The changing length of games TV ad campaigns

The average games industry TV campaign has increased over the past five years from 2.58 weeks in 2008 to 2.97 in 2010 and now 3.39 weeks in 2012.

The average length of a console ad campaign has grown marginally since 2008, from two to 2.33 weeks. The PS Vita was the key driver for this growth.Game campaigns tend to be short and heavy as publishers look to generate instant buzz and drive week-one sales.

Sega’s recent Mario & Sonic at the London Olympic Games averaged 105 individual TVRs per week, but was live for just three weeks. This was also the case back in 2008, when Mario & Sonic’s Beijing predecessor employed an almost identical three-week strategy, averaging 82 TVRs per week. A TVR is one per cent of a target audience. A campaign can go over 100 TVRs if a viewer watches an advert more than once.

The use of extended, drip strategies (under 10 individual TVRs per week) by online and mobile games advertisers jumped from 3.83 weeks in 2008, to six weeks in 2010, and 6.5 weeks in 2012. This has driven most growth to the sector overall.

Supplied byGeneration Media