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Developed by WeatherBug parent company AWS Convergence Technologies, Sponsor Select will begin providing casual gamers - initially, users of Big Fish Games - the ability to choose the ads they see running alongside the site's games.
Sponsor Select allows users to pick which advertiser they wish to see ads from, or to view run-of-site ads, ClickZ reports. Big Fish has already secured Microsoft Live, Match.com, Western Union, Hoover and Walt Disney World as initial sponsors.
The ads are served as a series of exposures. As the game loads, the player selects a sponsor, then sees a :15 pre-roll ad - or a 300×250 unit - and leaderboard, which remains visible as the game is played. Behind the game window, a new browser window will open the sponsor's landing page.
Sponsor Select was first introduced in 2001 but was available only on WeatherBug.com. AWS plans to expand to other verticals, starting in the game space. Big Fish hosts around 400 titles for a global audience of 25 million monthly unique visitors.