MUMBAI: In what is being seen as an important step ahead for the US video game industry, Nielsen Entertainment and Massive have announced a partnership.

Under this Nielsen Interactive Entertainment (NIE) will provide third-party accountability and measurement for in-game advertising on the Massive Network.

NIE GM Michael Dowling said, "By this point, there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that, to young people, video games are an essential part of their cultural fabric. Not only are we seeing video games claim a larger share of the entertainment wallet, but with today's captivating game play experiences, we are seeing video games occupy a larger share of leisure time activities as well. As such, video games are fast developing into a real and powerful tool to authentically reach this highly sought after demographic. As companies like Massive grow the in-game advertising network market, Nielsen Entertainment will be in lock-step to develop and deliver the foundational infrastructure to support the evolution of this burgeoning industry."

Video games represent an underutilised advertising vehicle with benefits for advertisers seeking to target the elusive 18-34 year old male audience. Until now, companies seeking to reach this demographically attractive gamer audience have not been able to do so in a direct manner.

Instead, marketers have relied on fixed placements in individual game titles with limited ability to tune or time their ads according to broad campaign needs and objectives; executions had to be completed up to 12 months before the product shipped.

However, with the introduction earlier this year of the Massive Video Game Advertising Network, the infrastructure is now in place to make in-game advertising a seamless buying experience and effectively delivered medium. In addition to in-game product placements, which have begun to be adopted by many advertisers, Massive's Network will now expand the portfolio of advertising opportunities to give marketers broader choices in utilising this new medium.

Massivc CEO Mitch Davis said, "Today, Massive and Nielsen are drawing another connection line between videogame advertising and effectiveness, creating more tools for brand marketers by providing real audience measurement in this growing and critical new advertising medium. Video games have become a major component of our media environment, every bit as vital as television."

Massive enables advertisers to take full advantage of the key strengths of the video game medium: interactivity, immersion, scalability and intense user
involvement, using real touch points while never interfering with game play. The Massive Network guarantees delivery and measurement of advertising in either a 15 or a 30 second spot exposures. As with television, advertisers can buy across the network or segment specifically to reach their desired consumer.

By simultaneously delivering ads in real-time across an entire network of top-selling titles, the Massive Video Game Advertising Network provides advertisers with broad reach, coupled with precise audience segmentation
capabilities. Flexibility allows advertisers to change campaigns on "the fly," by region, by time of day-keeping campaigns fresh and relevant.

The two companies will work hand-in-hand during a beta period over the next several months to define essential standards for dynamically served in-game advertising that can be utilised in agency media planning, similar to the way TV ratings are currently used. By auditing the interaction of console and PC players with in-game ads aired across the Massive network, Nielsen and Massive will have full data on the aggregated reach and demographic profiles on the audience exposed to the ad, as well other measurement data important to TV ad buyers including day part, frequency, and geo-targeting.