Online gaming publisher Spil Games has launched a new approach to how video ads are presented to players while playing online games.

The new solution uses Spil Games’ engaged audience of close to 200 million active monthly.

The video ad solution will offer:

• An engaged audience

The solution takes advantage of “cliff-hanger” moments within games to run video ads. Instead of positioning these ads at set intervals within the games, Spil Games’ system ensures that ads catch players at their most engaged moments. This trigger is based on a complex algorithm that takes into account the amount of time players have been active and the level of their success within the game. This ensures players are in a happy and excited state and are therefore less likely to switch off from either the ad or the game.

Brands that have participated in a pilot programme are already enjoying high engagement with ads served at “cliff-hanger” moments delivering view-through rates of 90%.

• Long-form content

For digital video ads to be effective they need to be run against long-form content – mirroring the way TV works. People spend an average of 40 minutes per session playing games across Spil Games’ network of platforms, which is more than double the time they spend engaging with other online content, such as YouTube videos and news sites.

• Effective targeting

With a series of websites targeting specific demographics, Spil Games is able to accurately pinpoint individual consumer segments.

Spil Games Chief Executive, Erik Goossens said: “Brands are still struggling with where to run their digital video ad content in order to achieve the best engagement with their audience. Social sites like YouTube and traditional news sites don’t offer the dwell time of TV, which means video advertising is not as effective at engaging the viewers on these platforms. When people spend 5 minutes on a news site, or even 15 minutes on YouTube, they don’t want to sit through a 30-second video ad. This new offering finally gives brands a solution to this problem”.

Posted on the 4th April by M&M Global