• by Phil Leggiere , December 29, 2005

Everybody knows advertisers go where the eyeballs are. And everybody knows that video games are attracting more and more of those online eyeballs: nearly 60 million a month, according to a recent comScore Media Metrics report. Figuring out how to leverage this burgeoning phenomenon to maximum advantage, however, remains a work in progress, according to Dave Williams, chief marketing officer for AtomShockwave.

"Advertisers have a lot of experience reaching the more hard-core segment of the gaming community by developing branded games for the console players market," Williams says. "In fact, Shockwave was a pioneer in helping brands launch their own full-length branded games. We helped launch RadioShack's 'Red Line Ramble,' a toy car racing game which is one of the most famous online video games ever."

Until recently, casual gaming -- games played for only a few minutes at a time -- has barely been touched by advertisers. "In focusing so strongly on the heavier users of console games, we think our industry has neglected the huge number of more casual game players out there," Williams adds.

Last fall, AtomShockwave set out to change that by launching a new ad platform called the Immersive Network, designed to reach more than 20 million unique visitors a month who play upwards of 25 million casual game sessions. Two other large video game firms, Massive Inc. and Double Fusion, also tout in-game networks but focus on longer-form console games which consumers play for 30 minutes or longer at a sitting.

"Unlike console gaming," Williams explains, "casual games are snack-sized entertainment, something users spend 5 or 10 minutes on to relax."

The new network offers advertisers the first venue for targeting in-game ads to casual gamers. Ad impressions will run from three to seven seconds in action games, and longer in racing games where messages can be displayed on the roof or side of a car. The system enables advertisers to track audience impressions by time, zip code, or other geo-targets, and to create rotation and frequency caps. "One of the little-known facts about casual game use is how demographically diverse it is," Williams says. While games such as "Switch Wakeboarding" attract the 14- to 30-year-old male demographic traditionally associated with video games, many of the most popular games on AtomShockwave, such as puzzle games, are extremely popular with women ages 35 and up.