Agreement Provides Marketers First Time Access to EA's Premium Portfolio of Titles for PLAYSTATION 3 Audience NEW YORK, June 4
NEW YORK, June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- IGA Worldwide (IGA), the leading
independent in-game advertising network today announced a two-year agreement
with Electronic Arts Inc. (Nasdaq: ERTS), the world's leading interactive
entertainment software company, to become the media company's exclusive
global, dynamic in-game advertising partner for titles on Sony Computer
Entertainment's PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system. Sony recently
opened its PS3(TM) platform to allow brands to advertise dynamically within
games played on the popular video game console, which to date has sold 13
million units worldwide (1), and is forecasted to sell 58.1 million by 2012
(2).
This agreement provides marketers the ability to plan and quickly execute
highly strategic campaigns targeted toward the coveted demographic -- males
18-34 -- through EA's blockbuster catalogue of titles. The advertisements are
integrated within the gaming environment in order to deliver a seamless and
more authentic game environment. EA has worked with IGA on various projects to
date, and this agreement builds on that successful partnership.
Under the agreement, IGA will exclusively manage dynamic in-game
advertising within EA's portfolio of PS3 titles including popular EA
SPORTS(TM) franchises Madden NFL football, NBA LIVE basketball, NASCAR(R)
racing and NHL(R) hockey. IGA will also have access to EA's popular racing
franchises Need for Speed(TM) and Burnout(TM).
"We are thrilled at this opportunity to expand our strong relationship
with EA and are pleased to have been selected to support EA and Sony on this
new venture," said Justin Townsend, CEO of IGA Worldwide. "It's exciting that
the PS3 has opened up and marketers will now have access to the platform, as
this represents a tremendous opportunity for brands targeting a valuable and
hard-to-reach audience, plus it sends a clear message that dynamic in-game
advertising has arrived as a compelling medium for marketers."
IGA's dynamic in-game advertising platform allows for in-game ad elements
to be updated in real time, keeping ads fresh and relevant to each gamer. EA's
development teams work closely with IGA to ensure that advertising is placed
appropriately within the game environment in order to reflect an authentic
gaming experience.
"EA is committed to providing both great entertainment experiences for
consumers and effective advertising solutions for marketers," said Elizabeth
Harz, EA's Senior Vice President of Global Advertising Sales. "Dynamic in-game
advertising is an important growth area for our business, and we are excited
to partner with IGA to provide industry leading in-game marketing."
IGA serves hundreds of millions of dynamic ad impressions per week to more
than 10 million highly-engaged online gamers across a wide range of game
genres. IGA's proprietary technology provides marketers with comprehensive
measurement data including how consumers interact with each piece of creative,
the size of the ad on screen, for how long and at what angle. Sony plans new
role for PLAYSTATION 3, UPI, published April 21, 2008 IDG Q1 2008 Video Game
Market Forecast, IDG Consulting, published Q1 2008.
About IGA Worldwide
IGA Worldwide, Inc. (www.igaworldwide.com) is the largest in-game
advertising company with a proprietary ad serving network. The IGA Worldwide
Radial Network(SM) enables advertisers to target millions of engaged gamers
across a wide range of platforms and genres. IGA Worldwide has already
delivered campaigns for diverse brands such as; 20th Century Fox, Ben Sherman,
Discovery, FHM, Hawaiian Airlines, Intel, Jeep, MTV, and T-Mobile. IGA
Worldwide also provides strategic consulting services including integrated
product placement and promotion through its dedicated creative solutions
department. Headquartered in New York with offices in London and Berlin, the
group is backed by Peacock Equity (a joint venture between GE-Commercial
Finance and NBC Universal), Easton Capital Group, Intel Capital, Morgenthaler
Ventures, KTB Ventures, Translink Capital, Presidio STX, LLC. and ITOCHU
Corporation.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is
the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in
1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software
worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and
the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA
SPORTS(TM), EA(TM), EA SPORTS Freestyle(TM) and POGO(TM). In fiscal 2008, EA
posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than
one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More
information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found
on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle, POGO, Need for Speed and Burnout are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or
other countries. John Madden, NFL, NBA, NASCAR and NHL are trademarks of their
respective owners and used with permission. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.
(1) Sony plans new role for PLAYSTATION 3, UPI, published April 21, 2008
(2) IDG Q1 2008 Video Game Market Forecast, IDG Consulting, published Q1
2008
SOURCE IGA Worldwide
