded within the games as well.

Games like Hugo Cannon Cruise and Texas Holdem’ can be downloaded through using Hovr, and with more deals with publishers, more games are to come. By going to Hovr.com and joining the Hovr MobileSpace, users can begin receiving games and playing for free.

According to company stats, in eight weeks of soft launch, Hovr has surpassed 200,000 downloads and Hovr MobileSpace membership now spans over 100 countries.

Adscape’s technology will let Google place and measure advertising inside video games and virtual worlds. Google will gain Adscape’s Adver-Play system, which places ads directly inside a game world, and Real Virtual Gateway, which can send brand messages through two-way text, audio and video communication.

In January 2006, the Wall Street Journal said that Google was talking with Adscape and hinted that the company could go for around $200 million, the same amount that Microsoft paid for in-game advertising company Massive Inc. last year.

However Massive, an established company, had already partnered with several prominent brands including Coke and Honda. Adscape, only a year old, has not announced any brand partners. The company launched in February 2006 with $3.2 million in venture funding from HIG Ventures.

One source cited by the Red Herring said that Google did not have the experience necessary to be successful in the in-game space. With the buyout, Google gains the patents to all of Adscape’s technology and its management team, which will be moving to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California. The deal has not yet been formally announced.

Real-time reporting, worldwide targeting and streamlined ad production are additional features of the too. And along with the ability to manage campaigns comes a wizard that allows for different formats, click features, and targeting based on location.

Advertisers of all sizes and structures will be able to launch their own in-game ad campaigns within the Marketplace through a 5-step process that includes signing up on the Greystripe home page, creating your ad and choosing from 4 campaigns types (click-to-call, click-to browse, click-to-jump, and branding), setting your CPM bid with geo-targeting options, uploading your ad creative, and then closing the transaction through PayPal and credit card.

Jim Durrell, Greystripe’s Director of Product Management, said in a statement, “We have created an easy-to-use interface for advertisers to purchase ads and reach Greystripe’s worldwide mobile audience of gamers. The AdWRAP Marketplace’s full screen ad format is compelling because it delivers a high impact brand message to the mobile consumer. It’s like having a huge billboard in front of gamers delivered through a media channel that is inherently opt-in because gamers are getting the games for free. Advertisers have been quick to recognize the targeted and highly viral nature of this medium.”

According to the WSJ, discussions have been held for months and the paper reveals that the acquisition could occur within weeks. In turn, Google would be able to offer virtual billboards in racing games and other types of advertising outlets within the gaming world.

No formal statement has been made confirming this, but Adscape Chairman Bernard Stolar told WSJ that he “has spoken to every major player” about a possible acquisition of Adscape, but he claims there currently is no such deal with reference to Google.

Google’s potential acquisition of Adscape would allow it to capitalize on the latter company’s would be the wealth of ties with leading game publishers. Another possible outcome of such a deal would be the beginning of a Google-Sony Playstation alliance, which could rival Microsoft’s Xbox 360 platform.

Other reports have stated that Google is also discussing a supposed agreement with CBS Corp. This deal would include brokering TV and radio advertisements, but CBS and Google have declined to comment on the matter.

“We are always considering new ways to extend Google’s advertising program to benefit our users, advertisers and publishers. In-game advertising offers one such possible extension among many others” said a Google spokesman.

The new version of Radial is part of IGA’s expanding in-game initiative that brings online advertising to games on multiple platforms. The new service also includes a more advanced Web-based ad booking system that lets advertisers plan and execute their campaigns online, encrypted caching, and an advanced inventory management system.

IGA calculates that the new version of Radial will increase ad traffic performance by up to 700%.

“Radial 2.0 represents a giant leap forwards in the sophistication of in-game advertising delivery and reporting technology, providing IGA with a robust foundation for the future as our network reach soars past the 10 million unique user mark,” said CEO Justin Townsend in a statement.

According to Townsend, the Radial network was serving nearly 6 million customers by the end of 2006. IGA plans to increase that number by introducing an improved SDK that reduces the development time of ad-integration to less than two hours.

The latest games of 2007 to utilize the new system include Valve’s Counterstrike and EA’s Battlefield: 2142.

With the acquisition of BuzzCity, Greystripe hopes to provide the plethora of games offered by BuzzCity to its subscribers.

Regarding the partnership, Dr Lai Kok Fung, CEO of BuzzCity, commented in a press statement, “By joining Greystripe’s program we are able to offer myGamma members free and compelling mobile games that appeal to our demographic. “We are excited to provide myGamma users with cool new applications that give us the ability to increase our value with a profitable advertising revenue source. With over 1.5 million members spanning across 40 countries, we expect to see incredible results.”

The AdWrap catalog contains more than 350 mobile games, which cover a range of interests including casino, adventure, and puzzles. Greystripe also claims that more than 2 million games have been downloaded from the GameJump.com website, which provides free games to myGamma users.

Greystripe VP of business development Alvaro Bravo added, “We are thrilled to have BuzzCity join our AdWRAP Catalog Program to offer ad-supported mobile games to myGamma users. There is a great overlap between our target audiences, and we expect to see a significant demand for free games from their users, demonstrating real opportunities for third-screen entertainment and advertising.”