MCV GameTime: Industry TV advertising monitor (wk ending October 30th)

We look at recent TV advertising activity for games and reveal which titles had the most exposure on TV in October.

This is provided by specialist communication firm Generation Mediawhich focuses on the entertainment and leisure industries.

Games and consoles advertising peaked for the year-to-date with 994 individual TVRs during the week ending 30th October.

Yet this total fell far short of 2010’s corresponding figure of 1296 TVRs. 2010’s market was stimulated by a larger number of campaigns on air (36 vs 29) averaging higher TVR levels (36 vs 34).

The week ending 30th October did however mark the fifth successive week of week-on-week growth. This is set to continue with Activision’s Modern Warfare 3 and Bethesda’s Skyrim advertising concentrated in the next recorded week.

Sony’s heavyweight campaign for Uncharted 3 resulted in the campaign topping the advertising charts with 181 TVRs, equating to an 18 per cent share of voice.

What’s a TVR?

The TVR (TelevisionRating) is the measure ofpopularity for aprogramme or ad bycomparing its audienceto the population as awhole. One TVR isequivalent to one percent of a target audience.So if Coronation Streetachieved a HousewivesTVR of 20 in Yorkshire itmeans that, on average,20 per cent of allHousewives in Yorkshirewatched it.

A campaign canachieve over 100 TVRs,however. But this doesnot mean that it hasbeen seen by 100 percent of the population, asTVRs only refer to thepercentage of thepopulation reached at thetime of airing. So airingan ad during Corrie sixtimes gives you 120TVRs, but you may onlybe reaching the same 20per cent of people.

TV ad activity – October 2011

The decline in advertising activity was stimulated by a 27 per cent fall in the number of campaigns (45 vs 62). October 2011 campaigns have however averaged 19 per cent more TVRs (75 vs 63).

October’s games and consoles advertising market finished 13 per cent down. The campaigns in the tables represent the Top Ten for both 2010 and 2011.

This ‘fewer but larger’ trend is evident in the Top Ten from both years. Last year the Top Ten achieved 1,876 TVRs, resulting in a 48 per cent market share. 2011’s Top Ten however achieved 2,106 TVRs, resulting in a 63 per cent market share. For example, Namco’s Enslaved’s 161 TVRs (2010) would only have achieved ninth place this year (instead of fourth in 2010).

Ubisoft is no doubt capitalising on the success of the dance games genre before the bubble may burst. Just Dance 3 achieved 26 per cent more TVRs than Just Dance 2, catapulting it up to fifth in the advertising rankings.

MCV GameTime is provided by Generation Media. 0207 255 4650 lwww.generationmedia.co.uk

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