Another day, another ad initiative aimed at gamers. In this case it is Live Gamer. The company has acquired New York-based video game ad network gamerDNA Media, and engagement advertising platform BrandPort. Live Gamer plans to use the two additions to form Live Gamer Media, a new business unit complementing its microtransaction offerings. The goal of the new entity will be to target both hardcore gamers, and casual/social gamers.

According to Live Gamer president and co-founder Andrew Schneider, only 5 to 15 percent of casual gamers pay for in-game content, leaving 85 percent of the audience on the table (via ClickZ). Its ad package, the Ad Element, allows gamers to earn rewards or virtual goods in return for watching video-based ads. "We're seeing click-through rates of over five percent, and advertisers only pay if a whole ad is viewed," Schneider told ClickZ.

Also pushing aggressively with in-game ad opportunities, is Sony's PlayStation Network, according to Online Media Daily, which reports there are about 35 Sony partners building content for PlayStation Home.

A Piece of Mobile Market

Gamers are one category in the mobile market, albeit a small one in terms of budget. That is changing, though, according to a new report by Interactive Advertising Bureau. In a new survey, 63% of respondents stated that their companies’ mobile advertising spend over the past two years has increased to some degree, with 29% reporting an increase of over 50%.

Most of these key ad spend decision-makers (72%) say that they are looking to increase their mobile advertising budget; 35% of respondents expect to increase spend by over 50%. The research study also asked marketers about which types of mobile devices they are presently reaching with their mobile ad campaigns. Ranked in order of highest priority, they are: Smartphones (a high priority for 60% of respondents), tablets (31%), feature phones (22%), ebooks (10%) and lastly, connected games consoles (3%).