LOS ANGELES & JERUSALEM --(PR Newswire)--, May 17, 2005 - An Israeli-company is first to market with a new system that allows for the introduction of rich media advertising into on-line video games - a prospective $750 million market by 2006 according to Jupiter Research.
Double Fusion, based in Jerusalem, has unveiled here at the E3 conference, a groundbreaking ad-serving system that will allow marketers to incorporate rich media formats of 2-D, 3-D, music, animation and video seamlessly into the video game environment.
Double Fusion's initial roll-out of its ad-serving technology will be in two games initially distributed in the U.K. - London Taxi Rush Hour (Data Design Interactive) and Taxi3: eXtreme Rush (Team6-Games). Both games feature the first ever ad-buy of rich media in a video game. The ads feature a new automotive care product by Proctor & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and are incorporated into the storylines of both games.
The ads take advantage of Double Fusion's unique ability to integrate day-parting, localization and customized creative campaigns to better target the consumer playing the game. Double Fusion was built to support different types of creative assets, allowing the multiple formats to mediate and communicate into different types of gaming platforms. As a result, Double Fusion supports immersive brand integration to gameplay while creating a highly effective environment for incorporated brand messaging.
"The in-game advertising and marketing opportunity represents a sizable and attractive new channel for advertisers to connect with an increasingly difficult to reach demographic," said Mark Argento, senior analyst, ThinkEquity Partners, a boutique growth-focused investment bank. "While the in-game advertising market is still relatively nascent, we expect the next 12 months to witness significant market acceptance and adoption of this new medium."
Last year, U.S. consumers spent $11 billion on video game cartridges, software, consoles and accessories. While advertisers spent tens of billions on TV 'spots' targeting men between the ages of 18 and 34, but only less than one tenth of one percent of that went to in-game advertisements. The average young male spends more time gaming than nearly any other leisure activity, yet advertisers and game publisher are just barely beginning to tap into the potential market for gaming as an advertising and marketing platform.
"We know that to reach the prime demographic of 18-34 year-old men, we will need to look to non-traditional advertising media to position our brands in an appropriate fashion," said Dave Hompe, International Associate Media Director, GroupM. "Double Fusion's rich media technology is allowing us to test the in-game medium in such a way as to give us a better understanding of the impact of this buy."
In addition to the launch of its technology, Double Fusion has contracted with Nielsen Entertainment to track the impact of in-game advertising on branding for advertisers.
Double Fusion's technology works with PCs, game consoles and mobile games. It uses secure communication with two-way security for placing or 'mediating' the ad media into games. The technology is adaptive and is 'platform aware,' allowing it to make use of the host PC or game hardware's most appropriate hardware resources including cache and extended memory to effectively use each platform's capabilities for better game play and integration.
"We are excited to launch our network today with a 'beyond the billboard' rich media offering for in-game advertising," said Guy Bendov, co-founder and executive vice president for business development, Double Fusion. "Advertisers look at games primarily as brand-awareness platforms, not as the truly viable, interactive platforms that they are. What helps branding is action, which is something we deliver. Double Fusion's technology engine knows how to update the ads and information when the platform is on-line but can still show the advertisements (and generate revenues) when the platform is off-line. That creates a very attractive benefit to publishers and advertisers."
"Double Fusion brings additional revenue to game publishers from advertising," Mr. Bendov added. "We handle the entire dynamic advertising space that is allocated within a game - everything from inventory management to accounting - enabling game publishers to see how many times an advertising billboard was presented and therefore how much money they will make from those impressions. The Double Fusion suite of services offers advertisers the ability to search for game media and easily create/publish in-game advertising campaigns. During the campaign, advertisers receive online reports on the campaign's reach and exposure."
Among those publishers that are using the Double Fusion ad-serving solution are Data Design Interactive, publisher of London Taxi Rush Hour and Team6-Games, publisher of such games as Manhattan Chase, Amsterdam Madness and Elite Helidefender.
"As a game publisher we are always looking for additional ways to expand our revenue generation opportunities as well as enhance the gaming experience for our customers," said Ronnie Nelis, CEO of Team6-Games. "Double Fusion's ability to easily integrate its ad-serving technology into our games helps us meet both or revenue targets while greatly adding to the game experience."
Double Fusion (http://www.DoubleFusion.com) enables advertisers to serve and manage on-line, rich-media in-game-ad campaigns, by utilizing rich media delivery technologies. By doing that, Double Fusion allows game publishers to maximize their-in game advertising revenues. Double Fusion is backed by JVP Studio, home to exceptional seed stage companies that focus on developing enterprise software for the new media markets.
On Tuesday, May 17, at 9:30 a.m. Guy Bendov, co-founder and executive vice president for business development of Double Fusion, will be a speaking at the video game industry's largest event of the year, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Mr. Bendov will be part of a panel discussion for the workshop session "In-game Advertising Workshop: Case Studies That Get Inside the Art of the Deal."
Contact: Anne Donohoe / Scott Rosenblum
KCSA Worldwide
+1-212-896-1261 / +1-212-896-1274
adonohoe@kcsa.com / srosenblum@kcsa.com
