Back in July of 2007 Google had announced they were getting into Adsense for games. Google went this long without saying anything else on the topic, until now. Google has announced their in-game advertising has gone into beta and is now available for games. Google is targetting flash games on the web, initially.

Google getting into in-game advertising means the market can potentially be a big market. Google is a huge force in advertising and if they are getting into in-game advertising there is a market there.

“It’s a huge stamp of approval for a major company to come in and say they believe in the online games ad market,” said Jameson Hsu, chief executive of Mochi Media, a game ad network operator which is partnering with Google. “It should awaken all of the major media companies.”

The ads are that google provides can be used in games or in youtube videos. The ads can be requested by using Flash and placing a “hook” into your game or video that tells the video or game to go look for an advertisement when it hits a certain spot, in the beginning or end.

Companies such as eSurance, Sprint, and Sony Pictures are, currently, participating in the in-game advertisements.

The entrance of Google into the flash game advertising space is big news. Google will have some competition from big names already in this space, but they must think they can set themselves apart from the competition. This also brings another avenue for flash game developers to make some money.

Thanks VentureBeat

MochiAds announced the release of MochiAds for Publishers, which consists of games that contain advertisements. The goal is for publishers to release the games on their publishing site and share in the revenue the advertisements in the games generate. The service was only offered to MochiAds’ partners, but has been opened up to all publishers.

The games are all flash based games and the programmers opt into the service through MochiAds’ network. By participating in the service, the developers allow publishers full control to their games. Publishers have the option to hand pick the games or receive the games through a feed.

“Publishers value high-quality content to engage their users. We’re changing the model with this new product by rewarding them for using free, high-quality content,” said Jameson Hsu, CEO of Mochi Media. The platform delivers pre-game and inter-level ads into games, providing revenue share to both the game creator and publisher.

This is a great opportunity for people that would like to open up a flash game site or already have a flash game site and are looking for fresh content. MochiAds’ system seems to take the tedium out of finding games to publish on your site.

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Coca-Cola and Nestle have decided to put advertising dollars into video games instead of more traditional ads. Coca-Cola and Nestle are attempting to target the millions of users that play online games. Advergaming is the practice of using video games to advertise a product. Of course, advergaming mainly targets casual games. Advergames are quick to learn and usually are played on a web site using a web browser.

With a seemingly boundless environment, advertising opportunities are limitless, he noted. “Clients can choose to do anything from branding an entire building to putting up their own landmarks and icons. They can even incorporate their own characters and mascots in the world. And let’s not forget available ad spaces on media such as billboards, posters, walls and floors,” he said.

Thanks ABS-CBNNEWS

Gamers Media is another up and coming advertising company that wants to get in on casual games advertising. Gamers Media has decided to take a different approach with their in-game advertising. They have come up with an advertising engine. The engine is based off of Adify’s Build Your Own Network (BYON) platform.

Adify’s platform allows Gamers Media to target niche audiences with video, image and rich media advertising. The advertising is suppose to be able to reach the players that are less likely to click on the in-game advertisements. The service also allows the people implementing the advertisements to keep track of what is going on with a network management interface. The network management interface allows site administrators or portal administrators the luxury of ad management, tracking, reporting, billing, payment and technical support functions.

“Online casual gaming is exploding. There are now 80+ million casual gamers in the U.S., which represents 40+% of the US online population. Online gamers are responsible for the highest disposable income of any other group, spending an estimated $170 billion worldwide,” said Jay Gould, founder of Gamers Media. “Gamers Media provides advertisers with an alternative beyond the limited large scale casual game portals that currently exist. The total number of daily sites visited per user has grown 145% since 2006, and with our massive reach across many unique casual gaming sites, we help brands achieve their goals. Also, with our ‘Advergames’ we can help advertisers incorporate their brands into the games, creating a completely interactive and integrated experience.”

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