Video Game Ad Network Gears Up For Launch

Massive Inc., A video game advertising network, will announce today a slate of major video game publisher deals, including established names like Ubisoft, Vivendi Universal Games, and Eidos.

The Massive network will officially launch on March 28 with the release of the anticipated title "Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory," and the online futuristic role-playing game "Anarchy Online." "Chaos Theory" is the third installment in the already established Splinter Cell franchise, which features a U.S. intelligence agent fighting various global terrorist threats.

Massive's ad network aims to target the elusive male 18-34 demographic, which has increasingly turned to video games for entertainment.

"We're talking about getting to that 18- to-34 demo," said Massive CEO Mitch Davis. "If you want to reach those guys in prime time, there's only one place to do it, and that's video games."

According to a study by Nielsen Media Research, the 18-34 male demographic, while watching less TV, spent about 30 billion hours in 2003 playing video games. And Davis maintains that players recall ads placed in video games better than those on television or in print. "In terms of effectiveness, we've completed three research studies so far," Davis said. The studies show the effect of advertising on brand recall, said Davis, and "[players] notice everything in the game, so they really pay attention to the ads."

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