Press Release
Microsoft partners with Miniclip.com to maximise Return on Audience
London, UK - February, 23rd, 2009- Miniclip.com, the number one online games website in the UK which has seen a rise in the number of its users to over 50 million per month worldwide has signed a deal with Microsoft Advertising to help them maximise the value of their inventory, increase their Return on Audience (ROA), and enable leading brands to reach a wider, more engaged audience.
The partnership with Miniclip.com goes live on Monday 23rd Feburary where Microsoft Advertising will create unique 'Advergames' with Miniclip.com for specific brands and help Miniclip.com to identify where the most value lies for the website. Essentially the partnership with Microsoft will enable Miniclip.com to use it's greatest asset - it's uniquely engaged audience - to generate additional revenue and offer bespoke packages to advertisers.
Online games have seen a significant surge in use over the past few months since the recession has deepened. Latest data from comScore shows that the number of visitors to online game sites rose by 29.9% during the last quarter of 2008, compared with a 0.3% decline during the same period the year before.
According to digital experts online games provide a form of escapism for people during the difficult times, plus the internet provides a near-free form of entertainment when disposable income is low.
This recent growth in online games presents an opportunity for brands looking to reach a more engaged audience at a time when their advertising budgets are being cut.
Please see below for some background information about Miniclip.com, an overview of Microsoft Advertising Publisher, and some key pointers as to why publishers need to re-evaluate their inventory now to maximise their ROI.
About Miniclip.com
- Miniclip.com is the UK's largest online games website in terms of unique users per month.
- Started eight years ago on a budget of £40,000 in a flat in St. Katherine's Dock, London. They have achieved continual organic growth through word of mouth, without any paid advertising since launching. Entirely privately funded, with no requirement for VC funding.
- Miniclip.com provides simple, intuitive games that users can play instantly, typically for short periods during breaks in their day. These are not the preserve of teenagers - Miniclip's major users are older net surfers who enjoy puzzles, satirical, and political games.
- Miniclip.com strives to ensure that online gamers keep coming back by providing fresh content, which means publishing new games every week and nurturing a large network of developers. To achieve this Miniclip adopts some unusual employment practices. As well as the developers based in it's London office, which employs around 50 people, the company uses a network of 300 developers in 50 different countries.
- Miniclip.com is also investing in third-party games that it hosts on it's site. In addition, Miniclip is currently building it's own subscription-based services and exploring deal to license it's games characters to toy companies. It has also developed seven games for mobile phones, and is creating a new genre of 'Advergames' with Microsoft Advertising following successful work for companies including BP, Gillette, and Unilever.
About Microsoft Advertising Publisher
- Microsoft Advertising Solutions for Publishers aims to help media publishers achieve greater returns on their audience and achieve operational excellence through media, technology and expertise.
- Microsoft combines the depth and breadth of media offerings with advanced technology to enable publishers and advertisers to engage with their audiences in highly targeted, profitable and innovative ways.
- Microsoft Advertising Solutions for Publishers combines the full suite of publisher tools and services, including:
- Media Solutions
- Microsoft Media Network: Combines two ad networks, DRIVEpm and Microsoft Direct Response. This new extended network provides brands with extensive reach and brand exposure - with access to 85% of the UK's online audience, serving 6 billion impressions per month across an audience of 28 million unique users and offers.
- Partnerships: Built on forming deep partnerships with brands where we work together to monetise their audience and content. This includes outsourcing of all or part of premium advertising sales.
- Technology Solutions
- Atlas: Provides cutting-edge digital media technologies and solutions for publishers and advertisers.
- Media Solutions
- Microsoft provides tools and services to publishers that enable them to focus on their content and core competencies, while not worrying about the mechanics of ad placement while growing revenue across their discretionary and premium ad inventory.
- Microsoft's media and technology offerings help publishers drive superior results through ad inventory management and targeting, and our sophisticated data collection and analytics systems help provide critical insights to our customers about their business.
- The specially created and dedicated publisher sales team brings expertise around media and technology to help media publishers solve complex business problems, such as how to increase Return on Audience.
- Microsoft connects publishers of premium web content with relevant advertisers to help better monetise their assets.
- Microsoft has built complementary products that redefine 'table stakes' for what media publishers in today's market need to effectively monetise their advertising inventory.
The recession is a time for publishers to re-evaluate how to better monetise their quality assets:
- The recession is an opportune time for publishers to review their assets and look for ways to create additional revenue streams which will reap benefits well into the future.
- Advertisers are looking to digital for quality audiences to engage with and this is often the most valuable source of revenue for publishers.
- Latest research from Group M forecasts (Dec 08) are predicting that UK ad spend forecasts will fall by 5.6% in 2009.
- However they also predict that internet advertising will experience strong growth (+9.5%)
- Now is a time for publishers to seek advice on how they can create and maximise revenue from distressed or discretionary inventory.
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