• by May 13, 2004

Massive Inc.'s technology for delivering ads in real-time to online video games could be what marketers are looking for as they try to target an endangered species of TV watchers--the elusive 18-34 male.

The company has been at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles this week talking with software publishers, agencies, and marketers about its in-game ad delivery technology. It has already signed two software publishers--Atari and Ubisoft--to deals in which the companies make selected titles available for inclusion of the technology.

"This is the first time that advertisers have been able to run campaign-based advertising in video games," says Mitch Davis, CEO of Massive. Davis notes that while product placement in video games currently exists, the average lead time for development is 12 to 24 months, and there are no guarantees on reach and frequency. He says Massive's system allows advertisers to run one set of creative during one month and another the next; reach and frequency metrics can be benchmarked.

Massive will launch its system in October with a minimum of 10 video game titles, Davis says. By the fourth quarter of 2005, he hopes to have 40 to 45 titles in the hopper. "We're focusing on games with a lot of usage," he says, adding that he also expects to announce three or four new relationships with software publishers in the next month.

"The clever thing about our technology is that it came from Acclaim Entertainment, so they built titles that were PC- and console-based, and for online ... it works both online and offline," Davis says.

The procedure works something like this: The gamer goes online to play a racing game, for example, and a batch of ads is served. When a gamer plays offline, Massive continues to serve ads. The ads are integrated into billboards, posters, and even into the plotline of the game, and they change in real-time.

"The technology stores the ad units in memory and serves those out through the course of offline play," Davis says. "We have an intelligent client that works out how and where to serve the ads, and measures the impression data."

The ads will be offered in 15-second increments--a minimum of 15 seconds is counted as an impression. "You can buy against GRPs (gross rating points), and we guarantee the reach and frequency of the ad buy. We track 100 percent of the ad buy," Davis asserts.

"Massive has created a video game channel with inventory from multiple titles--a channel that delivers campaign advertising," Davis adds.

Tim Harris, vice president, director-Play, a unit of Publicis Groupe's Starcom MediaVest Group, has yet to be briefed about Massive's technology, but thinks it may represent "one piece of the puzzle." Speaking from E3, Harris said: "We're very interested in this tool, and want to see what it's all about."

"I think it remains to be seen whether advertisers are going to want to partner across many games, or are going after specific games. It looks like they're probably going to have the capability to go purchase across the bulk of a publishers' titles," Harris says, adding: "I think right now, it's looking like more and more, people want to do their deals with specific games."

Overall, Harris believes that advertisers have a multitude of opportunities in what he refers to as "virtual-out-of-home" media, including in-game advertising. "I like the idea of having episodic messaging and flighting, but the real opportunity for advertisers is in the custom-content area and multi- player virtual events."

Whether gamers will tolerate ads appearing on a regular basis and requests for personal information is another matter. John Manley, an account manager at Agency.com's I-traffic, Chicago, was playing Sony's Syphon Filter online. In order to participate in the game, Manley had to share data--his name, email, sex, and age. In order to embark on the game's mission, he had to enter sites including The Onion, GameSpot, and MaximOnline in order to gain intelligence and to reach the next clearance level.

"A well-plotted story line makes blatant product placement more palatable," Manley writes, adding: "So far, I am at Stage 5 of my mission. In fact, the girls of Maxim have temporarily distracted me from the task at hand. But then, I guess that is the point--right?"

Massive's plans will depend on what reception the company gets from software publishers and potential advertisers.

"The day when episodic gaming is a reality--that's when it gets really interesting for advertisers," Harris says.