Zynga has developed an in-house solution to deliver advertisements in the form of mini games. Created by Zynga’s internal Studio E, these interactive ads are called ‘SponsoredPlay’ ads, and will be available soon to players.
Zynga claims increased involvement
Zynga’s vice president of Global Brand sales, Julie Shumaker, said that ‘SponsoredPLAY’ will give a new way to the brands to reward and engage users in the game. Describing the company’s internal Studio E, the game maker said in a press release that it is “an in-house studio focused on the creative ideation and development of high-engagement, in-game brand integrations.”
Zynga is testing ads featuring Progressive insurance branding in its FarmVille franchise. According to Gamasutra, the number of players who engaged with the ads increased by double-digits in comparison to the video ads. It was also observed that the players spent much more time with the ads than they typically do. The game maker claimed that they spent between 15 and 25 seconds with the ads, and this was five to seven times the industry average for the static ads.
Zynga says the game players like these ads over the traditional ones, and the benefits of it directly go to the brands. Zynga’s claims are also backed by a third party source, mobile ad company Celtra, who gave similar numbers to VentureBeat last year. Brands are charged each time someone plays a sponsored level. Brands can also offer players a reward in exchange for playing.
A product of date and analytics
Zynga Chief data officer, Dr. Amy Gershkoff, said the game maker always tries to deliver the most personalized gaming experiences, and it has had a long commitment to leveraging data and analytics. With the launch of SponsoredPLAY, the use of data and analytics can be seen coming to life, enabling the company to deliver the most consumer-centric ad experience to players, and at the same time helping brands to meet the right consumers in the right games at the right time.
Clorox was one of the first companies to test Zynga’s SponsoredPlay product. It made use of the branded format in Zynga’s FarmVille: Harvest Swap to promote its Hidden Valley Ranch brand. There was a level in which the players could harvest the ingredients for a Hidden Valley Ranch recipe. Once the player completes the recipe, they could click on a link that took them to the brands’ recipe site.
