Adscape Media, Inc. was a
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
in-game advertising
In-game advertising (IGA) is advertising in electronic games. IGA differs from advergames, which refers to games specifically made to advertise a product. The IGA industry is large and growing.
In-game advertising generated $34 million in 2004 ...
company specializing in dynamic ad delivery integrated into video game narratives. The technology allowed the placement of both static and dynamic advertisements within interactive entertainment on PC, console, and mobile platforms.
Founded in 2002 by former
Nortel
Nortel Networks Corporation (Nortel), formerly Northern Telecom Limited, was a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. It was founded in ...
engineer Dan Willis, the company launched in February 2006 with $3.2 million in funding from
HIG Ventures, an
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
-based venture capital firm. On February 15, 2007, Adscape was acquired by
Google
Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
for US$23 million.
History
Operations
Adscape moved from its offices in Atlanta to Google's headquarters in
Mountain View,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, in March 2007.
Acquisition by Google
Google's acquisition of the company grants it Adscape's patents related to advertising technologies in video games.
Google stated "''As more and more people'' ''spend time playing video games, we think we can create opportunities for advertisers to reach their target audiences while maintaining a high quality, engaging user experience.''"
This acquisition was partly fueled by
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
's purchase of in-game advertisement company
Massive Incorporated
Massive Incorporated was an American advertising company that provided software and services to dynamically host advertisements within video games. Massive Incorporated was purchased by Microsoft in May 2006 for approximately $200 million to $40 ...
, which already has secured deals with game publishers including
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
,
THQ, and
Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993.
The company owns three major Imprint (trade name), publishing labels, Rockstar Games, Zynga and 2K ...
, for $200 million in 2006.
After the acquisition, Adscape's core technology, AdverPlay, was merged into Google Adsense, aligning its dynamic in-game advertising system with Google's broader digital advertising ecosystem.
Leadership
The company's leadership includes Dan Willis as
Chief Technical Officer, Bernie Stolar as
Chairman
The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
, and Eva Woo as vice president of marketing.
See also
*
Omneky
*
Zenreach
References
External links
Google has acquired Adscape Media
{{Google Ads navbox
Google
Video game companies of the United States
Marketing companies established in 2006
Companies based in San Francisco
Google acquisitions
2006 establishments in California