Wendy’s new Baconator campaign – which taps into innovative American in-game creative technology – is now appearing on billboards in popular video games.
The Wendy’s ads appear on billboards, bus shelters and TV screens within the virtual gaming systems of multiple games spanning Xbox, PlayStation 4, Steam and PC platforms.
The technology for dynamic in-game creative comes from US company Playwire Media, represented in New Zealand by local premium digital media providers, Digital Commons.
The first brand to utilise this new Playwire-Digital Commons offering in the NZ market, Wendy’s billboards will be served across dozens of games within the RapidFire Network, with ads displayed within the game environment and served in real time when players are connected to the internet.
Games are selected based on target audience and ads are served to the correct audience via their IP addresses, comparable to the mechanics governing Google’s geo products, says Digital Commons NZ’s Lisa Ison.
Ison says Digital Commons is unaware of any local brands using the “Frequency caps can be applied – possibly the core advantage of digital billboard delivery over its traditional counterpart,” Ison said. “For one impression to ‘count’, an ad unit will have been cumulatively on screen for 10 seconds, meaning one impression could be the ad served 10 times for one second.
“In other markets, brands using in-game technology include GoPro, Steam, Bethesda, Activision, 2k Games and EA.”
“Ad units are intentionally designed to be non-clickable so the gameplay experience is not disrupted. Brands fit naturally within the game environment, maintaining the realism of the game and in turn increasing brand favourability with players.”
In other markets, notable brands using in-game technology include GoPro, Steam, Bethesda, Activision, 2k Games and EA. Ison says Digital Commons is unaware of any local brands using the technology to date.
Wendy’s NZ ceo Danielle Lendich said: “With a core target audience of males 18-30, gaming is a highly relevant setting for the fast food brand.
“We know gamers fit into our target market and saw this as a unique opportunity and a new and exciting way to get our message across to a hard-to-reach audience,” she said.
Snapchat too
Wendy’s is also targeting Snapchat users as part of its Baconator campaign, with a 10 second video ad and national geo filter, live in one week – on Wednesday 23 August.
About Digital Commons
Digital Commons founders Lisa Ison and Johanna Cotter harness over 20 years of combined digital media expertise, driving their team to operate at the edge of ‘digi’. Digital Commons empowers Kiwi agencies to think beyond spots and dots, and help advertisers break through the noisy, cluttered and complex world of digital advertising. Launching last year, Digital Commons acts as a gateway to premium international inventory, bringing cutting edge products and technology into the NZ market.
Share this Post
