Ad Effx Action Lift for Gaming will combine in-game console ad-serving data from Massive with comScore’s post-campaign panel data to determine if viewers of ads subsequently visited a brands website, searched for a brand through related terms or engaged with the brand in some other online fashion such as social media. The measuring is akin to ad tracking in other digital mediums and ensures consumer anonymity and privacy.

“We know from 80-plus independently verified post-campaign studies that in-game advertising increases brand engagement,” said JJ Richards, general manager of Massive. “But what we didn’t know was the correlation between in-game ads and consumer action. Through this partnership with comScore, we will also now be able to measure those consumer actions that result from in-game ads.”

comScore reported some impressive numbers with its preliminary data, including a 280% increase in visits to a TV channel’s website after users were exposed to an in-game ad. In addition, the company discovered a 125% increase in searches for a movie rental brand and 57% hike in visits to its Web site. There was also a 17% jump in visits to entertainment websites after players saw ads for certain films.

The network will serve advertisers that want to target men between the ages of 15 and 34 who are active gamers (it includes 110 sites that reach 12.7 million unique visitors and delivers 102 million Web impressions a month, per the company’s stats).

Today, Microsoft’s unit Massive, released the results of its survey of in-game ads that found that not only were the ads successful – users welcomed them. The research found that 70% of gamers who play titles like “Major League Baseball 2K7” and “Nascar 08” said in-game ads made the games more interesting and realistic. Their recall was impressive too: 75% of the 1,000 gamers polled could remember the candy bar ad that ran in the game “Nascar 08.”

Four advertisers were tested: a fast-food restaurant, a candy company, an entertainment studio and Adidas footwear and apparel. Brand recognition spiked significantly: 70% more gamers exposed to the Adidas promo agreed with statements like “Adidas is the only brand for me” and “Adidas is an inspirational brand” than gamers who weren’t exposed to the ads.

But back to Burst: the company said its new network will enable advertisers to reach audiences across a hand-picked set of high-impact, high-quality sites – and Burst’s advertisers back the company up.

“Runescape.com has become an essential destination for millions of gamers on the Internet,” said Ollie Clamp, head of online advertising sales for Runescape.com. “Of all the networks we use, Burst provides the most consistent utilization of our traffic. Since we started using Burst in 2006, their sales and publisher support teams have anticipated our needs and been exceptionally responsive to our service requirements. We believe the new Burst Gamers Network will bring quality and appropriate advertising campaigns to our site.”

Many of the sites in the network have been pre-qualified to run custom ads, creative and rich media ad units like expandables, in-banner video and interstitials – as well as sponsorships and placements. Widgets, video cubes, storytelling modules and mobile display ads are also available.

Burst Media was founded in 1995.

The network will be representing ads in the upcoming games “SKATE,” “NHL 08,” “Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 08,” “NASCAR 08,” and “Madden NFL 08.”  Microsoft’s general manager of new business integration and CEO of Massive, Cory Van Arsdale has said that the incorporation of such well received games will ultimately be encouraging for advertisers to join in the network as well as in-game advertising. In-game advertising is quickly rising to be a more accepted form of advertisement and allows ads more visibility than other traditional forms of publishing.

Van Arsdale stated, “With dynamic advertising and the increasing value of the audience that we’re offering, more and more advertisers are going to spend money to get into these titles to reach this audience.”

Most of the ads will replicate the real-life sporting experience since the games in question are sports games. Ads will be placed on billboards and such. Senior director of in-game advertising for EA, Shelby Cox has said that the firms are developing other methods to incorporate ads into the games. “For these particular titles we are set on the inventory, but as we look into the future and extending this relationship, we’re interested in how can we as the publishers in this relationship push our development teams,” she stated.

So far, the ads will only appear on Xbox 360 and PC-based versions of the games as they are the only platforms that have approved the ads.

“As today’s consumers spend more and more time online across various digital devices like mobile phones and video games, advertisers are finding they can no longer reach their entire target audience by advertising on a single medium,” said Joanne Bradford, Microsoft’s Corporate VP of Global Sales and Marketing and Chief Media Revenue Officer. By utilizing Microsoft’s extensive global audience and high level of consumer engagement, she felt that the company is “addressing the reality of media fragmentation and enabling advertisers to get back to what they do best: creating engaging and creative ads.”

The Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions connects advertisers and audiences across devices like PCs, Xbox videogame systems, Web-enabled mobile phones, and PDAs. Advertisers can reach more than 465 million consumers each month through the Microsoft strategy, as the company extends its advertising reach across some of its latest releases like Live Search, and through relationships like those with Facebook and the acquisition of in-game advertising company Massive.

In April 2006, Microsoft delivered a hearty shock to the industry by purchasing in-game advertising company Massive. The move, in a way, legitimized in-game advertising, opened up a major console market to in-game ads, and set up Massive as a clear frontrunner in the industry. Even though Microsoft is now an in-game ad player, there’s still a lot to figure out about making ads and games play together.

Where’s it all going? What are the trends? What should you be keeping an eye on? Last week I had the opportunity to speak with representatives from three in-game ad players: Epstein, CEO of Double Fusion (DF), Justin Townsend, CEO of IGA Worldwide (IGA), and Nicholas Longano, President of New Media from Massive (M). I asked each one the same 6 questions about competition, ad formats, metrics, ad placement, and the future of the industry. I’ve juxtaposed their responses so you can see the general direction that each company is headed.

Question Index:

1. Has the industry grown large enough that you could consider other in-game advertising companies as serious competition, or is it still a wide open market?
2. In what direction is the in-game ad formats heading: display ads like on billboards, or in-game product placement?
3. Is there an industry standard for measuring in-game ads?
4. How useful do you think in-game metrics are, since games can be played both on and off-line on a whole bunch of different platforms?
5. What sort of games are more easily combined with advertising? What do you do for games that aren’t sports or set in a present-day location? What about fantasy, sci fi games, or even puzzle, arcade, and casual titles?
6. Do you think it’s possible in the future that some high-profile games could be entirely ad-supported?

Players of Funcom’s free “Anarchy Online” version can walk up to in-game billboards and interact with them, thus revealing a sleek, new Yaris. Massive Inc. believes that this in-game ad technology will make for a more memorable advertising experience, as well as provide for a way to target the “elusive male 18-34 range.”

Massive Incorporated CEO Mitch Davis said that, “This is just the beginning of interactive ads in games, and we are very pleased to unveil this new technology together with Funcom and Toyota.” He emphasized that the company does not intend to distract from the game experience, especially since Massive “always has the best interest of the gamers and the game experience in mind.”

Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas has chosen to use Massive’s technology because, as he stated, “In Funcom we are always trying to push the envelope in innovation and technology.” He continues, “Our primary goal is always to deliver the best possible entertainment, but to offset the high development costs in today’s gaming landscape, we need to look at additional forms of income. What Massive is offering us is exactly that, and we are therefore very pleased to continue working with them to introduce new technologies that give us a competitive edge.”

Massive Inc. has pioneered in-game ad technology and was recently purchased by Microsoft, while Anarchy Online has utilized in-game advertising since 2005, introducing dynamic advertising billboards with video and sound.

As part of the deal, Massive will serve ads inside two of Webzen’s massively multiplayer online games: the PC version of its online first person shooter Huxley (2007), and the urban game All Points Bulletin (2008), which was designed by the creators of Grand Theft Auto. Both games will be released worldwide.

“The combination of WEBZEN’s global marketing know-how and Massive’s unprecedented in-game advertising experience ensures we are delivering the highest level of quality to gamers,” said Webzen CEO Nam Ju Kim in a statement.

Microsoft bought Massive in May of this year. The latter’s obvious draw is that it delivers real-world timed and targeted ads into more than 75 million game sessions, providing monetary streams for game publishers, and enhancing realism for players.

Since 2000, Webzen has become one of the leading massively multiplayer online game publishers in Korea. It’s also among the first Korean game publishers to expand onto consoles like the Xbox 360. Huxley, which was listed among the Best of E3 this year, will also be released on the 360 in 2007.

Justin Townsend, CEO of in-game advertising leader IGA Worldwide, told ADOTAS that the deal is important because “it validates the industry. It is showing a very early degree of maturity for the industry.” He also added, “We need to get much more of an accurate idea of what Microsoft is going to propose to its publishing partners. I think people are questioning what the intent is behind it. ” Townsend also questions whether Microsoft’s Xbox or Sony’s PlayStation will dominate the future market.

Massive’s ad technology will also help Microsoft’s advertisers take a better crack at reaching specific demographic groups. Microsoft and Massive will continue to uphold Massive’s rigorous standards for ads before they can be included in a game. Only ads that add entertainment value and realism to the game will be included. Microsoft has also begun to explore how to utilize Massive’s technology to incorporate dynamic advertising into other online environments such as MSN, Windows Live, and its adCenter advertising platform.

But in-game advertising is still a long way from becoming a perfect science. Other ad mediums have the advantage of the consumer expecting to find their message when they turn on the TV, computer, or read an article. Game audiences lack this immediate commercial orientation; they are more likely to think of ads as an unwarranted and unprecedented intrusion into their experience. This forces advertisers, in-game agencies and game developers to be flexible and experimental in their approach.

“Gaming, like TV, is an entertainment medium—people’s emotional barriers are down when they’re playing games,” IGA Worldwide’s CEO Justin Townsend tells ADOTAS. “The combination of the effectiveness of the space and the reach makes it a very attractive proposition for advertisers.”

IGA is currently working with developer Simbin to deliver ads in the popular racing title GTR, and a new series based on the World Touring Car Championships. Sports and racing games have been one of the most accessible genres for in-game advertisers, mainly because they simulate environments which are ad-heavy in real life, such as race tracks and stadiums. Instead of being alienated by ads in these titles, many gamers embrace them as contributing to part of the overall realism of the experience.

Counting on this trust from their audience, IGA has developed an advanced philosophy of how to attract their fleeting attention within an environment as unique as a race track. “If you’re racing around an oval track in an Indie car, you’re gonna see lots of sponsorship boards flashing by at a very quick speed,” Townsend explains. “Your exposure to that is going to be minimal—not long enough of a time for somebody to be exposed to an ad and for it to be memorable. So, rather than putting it on a long straight, the ads that you want to be seen by the gamers are going to be in the sharp turns, for example, where people slow down and start braking. It’s about location and contextual relevance.”

For its racing titles, IGA is bringing in a number of advertisers in automotive, foodstuffs, and apparel categories.

Massive, Inc. is under development with another major sports franchise, 2K Sports, and is planning for their upcoming release of Major League Baseball 2K6. Rather than static billboards and other displays which cluttered the landscape of past sports games, Massive and 2K6 will work to incorporate dynamic and fresh brand messaging into the game, mirroring the evolving opportunities for sponsors in live-action sports coverage.

“We are thrilled to work with MLBAM, MLBPA and 2K Sports to leverage and fully extend the advertising potential of this great franchise,” said Mitch Davis, CEO of Massive, in a press statement. “Major League Baseball has already brought significant innovation to advertising in live sports; together, we will now do the same for their video game properties.”

One advertiser has bypassed major game brands and agencies altogether, and is taking the appeal of the medium into their own hands. Although the project is still under wraps, Burger King will soon release three Xbox games which completely revolve around their brand and mascot, the creepily surreal King character. They will sell the fighting, action, and racing titles out of their own fast-food franchises for a mere four dollars—roughly the price of a Whopper.

What is the most effective way to market to gaming audiences? There’s certainly no surefire answer right now, but all of the major players are slowly learning through a process of guess-and-check. As gamers are increasingly exposed to brand messages while they blast away aliens and speed down the racetrack, they will undoubtedly grow more responsive and welcoming to in-game advertisers.

“In-game advertising is too early to be a perfect science,” Townsend admits. “There needs to be acceptance on the advertising side, and there needs to be a common currency. How do you generate a large consumer reach within the networks, and how do you measure the CPM?”

The latest patch for Entropia adds player tools for developing in-game interactive campaigns, as well as events like conferences, contests, shows, and other forms of live content. The addition of these tools, and the free-economy nature of the game not only allows players to earn real money by advertising their in-game businesses, but also allows real-world businesses to advertise directly to players. Late last year, a Project Entropia player purchased a virtual Space Resort for $100,000USD, the largest real dollar amount ever paid for a piece of virtual real estate.

“As traditional venues for advertisements become obsolete, individuals and businesses are turning to online ad solutions such as search engine marketing and other forms of interactive mediums. With Project Entropia utilizing a real cash economy and creating a virtual environment that mirrors the real world, the next logical step is to offer members the tools necessary to advertise businesses and endeavors for maximum exposure and growth,” said MindArk director of community relations Marco Behrmann in a statement.