Swiftcover.com is set to become the first insurer to use in-game advertising. The new brand campaign will feature virtual billboards in games such as Pro Evolution Soccer; Guitar Hero, Tiger Woods PGA Tour and Blur (a racing game). The ads will run through August and September on Xbox Live.
The in-game ads will tie into Swiftcover’s “Get a Life” advertising campaign theme featuring Iggy Pop and the “Little Iggy” puppet.
Tina Shortle, Marketing Director for AXA Insurance and swiftcover.com, commented on the initiative, “Swiftcover and Steak have worked closely together over the past five years to stay ahead of the competition. We were the first online only car insurer in 2005, we launched the first car insurance mobile site back in 2007 and have pioneered emerging media channels including Video on Demand and Spotify. Most importantly, we’ve capitalised on early-adopter advantage and have seen some fantastic results.”
The idea was conceived by Steak, who brokered the deal with Massive, the leading video game network, on behalf of swiftcover.com.
Alastair Boyle, Group Account Director at Steak added, “In-Game advertising is a perfect fit for the swiftcover.com brand and their target audience. This is the latest in our drive to use innovative ad formats for the right reasons, rather than jumping on every new media trend.”
Chris James, EMEA Manager at Massive concluded, “We’re very pleased to be working with Steak to select the right in-game placements for swiftcover.com. In-game ads have been shown to have some of the best recall rates around so it’s fantastic that more and more advertisers are now realising the potential of this medium.”
Studies have shown 72% of gamers recall seeing ads for brands in-game. In 2009 there was a 20% increase in average ad recall from the year before and the average brand recommendation lift scores were 29% ahead [MICROSOFT, 2009] 73% of gamers agreed that “ads enhanced the realism of the game” [INTERPRET, 2008]; and that across 600 gamers on Xbox 360 and PC showed that brand familiarity increased by 64%, brand rating increased by 37%, purchase consideration increased by 41% [NIELSEN, 2007].
WhiteCloud Digital Solutions Ltd (WCDS) has signed Steak as the first commercial partner to use their WhiteCloud affiliate management interface. Steak will be using the serving, tracking and reporting platform to manage affiliate campaigns on behalf of its clients.
Full-service digital agency, Steak, has achieved ‘one star status’ in the 2010 Best Companies accreditation scheme, which awards an elite ‘Michelin style’ star rating system for organisations that demonstrate high levels of employee engagement.
YUDU, the ePublishing library that lets web users read, publish, buy, sell and share digital content, has appointed The Steak Group to manage its paid and natural search accounts. Steak, the full service digital agency, will handle search engine optimisation while sister company Minute Steak will run the paid search marketing activity.
Commenting on these appointments, Ollie Bishop, Steak Group CEO, said, “We’re very pleased to welcome Mark and John to Steak. They will play key roles in delivering to Steak’s clients the rounded digital offering that they are looking for from us. We have already seen social media become an integral part of the campaigns we are putting together and expect this area to go from strength to strength. And whilst affiliate marketing has been a core part of Steak’s business for some time we are fortunate that someone of Mark’s calibre has joined us to make sure that continues.”
