MASSIVE INCORPORATED AND NIELSEN ENTERTAINMENT TEAM TO DELIVER HOUSEHOLD MEASURMENT REPORTS FOR VIDEO GAME ADVERTISING
NEW YORK, NY and LOS ANGELES, CA—DECEMBER 15, 2004—In another crucial step ahead for the video game industry, Nielsen Entertainment and Massive Incorporated today announced a partnership under which Nielsen Interactive Entertainment (NIE), a unit of Nielsen Entertainment, will provide third-party accountability and measurement for in-game advertising on the Massive Network.
The agreement is another critical advance in the validation of video games as an effective and viable advertising mechanism. With Nielsen Entertainment, Massive joins the world's leading provider of box office, home entertainment, music and book measurement, and its sister company in television audience measurement, to give advertisers the same level of detail, control and accountability they already utilize in established media. This partnership will deliver—for the first time—100% insight into the behavioral characteristics of game play for the aggregated universe of gamers.
“By this point, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind
that, to young people, video games are an essential part of their cultural
fabric,” said Michael Dowling, General Manager of Nielsen Interactive
Entertainment. He added, “not only are we seeing video games
claim a larger share of the entertainment wallet, but with today’s
captivating game play experiences, we are seeing video games occupy
a larger share of leisure time activities as well. As such, video games
are fast developing into a real and powerful tool to authentically
reach this highly sought after demographic. As companies like Massive
grow the in-game advertising network market, Nielsen Entertainment
will be in lock-step to develop and deliver the foundational infrastructure
to support the evolution of this burgeoning industry.”
Video games represent a vastly underutilized advertising vehicle
with enormous benefits for advertisers seeking to target the elusive
18-34 year old male audience. Until now, companies seeking to reach
this demographically attractive gamer audience have not been able
to do so in a direct manner. Instead, marketers have relied on fixed
placements in individual game titles with limited ability to tune
or time their ads according to broad campaign needs and objectives;
executions had to be completed up to 12 months before the product
shipped.
However, with the introduction earlier this year of the Massive Video Game Advertising Network, the infrastructure is now in place to make in-game advertising a seamless buying experience and effectively delivered medium. In addition to in-game product placements, which have begun to be adopted by many advertisers, Massive’s Network will now expand the portfolio of advertising opportunities to give marketers broader choices in utilizing this new medium.
"Today, Massive and Nielsen are drawing another connection line between videogame advertising and effectiveness, creating more tools for brand marketers by providing real audience measurement in this growing and critical new advertising medium," said Mitch Davis, CEO of Massive. "Video games have become a major component of our media environment, every bit as vital as television.”
Massive enables advertisers to take full advantage of the key strengths of the video game medium: interactivity, immersion, scalability and intense user involvement, using real touch points while never interfering with game play. The Massive Network guarantees delivery and measurement of advertising in either 15 or 30 second spot exposures. As with television, advertisers can buy across the network or segment specifically to reach their desired consumer. The difference is that marketers’ brands are now part of the gamer’s world—integrated into their universe and connecting with the audience in a manner like never before.
By simultaneously delivering ads in real-time across an entire network of top-selling titles, the Massive Video Game Advertising Network provides advertisers with broad reach, coupled with precise audience segmentation capabilities. Tremendous flexibility allows advertisers to change campaigns on ‘the fly’, by region, by time of day—keeping campaigns fresh and relevant.
The two companies will work hand-in-hand during a beta period over
the next several months to define essential standards for dynamically
served in-game advertising that can be utilized in agency media planning,
similar to the way TV ratings are currently used. By auditing the interaction
of console and PC players with in-game ads aired across the Massive
network, Nielsen and Massive will have full data on the aggregated
reach and demographic profiles on the audience exposed to the ad, as
well other measurement data important to TV ad buyers including day
part, frequency, and geo-targeting.
The ratings framework is designed with the flexibility to allow for the measurement of interstitials, audio ads, and other placement types. The video game advertising reports will be rolled out to clients in early Q2, 2005.
“Traditionally, game publishers and advertisers haven't been able to speak the same language," said Chad Stoller, Director of Communications Solutions for Arnell Group. "Massive and Nielsen Entertainment are providing a level playing field in terms of media evaluation so that advertisers can make take advantage of the extraordinary opportunities in video game advertising."
"The relationship between Nielsen Entertainment and Massive will offer significant advancements in legitimizing the medium,” said Brandon Berger, Senior Strategist Digital Innovation, OgilvyOne Worldwide. “It will help us to realize some of the business metrics in the same way that we quantify any other media vehicle, providing us with new, highly valuable insights into core customer behaviors that we can leverage to find the most relevant ways to connect with consumers."
About Nielsen Entertainment
Through custom research, consulting and the world's most comprehensive network of entertainment measurement systems and analysis, Nielsen Entertainment delivers Actionable Entertainment Intelligence(tm) to clients engaged in the business of selling entertainment and trading in the marketplace of our popular culture. AEI means clients don't work with information in a vacuum, rather with a broad and deep variety of business solutions that deliver a clearer, more comprehensive picture, providing an unrivaled perspective from which to steer development, production, marketing and sales decisions. Nielsen Entertainment businesses count, measure and analyze consumer response in film, television, music, book and interactive media through sister companies Nielsen Media Research (television ratings), Nielsen Net Ratings (internet usage), and the following NE businesses: National Research Group (NRG), EDI Global, Reel Research, SoundScan, Broadcast Data Systems, Aircheck, Music Control, VideoScan, BookScan, BookData, and Interactive Entertainment. Nielsen Entertainment is part of VNU, www.vnu.com, and a global leader in information services for the media and entertainment industries.
About Massive Incorporated
Massive Incorporated is the creator of the world's first video game advertising network. With its patent-pending technology, Massive dynamically serves advertising across the largest aggregated network of premier video game titles and delivers measured results on consumer interaction with this brand messaging. Massive delivers dynamic advertising to 18-34 year old male gamers and allows publishers and advertisers to finally capitalize on the largest cultural and economic entertainment force in the world. Massive is backed by DFJ Gotham, DFJ New England, RRE Ventures, Tobat Capital, and Newlight Associates. www.massiveincorporated.com.
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