Tuesday 30th September/... IGA Worldwide (IGA), the leading independent in-game advertising network, today announced a multi-year agreement with Activision Publishing, Inc. to deliver dynamic in-game advertising into multiple video game titles on Sony Computer Entertainment’s PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3). The first game to feature IGA integrated ads will be Guitar Hero® World Tour, the next installment in the best-selling franchise. To date, the Guitar Hero franchise has sold in excess of 22 million units worldwide, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack and GfK.

This landmark agreement, which also includes future Activision Publishing titles, is the second publisher deal announced by IGA since the PS3 opened its platform for in-game advertisements.

“Activision has one of the most impressive stables of games in the video game industry,” said Justin Townsend, CEO of IGA Worldwide. “To partner with them demonstrates the appeal of in-game advertising to marketers and consumers, alike. We will be able to connect more brands with engaged users than ever before.”

“Our partnership with IGA will allow us to deliver dynamic in-game advertising to the growing PlayStation Network community for the first time,” said Dave Anderson, head of business development at Activision Publishing. “By incorporating dynamic in-game advertising in our titles where it is appropriate, we can increase the realism of our games by presenting consumers with authentic environments in genuine settings, while also expanding a key growth opportunity for the company.”

IGA and Activision Publishing will work in tandem to integrate the advertisements into the titles in a contextually relevant way. All dynamic ads can be updated in real time, allowing for campaigns to change creative without a major reprogramming effort. Ads can be targeted to a number of different demographics and offer marketers a wide variety of measurement metrics.

Buoyed by a recent Nielsen Games study highlighting the effectiveness of the medium, advertisers continue to expand into the in-game industry. The Nielsen data revealed that over 80 percent of consumers feel games were just as enjoyable with ads as without. Consumers’ positive brand attribute association increased 33 percent when viewing in-game advertisements.

About IGA Worldwide
IGA Worldwide (http://www.igaworldwide.com) is the world’s leading in-game advertising network. IGA enables advertisers to target millions of highly engaged consumers playing games across a wide range of gaming platforms and genres. IGA Worldwide was selected by Sony Computer Entertainment as the first in-game advertising provider for the PLAYSTATION®3 and is partnered with leading game companies such as Activision, Atari, Codemasters, Electronic Arts, id Software and Valve Software. The company has delivered campaigns for a broad range of brands such as 20th Century Fox, Gillette, Intel, McDonald’s, Puma, Toyota, and Unilever. IGA was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in New York City with additional offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Paris and Berlin. IGA’s financial backers include GE/NBCU, Intel Capital, Morgenthaler Ventures, Easton Capital, DN Capital, KTB Ventures, Translink Capital, Itochu Technology and Sumitomo/Presidio STX.


Guitar Hero and Activision are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc.