Mountain View, CA based casual gaming advertising network NeoEdge Networks has released preliminary data that suggests that video advertising within games is more effective than traditional TV advertising.  The study is not yet complete and ready for publication, but reports are indicating that online gaming audiences are more likely to remember brands that are experimenting with pre, mid and post roll video ads inside web based games.  Whether or not this recollection is positive or not remains to be seen, but according to NeoEdge, it’s all good.

NeoEdge is conducting the study together with research agency Frank Magid Associates, and explain their reasoning:

The research goal was to determine both the value of online video advertising inside of casual games and the most efficient use of video advertising in casual games. In partnership with advertiser Zappos.com, casual game players across the NeoEdge Network were intercepted with a survey request after game play. Consumers saw one of ten different online video advertising scenarios, which varied number of ads seen, frequency of ads and additional ad products. Over 2,000 consumers participated in the research study and over 1 million ad impressions were used to conduct the comprehensive research.

EVP at Frank Magid Associates Vicki Cohen explains that the preliminary numbers indicate a quintuple increase in unaided brand awareness over TV advertising where a game included a zappos.com ad.  Over 80% of all those surveyed identified Zappos.com as the ad provider that “allowed them to play the game for free”, and 56% had a more favorable impression of Zappos.com due to the trade off of watching an ad – play the game for free.

Granted, in-game advertising surveys conducted by an in-game advertising agency must be taken with a grain of salt.  Regardless of the possible (read: keep it in mind) bias of the survey, the numbers and results speak for themselves and are interesting to note.  After all, both Google and Sony are eyeballing in-game advertising in a big way, and depending on which data you’re looking at, projections in this segment range anywhere from $732 million to $1.8 billion by 2010.

Now this study seems to paint a bright and rosy picture for the in-game advertising industry, but lest we forget, in-game advertising provider IGA is on rocky ground, and just recently, VentureBeat’s survey indicated that microtransactions, and not in-game ads were the ones to watch over the coming year.  Given the current economic conditions, and the online advertising rate freefall, I’m not completely convinced that the NeoEdge Networks survey will serve as anything more than an optimistic outlook in troubled waters.

Related articles by Zemanta

• NeoEdge Networks launches NeoMOM to measure product tastes (venturebeat.com)
• Even In-Game Advertising Is Hurting, IGA May Be Up For Sale [Advertising] (kotaku.com)
• Struggling in-game ad firm IGA Worldwide seeks investments or possible sale (venturebeat.com)
• NeoEdge Mines Girl Gamer Data Across Online Sites (marketingvox.com)