The New York Times has a feature on Massive Inc., the New York marketing agency that is spearheading the push of advertising into PC and video games.Currently appearing only in 'Net enabled PC games like Anarchy Online, the ads will eventually also be inserted into console games once there is an Internet connection; the connection lets fresh ads appear as the player progresses through the game.
Massive have signed a deal with Nielsen, the TV ratings company, to address their biggest challenge - convincing advertisers that the in-game ads are effective:
In one popular action game called Splinter Cell, for example, boxes on cargo ships are stamped with the names of advertisers.
The technology makes it possible to track how often a player comes across those boxes inside the game and reports back to the company over the Internet.
"Measurement is the key part of the proposition," Mr. Davis said. "Advertisers are looking for accountability."
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