Advertising network IGA today announced that is has formed a multi-year agreement with mega publisher Electronic Arts to exclusively deliver dynamic in-game advertising within the publisher’s wide portfolio of PlayStation 3 titles.

IGA’s dynamic in-game advertising platform allows for in-game ad elements to be updated in real time, keeping ads fresh and relevant to each gamer. EA’s development teams work closely with IGA to ensure that advertising is placed appropriately within the game environment in order to reflect an authentic gaming experience.

Fine with me as long as the ads aren’t obtrusive. With the ever-increasing rise in production and maintenance costs, in online-enabled titles specifically, it makes sense to do this.

IGA Worldwide Announces Multi-year Deal with EA as Exclusive Dynamic In-Game Advertising Partner for PLAYSTATION 3 Titles

Agreement Provides Marketers First Time Access to EA’s Premium Portfolio of Titles for PLAYSTATION 3 Audience

New York, N.Y. – June 4, 2008 – IGA Worldwide (IGA), the leading independent in-game advertising network today announced a two-year agreement with Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company, to become the media company’s exclusive global, dynamic in-game advertising partner for titles on Sony Computer Entertainment’s PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. Sony recently opened its PS3™ platform to allow brands to advertise dynamically within games played on the popular video game console, which to date has sold 13 million units worldwide (1), and is forecasted to sell 58.1 million by 2012 (2).

This agreement provides marketers the ability to plan and execute long-term campaigns targeted towards an elusive demographic – males 18 – 34 – through EA’s blockbuster roster of titles. The in-game development cycle also benefits gamers in that the advertisements are better integrated within the gaming environment in order to deliver a seamless and more authentic game environment. EA has worked with IGA on various projects to date, and this agreement builds on that successful partnership.

Under the agreement, IGA will exclusively manage dynamic in-game advertising within EA’s portfolio of PS3 titles including popular EA SPORTS™ franchises Madden NFL football, NBA LIVE basketball, NASCAR® racing and NHL® hockey. IGA will also have access to EA’s popular racing franchises Need for Speed™ and Burnout™.

“We are thrilled at this opportunity to expand our strong relationship with EA and are pleased to have been selected to support EA and Sony on this new venture,” said Justin Townsend, CEO of IGA Worldwide. “It’s exciting that the PS3 has opened up and marketers will now have access to the platform, as this represents a tremendous opportunity for brands targeting a valuable and hard-to-reach audience, plus it sends a clear message that dynamic in-game advertising has arrived as a compelling medium for marketers.”

IGA’s dynamic in-game advertising platform allows for in-game ad elements to be updated in real time, keeping ads fresh and relevant to each gamer. EA’s development teams work closely with IGA to ensure that advertising is placed appropriately within the game environment in order to reflect an authentic gaming experience.

“EA is committed to providing both great entertainment experiences for consumers and effective advertising solutions for marketers,” said Elizabeth Harz, EA’s Senior Vice President of Global Advertising Sales. “Dynamic in-game advertising is an important growth area for our business, and we are excited to partner with IGA to provide industry leading in-game marketing.”

IGA serves hundreds of millions of dynamic ad impressions per week to more than 10 million highly-engaged online gamers across a wide range of game genres. IGA’s proprietary technology provides marketers with comprehensive measurement data including how consumers interact with each piece of creative, the size of the ad on screen, for how long and at what angle.

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