Advertisers covet the Fall television season for the opportunities the networks' prime-time lineups give brands to reach their target audiences. What many advertisers may not know is this Fall (and Winter) there is a host of chart toppers that will help them engage the highly coveted male 18-34 demographic in a more efficient and less interruptive manner than traditional TV ads. Of course I'm referring to the blockbuster lineup of video game titles available this Fall/Winter on Massive's video game advertising network.
Massive is now offering advertisers premium in-game advertising opportunities to engage over 40 million gamers on the Xbox 360T and PC platform through its impressive lineup of upcoming games from leading publishers, including:
EA
· Major EA SPORTS titles return to the Massive network highlighted by the August 14 launch of Madden NFL 10, the most famous video game franchise on the planet. Premium in-game inventory will also be available on the latest installments of two other extremely popular and successful sports game franchises with the fall launches of NHL 10 and NBA LIVE 10.
· September 15th marks the highly anticipated release of Need for Speed Shift, the latest title from the Need for Speed franchise, one of the most successful franchises in the market and on the Massive network.
· Advertisers welcomed the return of an EA classic when Fight Night Round 4 hit shelves in May. The game quickly became the top selling title in North American with over 1 million units sold in its first month (NPD), and it remains the most popular title on Xbox 360.
Activision
· Massive is excited to add six Activision titles to our network including three in the Entertainment category with the September release of Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero forthcoming in October, and Band Hero hitting shelves in November.
· The fall releases of Tony Hawk: RIDE and Blur will take action sports and racing games to a whole new level.
· Advertisers have the opportunity to sponsor downloadable content (DLC) in the smash hit Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
THQ
· Mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport in the world and THQ's UFC® 2009 UndisputedT game echoes the sport's popularity. Advertisers continue to take note of the opportunities the first UFC® title in more than five years gives them to reach the sport's rabid fan base.
· The best-selling off-road racing franchise returns in November with MX vs. ATVT ReflexT.
And there's more. Massive continues to work closely with our other key publisher partners including Ubisoft, 2K Sports, and Blizzard Entertainment with several titles slated for release in 2010.
Already Ubisoft has full games available for digital download on Xbox Live which are Massive enabled: including Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, and the next installment, Splinter Cell: Conviction, will be one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of the New Year.
Through an agreement with Blizzard Entertainment, Massive is the exclusive advertising service provider for the World of Warcraft community web sites as well as the Battle.net online gaming service. A newly redesigned Battle.net platform will launch with StarCraft II in 2010, for which Massive will also be the exclusive advertising service provider.
Now, I think this primetime line up presents opportunities many advertisers would covet, but as if it wasn't enough, we'll be unveiling several other blockbuster titles and advertising opportunities in November when Massive hosts its Second Annual In-Game Ad Upfront event in New York City. Following on the success of the first ever event of its kind in 2008, this upfront will allow game publishers and advertisers to preview game content and lock down advertising opportunities on Massive's network for 2010. Stay tuned for more details.
If you'd like more information about advertising opportunities available on the titles in our fall lineup, please contact your Massive sales representative or email us at Massinfo@microsoft.com.