NEW YORK, June 3 /PRNewswire/ --

- adidas, other leading brands from quick-service restaurant, candy and entertainment categories drive key marketing metrics for brands and products advertised throughout Massive Network.

Massive Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp and a leading network for video game advertising, and Interpret LLC, a leading new media research firm, today released research results that provide further insight into the significant brand impact of dynamic in-game advertising. The study demonstrates that the gaming audience has a consistently positive opinion of the ads and how the ads affect their game experience.

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Interpret conducted detailed research on behalf of Massive and four of its advertisers: adidas utilising brand advertising for footwear and apparel, a quick-service restaurant (QSR) brand promoting a tie-in to gaming and a specific menu option, a candy company marketing new creative for its candy bar brand, and an entertainment studio advertising the DVD release for a hit film. The study measures a broad range of brand metrics across game environments and suggests best practices to guide advertisers and their agencies within this rapidly maturing medium.

adidas tested ads it ran through the Massive Network in "Major League Baseball(R) 2K7", published by 2K Sports, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. Among those exposed to the adidas ads (the test group), 40 per cent recall the company's tagline of "Impossible Is Nothing" -- an increase of 90 per cent over those not exposed to the ads (the control group). The number of gamers exposed to the ads who agreed with the statements "adidas is the only brand for me" and "adidas is an inspirational brand" rose 70 per cent over those not exposed to the ads. In addition, 73 per cent of gamers recalling the ads agreed with the statement that "the ads enhanced the realism of the game."

"The influence of gaming on our target for adidas can't be denied," said Brian Mathena, group media director for Carat. "The scalability and effectiveness that Massive's dynamic in-game solution provides is evident in the results of our efforts. Massive has consistently been a true partner in consulting on the best gaming solutions for adidas and the rest of our clients."

Drawing on its unparalleled experience in video game advertising research, Massive has conducted studies for more than 30 clients across North America and Europe assessing the impact of in-game ads across numerous key brand metrics, including purchase interest, brand recommendation and brand attributes. Results such as these released today help the advertising community understand how and why in-game advertising works, and guides the development of best practices for this important component of media plans.

Across all game genres and advertisers studied, the research revealed that an average of 70 per cent of gamers agreed with statements that the dynamic in-game ads "contributed to realism", "fit the games" in which they were served and looked "cool."

A leading QSR brand executed custom ad creative for select titles with strong results. Among those gamers exposed to the QSR ads in "Need for Speed Carbon", a racing title published by Electronic Arts Inc, the number saying that they would recommend the QSR brand to others rose by 39 per cent compared with the control group, and those assigning the QSR brand the highest possible brand rating rose by 17 per cent from the control group to the test group. Fifty-six per cent of exposed gamers agreed with the statement that the ads made the gaming environment feel more interactive.

A global candy bar company executed a branding campaign in "NASCAR(R) 08", published by Electronic Arts. Seventy-five per cent of gamers recalled the candy bar in-game advertising with 56 per cent recalling the specific ad creative. Within the test group, 72 per cent agreed with the statement that the candy bar is "a great snack to eat while playing video games", an increase of 29 per cent from the control group; the proportion agreeing that the candy bar "gives you energy" and "is cool" rose 24 per cent and 21 per cent from control group to test group, respectively.

An entertainment studio ran a campaign advertising the DVD release of a hit film in "Rainbow Six: Vegas", an action title published by Ubisoft Entertainment. Unaided awareness of the DVD increased 16 per cent among gamers exposed to the ads as compared with the control group, with 66 per cent of those recalling the campaign having a more positive opinion of the DVD following in-game exposure. Purchase intent for the DVD rose 23 per cent from control group to test group, with 80 per cent of exposed gamers responding in the survey that "they would probably or definitely purchase the DVD."

"The depth of this research reflects Massive's commitment to offering advertisers an understanding of how in-game advertising can impact brands across game genres and advertising categories," said Cory Van Arsdale, CEO of Massive. "As the in-game medium matures and establishes its position on the media plan, advertisers and agencies are eager for insight into creative nuances and best practices for maximising its impact. We view this type of guidance as an essential part of our role as an industry leader and innovator."

Methodology

Interpret implemented a test/control methodology for each game in which Massive dynamically served ads, totalling over 1,000 gamers across the US. Both control and test group respondents played the same game title that was studied for each ad client. The control group consisted of those who had played the game but were not exposed to ads delivered from Massive. The test group had played the game on a connected Xbox 360 system or PC during the time the ad campaigns were live, and had the opportunity to be exposed to the ads delivered by Massive. Both groups were asked the same set of questions about the brands and ads included in the study, and the respondent differences were evaluated to identify significant shifts in each brand metric measured.

About Interpret LLC

Interpret is a next-generation media and market research firm with a focus on evaluating and measuring the intersections of content, advertising, technology and consumer behavior. Interpret's management team has unique experience pioneering new custom research methodologies and analytics to help companies Plan, Test and Measure(TM) their new media strategies. In addition to campaign ad effectiveness testing, Interpret's suite of products and services include GaMeasure and GamerLog, two syndicated services developed to deliver planning and measurement intelligence to the burgeoning field of in and around-game advertising. The firm is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with offices in New York and London. More information can be found online at: http://www.interpretllc.com.

About Massive Inc

Massive Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft, is the creator of a leading network for dynamic video game advertising. The Massive Network offers advertisers the ability to reach an aggregated gaming audience in real time across multiple platforms. Over 200 blue-chip advertisers have run campaigns across the Massive Network throughout North America and Europe. Publishers in the Massive Network generate revenue through dynamic in-game advertising, enabling them to fully realise the value of their content while preserving and enhancing the game experience. Massive's technology allows for all forms of downloadable media and advertising content to be contextually integrated into the game environment, including image, audio, video and game object formats. More information can be found online at http://www.massiveincorporated.com.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.

About Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)

Microsoft has operated in EMEA since 1982. In the region Microsoft employs more than 16,000 people in over 64 subsidiaries, delivering products and services in more than 139 countries and territories.

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Web site: http://www.microsoft.com http://www.massiveincorporated.com http://www.interpretllc.com

Corie Pierce of The SutherlandGold Group, +1-318-402-3654, corie@sutherlandgold.com, for Microsoft Corp /NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft in EMEA, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/emea or the EMEA Press Centre at http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at the time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact the appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/contactus.mspx. If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft Corp, please visit the Microsoft web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft's corporate information pages./ Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO , AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org , PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com