How can advertisers take advantage of this?
Berens: Will you expand Sponsor Select to other industries?
Jedynak: If the gaming platform continues to be as successful as we have seen in its early stages, I think we'll want to look outward to other potential applications.
Rosen: Agreed. Sponsor Select is applicable for a variety of industries. We are off to a great start on the game platform. It will be interesting to see where it goes next.
Berens: Both in the gaming environment and in WeatherBug, do you see any patterns -- surprising or otherwise, although surprising would be first on my want-to-see list -- in what sort of person chooses which sponsor? On the other side, do different types of content elicit different sponsorship choices?
Jedynak: One interesting pattern we believe relates to psychographics. People who are particularly receptive to the concept of being "in control" tend to have higher then average incomes. Because control and choice is what Sponsor Select is about, we believe that people who want to choose a sponsor tend to be a bit more upscale than average. Otherwise it's not too surprising. People ask to see ads that interest them. It's that simple. The beauty of the Sponsor Select idea is its simplicity.
Berens: Let's talk about the process a bit more from the creative side. What are the advertisers doing to customize their creative for this environment? WeatherBug, I presume, has a fair amount of non-PII data on its users as well as data on the games themselves. Do advertisers have the opportunity to make different sorts of creative to match different games and different demographics? If so, are any advertisers actually doing it, or is this a missed opportunity? What other missed opportunities might there be with this sort of environment?
Rosen: There is enormous opportunity for advertisers to customize creative for the users who chose a sponsor. From a brand perspective, when a sponsor surrounds someone with a customized brand message that acknowledges them for selecting their brand, that can only have a positive impact. Plus, customizing the creative users see as the game is loading and while the game is being played can encourage users to take action after the game is over. The final part of the experience is a visit to the chosen brand's landing page. So, creative throughout the game that says "after the game, you can get more info" will help drive results.
Whether marketers customize their creative or use existing creative, Sponsor Select for Games is a perfect product for brands to surround a consumer who asked to see their advertising message.
Berens: Can you tell us a little bit more about the games with which you've linked Sponsor Select? Are these, like WeatherBug, desktop applications? How many titles? What's the uptake on the gamer side?
Jedynak: We are linked to hundreds of games, from puzzle games like Bejeweled and card games like Solitaire to word games and other popular types like Mahjong. We're focusing now on online games which load up fairly quickly as opposed to the ones you download. The response is similar to what we've seen on WeatherBug. Positive, both to the experience and to the sponsors.
Naturally some people prefer not to choose, but giving them that choice means that people who do choose really have a desire to find out about that sponsor or the value proposition the sponsor is putting in front of them.
Brad Berens is editor in chief and chief content officer for iMedia Communications. Read full bio.