GAS: Macrovision, Double Fusion Partner For In-Game Advertising

In announcement made at the GDC Focus On Game Advertising Conference, Macrovision's Trymedia division and in-game ad firm Double Fusion have announced a new downloadable/casual in-game ad offering via the Trymedia Network of online portals, ISPs and e-commerce sites. The new offering will be part of 'try-and-buy' downloadable games, and enables advertisers to effectively sponsor the game's trial period. This means the delivery of 'around-game ads', a subset of the in-game advertising category,featuring rich media and video pre-roll ads that a consumer views at the start of game play. In the new offering, Macrovision is providing the ad-enabling technology as a feature of its ActiveMARK product for digital distribution, as well as an established catalog of PC game content and a network of distribution points. Under the agreement, Double Fusion will be an exclusive sales agent for the in-game ads through the Trymedia Network. "Games-related advertising is rapidly becoming a must-have for a lot of big brand consumer ad campaigns," said Jon Epstein, CEO of Double Fusion. "The Trymedia ad solution will enable advertisers to launch campaigns within hours of placing an ad order and specifically target that elusive mainstream gamer demographic. It's a real step forward in reaching the highly attractive games audience." "Double Fusion's reputation and experience in games-related advertising is a strong ally to the power of our worldwide digital distribution network for games," remarked Fred Amoroso, CEO of Macrovision. "The Trymedia Network's combination of casual and core audience enables advertisers to target the most highly-sought demographic groups for consumer product ad campaigns." Gamasutra will be covering the Game Advertising Conference in full today, including the keynote from Microsoft's Kevin Browne and a number of other notable sessions and panels, featuring representatives from EA, Nielsen, and the major in-game ad firms.