If you're in in-game advertising, when Microsoft's Kevin Browne--the general manager of Xbox new media and Franchise Development--speaks, you listen. During his keynote at the Game Advertising Summit,
Browne discussed the current state of things: spending is mostly on static ads; each title requires unique integration; effectiveness can only be measured after a sale; integration is difficult for
development teams; and ad agencies are playing a very limited role in the process. The reality, then, is not so good. Marketers want broad reach, accountability, easy integration and execution, and
multiple formats to choose from--and they want to know their agencies are driving value. While just about everybody agrees that in-game revenues will increase substantially over time, it's unclear how
or when the sector's full potential will be reached. There are a lot of problems, Browne said, starting with format standardization: "We could double the size of our industry if we found the right
[ad-driven] models. Is this going to happen? I don't know," he said. Microsoft is the only video game console maker to have brought its next-gen system to market--and as such, it's the only one that
has outlined its in-game advertising strategy. Nintendo and Sony will develop in-game strategies of their own, but they won't even bring their new consoles to market until November.
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