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Engage enters the in-game ad game

New company debuts localized approach to marketing with Subway ad campaign for gamers in select areas.

Another company is jumping into the battle for gamers' eyeballs and companies' marketing dollars, as Engage In-Game Advertising officially launched today. The San Francisco-based firm will work with in-game advertising firms like Massive, IGA Partners, and Double Fusion to target their advertisers' campaigns to customers in specific geographic locations. The company's first campaign (via IGA) placed ads for fast-food chain Subway into the Counter-Strike games of players in San Francisco, Sacramento, Las Vegas, and Fresno. After three weeks, the campaign reached 31,000 unique gamers in one market alone.

21 Comments

  • specter_0

    Posted Jan 25, 2006 4:10 pm GMT

    come on, think about this for a second. They aren't going to be stupid enough to have pop-up ads in the middle of a game. This would anger gamers, causing it to not sell, or possibly massive refunds. This form of advertising is more like flyers on walls, or billboards on trucks.

    I think this is a great idea, the only reason it hasn't dropped a game's price yet is cause this is not widespread yet. I am sure this will cause game prices to drop, or at least keep them from rising.

  • Corvin

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 4:26 pm GMT

    This is bad but I think they've yet to try the worse: placing ads in games that they have no business being in. Its one thing to see modern ads in modern games, but the day you reach the dank, dark, forgotten, ancient city and its covered in Pepsi and Subway billboards, is the day I check out of the industry.

  • vaejas

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 11:02 am GMT

    Mmmm.. the "Sub"-Machine Gun, you can taste the lead!

  • MrSelf_Destruct

    Posted Jan 11, 2006 11:53 am GMT

    Nothing like a Subway ad during a game to pull you out of the experience.

  • BounceDK

    Posted Jan 11, 2006 9:54 am GMT

    Keep downloading games and don't pay for em. That's what they get by not reducing the price on their ad infested crap.

  • cikame

    Posted Jan 11, 2006 9:41 am GMT

    im in england , i wont be seeing these delicious sandwiches in the corner of the scope on my scout...haha. i kind of like the idea of adverts in games to a certain degree, reminds me of old sci fi movies with like holographic adverts n stuff...couldn't name any of em tho. adverts will be over here soon im sure of it...as long as im not playing a ww2 game when it happens, "this is a message from the future...buy a dodge charger...nooooow"

  • Mp5slipknot

    Posted Jan 11, 2006 7:57 am GMT

    GyRo567
    The day ingame ads take over is the day we start pirating ALL games with advertising just to screw over the purpose of the advertising.

    I second that.

  • halvedlife

    Posted Jan 11, 2006 6:16 am GMT


    Why choose the name ENGAGE? If they want to get off to a good start, they need to ditch the name to avoid confusion with NOKIA's mega flop handheld.

  • PrezKennedy

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 10:02 pm GMT

    Companies who put paid ads in their game should explain to us why the price for their games isn't any cheaper.

  • andrewtyen

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 8:06 pm GMT

    rofl

  • FinalCrystal21

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 7:56 pm GMT

    MMM....Toasty is from Quiznos which is better then Subway. Subway motto is more like "Eat Fresh". Here have a "fresh" just picked granade................BOOOOM!!!!! Sry.

  • burninatored

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 7:55 pm GMT

    Darn right GyRo567, ROFL.

  • GyRo567

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 6:34 pm GMT

    The day ingame ads take over is the day we start pirating ALL games with advertising just to screw over the purpose of the advertising.

  • LordOfMidnight

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 6:21 pm GMT

    I don't have a problem with in-game ads at all as long as they don't pop up and cover the whole screen!

  • FakedMiniDeath

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 5:54 pm GMT

    wow this advertising is way out of hand, games are not getting reduced in price or anything and its not making games any better. OH YA i forgot, i lost 20 pounds on the Subway diet, so go buy Subway!!!!!!!!

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 5:32 pm GMT

    Wonder if Jarret is a part of the Terrorists....

  • xxPantherxx

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 5:26 pm GMT

    don't forget to buy Subway's brand new tasty sub...

  • nemes1s3000

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 5:24 pm GMT

    "Mmmmm.. toasty!" is Mr. Subs motto haha.

  • -BC-Soldier91

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 5:16 pm GMT

    rofl. 30 seconds left and two guys are playing. They spot each other and......mmmmm...toasty..comes up on the screen...

    Eh can you stay stupid. I wanna toast someone in the game, but not have an ad come up asking for a sub. Next it will be certain words in a chat, makes different ads come up.... grrr

  • WTA2k5

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 5:06 pm GMT

    rofl

  • Donkeljohn

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 5:05 pm GMT

    This anti-terrorist operation has been brought to you by Subway.

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