For the first time, an ad-verification solution has been deployed to independently measure the difference in viewability between programmatic in-game ads and traditional banner ads.

The result was a resounding win for the in-game ads, which had 23% higher viewability than banner ads served through online display advertising channels, Exchange Wire reports.

In-game advertising company Anzu teamed up with cybersecurity firm CHEQ to introduce the first ever ad-verification solution for a multinational consumer brand.

In December last year, ads that were aimed at reaching younger consumers were delivered using location and real-time targeting to gamers who were using mobiles and computers. The brand’s ads were used in 20 diverse games, including racing, simulation and adventure games and there were 408,000 unique users – people who played a game and were exposed to ads.

CHEQ reported that during the campaign, over 80% of people targeted saw 95% of ads for a minimum of two seconds. This compares with only 65% viewability of at least two seconds when the same brand served banner ads.

Dozens of companies have since deployed the same verification solution, Exchange Wire reported, including Turner, which is part of AT&T’s Warner Media Group. The tracking enables advertisers to measure in-game programmatic ads in terms of whether ads are viewed head-on or from a hard-to-view angle, plus whether ads were obscured by surrounding objects.

“The early promises of in-game advertising are paying off, and in-game advertising will be a powerful opportunity for brands in 2020 who are reassured that ads are served in a viewable, brand-safe and fraud-free environment,” Guy Tytunovich, CHEQ Founder and CEO, told Exchange Wire.

“Like in the overall OTT ecosystem, we are seeing huge excitement about the fact that big advertisers can, for the first time, take first-party data, which reflects their understanding of their customers or future customers, and point that data to the world of gaming to reach a pool of 2.4 billion engaged gamers.”

Commenting on the results of the project, Itamar Benedy, Anzu Co-Founder and CEO, said, “This campaign further illustrates that in-game ads naturally offer high viewability. The reason for this is simple: when gamers play, they are completely immersed in the environment and perceive ads naturally.”

Sourced from Exchange Wire; additional content by WARC staff