Epic Advertising:

Charles Nowaczek was appointed as Chief Operating Officer. Previously, Nowaczek was the Senior Vice President of Operations for the company, and has been with Epic since March 2006. He is based in the New York City headquarters.

Young Kim was appointed to the position of Senior Vice President of Finance. Previously, Kim was the Vice President of Finance for the company, and has been with Epic since 2005. He is based in the Toronto, Canada office.

Interpret:

Michael Cai was names as Vice President of Video Games. Prior to joining Interpret, Cai served as Director of Digital Media and Gaming for Parks Associates.

KARMA Media Labs:

John O’hara was hired as Director of Social Media Production. He previously served as director of new media with the EMMY Award winning digital team behind NBC’s Heroes, Seasons 1 and 2, as well as led social media and viral marketing for Paramount’s upcoming film Star Trek.

Titan Worldwide:

Rob Marlow was named to the newly created position of Senior Vice President and Worldwide Chief Information Officer. Before joining Titan, Marlow was the Director of Global Technology for Altria. Prior to Altria, Mr. Marlow was the Manager of Global Operations for a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company in San Diego. He began his technical career at Meadows Consulting Group.

VoodooVox:

Gregory Wester was promoted to Chief Operating Officer. Prior to the promotion, Greg held the role of Vice President of Product and Strategy. Prior to VoodooVox, Greg was founder and President of Soapbox Marketing. Prior to Soapbox Marketing, Greg was a Vice President and executive team member at Organic Inc. Greg was also the founder and Vice President of the Yankee Group’s Internet Market Strategies practice, and began his career in interactive media as Principal Interactive Researcher at GTE Labs.

Jumpstart Automotive Media:

Steve Wilhite has been appointed President and CEO. Wilhite, a veteran auto marketer with leadership experience at Volkswagen and Nissan, joined Jumpstart as president in mid 2008. This is a planned transition as former CEO and Founder Mitch Lowe leaves for an extended sabbatical. Lowe remains on the board of directors. Before joining Jumpstart, Wilhite served as COO of Hyundai North America. Earlier he was Vice President of Global Marketing Communications at Apple. He served as Vice President of Marketing at Volkswagen. Wilhite was also Vice President of Marketing at Nissan North America, and later Senior VP of Global Marketing for Nissan and Infiniti.

MediaVest USA:

Malcolm Russell was hired as Senior Vice President, Consumer Context Planner. Most recently he served as Head of Communications Planning at MindShare North America. Prior to that position, Russell was Business Director, MindShare UK.

Nurun Inc:

The global interactive marketing agency has moved its U.S. headquarter office in New York to Union Square from its longstanding location on Broad Street. Nurun signed a seven-year lease at a building located at 18 East 16th St.

The industry standard counts a collective 10-second exposure as an impression, however the study came up with surprising results that prove a ½-second exposure is “sufficient for a gamer to notice an in-game ad,” according to the report.

81% of gamers are exposed to at least one ad impression every other minute, and 75% will be exposed to ads at the rate of at least one a minute. Other findings show that game users notice and accept ads as a natural presence, and are receptive to brands that may have nothing to do with the content of the game. President and CEO of Double Fusion, Jonathan Epstein stated, “Ads from relevant brands to the demographic do convey a sense of trust and compel the desire for further information and purchasing intent.”

He continued, “Larger ads do better than smaller ads, but it’s more important to be on that plane.” EyeTracking Inc. conducted a piece of the full study that demonstrated that executions are more successful when there is less ad clutter. The highest level of visibility closer towards the viewing area. Double Fusion classifies eye level as prime real estate for ads.

The study was conducted in two phases of research. The ultimate goal is to offer relevant information to advertisers in order to assist them and game publishers to optimize in-game ad placements.

With the in-game market projected to reach the multi-billion dollar range, Epstein would like media buyers to consider gaming as an incorporated part of the market.