Video game publisher Activision Inc.and Nielsen Entertainment, Monday said they were collaborating to produce a measurement system for corporate advertisers to compare the reach of video games with more established media, such as television.
The tie-up by Santa Monica, California-based Activision and Nielsen, a unit of market research company VNU, is intended to establish the nascent field of in-game advertising as a mainstream market that would open a new area of growth in the $25 billion video game industry.
Nielsen plans to measure how gamers playing Activision's "Tony Hawk's Underground 2" interact with ads for Chrysler's Jeep embedded in the game.
The test, scheduled for late 2004 through early 2005, follows a Nielsen survey showing that gamers recalled 87 percent of brands with which they closely interact in video games.
The tracking mechanism developed for games will be similar to technology Nielsen uses in homes to monitor television viewing habits, and will generate a daily tally of impressions similar to TV ratings, said Michael Dowling, general manager of Nielsen Interactive Entertainment.
The system will track the instances when gamers come in contact with a brand, and can distinguish types of exposure, including whether a gamer has viewed a graphic billboard for the product or used an icon representing the product itself, Dowling said.
"The first thing we are going to pursue is a quarterly diary similar to (television) sweeps," Dowling said. "It will give the (advertising) industry an appreciation for the reach of these titles."
Robert Kotick, chief executive of Activision, said he expected the measurements of "Tony Hawk" to establish in-game advertising as a mainstream advertising medium.
Activision, one of the world's largest game publishers and distributors, has largely funded the attempt to put a ratings system in place at a time when television viewership among the young male demographic coveted by advertisers is sinking.