Virtual Currency Monetization Platform Maximizes Revenue and Optimizes Consumer Experience for Social Game & App Publishers

BURLINGAME, Calif. – April 19, 2010 – Super Rewards, an Adknowledge company and the leader in monetizing virtual currency for online social games, today announced the first platform to fully integrate advertising offers, banners, and direct payment methods into a single monetization solution for social game and application publishers. The improved platform delivers publishers higher earnings per user, improves the consumer experience, and helps publishers acquire new users through its cost-per-installation (CPI) marketplace. Social media advertisers also benefit by receiving more high-quality leads from the platform’s ability to deliver more relevant ads based on consumers’ behavior and interests.

Power of a Single Solution
While offer walls drive the majority of revenue for most social applications, over 75 percent of users do not visit offer walls and, therefore, are not efficiently monetized (source: Super Rewards internal research).  The integrated Super Rewards platform solves this problem by quickly analyzing targeting data to deliver the most effective, relevant blend of monetization solutions. For example, if a consumer consistently signs up for offers, publishers can quickly and easily choose to display fewer or no banners.  Conversely, if a consumer frequently clicks on banners, publishers can choose to show fewer or no offers. The net result for publishers is higher earnings per user and a better overall consumer experience.

This announcement extends our leadership as the most valuable one-stop shop for publishers and advertisers,” said Scott Lynn, chief executive officer of Adknowledge. “Now all social media publishers can work with a single solution for all their monetization needs – be they banners, offers, or direct payments. And all social media advertisers can use BidSystem to receive the highest quality leads on the market today.  As the largest ad network on Facebook, we deliver exceptional reach and relevancy for advertisers, and the best monetization solutions for publishers.”

By utilizing a single solution, app and game publishers can work with Super Rewards to run more complex monetization programs. For example, banners can be targeted to drive new users from the main application to an offer wall. Since most offer wall visitors return multiple times, this is a powerful way to secure a sustainable revenue stream.  In addition, publishers could decide not to show banners to novice users until they’re sufficiently engaged in the game. This provides an initial ad-free experience, but allows the possibility to monetize users for the long-term.

The Value of Banners
By integrating banners into an application using the Super Rewards platform, total earnings can rise 15 – 100 percent (or more) above an offer wall-only integration. Since performance varies based on the specific application dynamics, including the level of user engagement and placement of banners, Super Rewards account professionals provide publishers with strategic counsel to maximize earnings while improving user experience.  All of the pioneering controls that Super Rewards released to the publisher community continue to work with banners, including the industry’s first and most robust content filtering, whitelisting and blacklisting controls. In addition, publishers have a simple, single login to pull ad tags and manage reporting.

User Acquisition
Viral channels are a fantastic means to increase an application’s user base, but they are not always enough. The improved Super Rewards platform empowers publishers to participate in a CPI marketplace either by reinvesting a percentage of their earnings or adding additional funds. This eases the friction required to build a successful application and provides a virtuous cycle between user acquisition and monetization.

“I like the fact the Super Rewards platform has banners, offers, and direct payment monetization solutions integrated in a single place,” said Humberto Organdivez, CEO of Codebell. “This integration has increased our revenue and new users.”

The Super Rewards platform is part of Adknowledge BidSystem 3.0, the self-service auction marketplace that gives advertisers the power to bid for leads from social media (e.g., Facebook games and apps) on a cost-per-action (CPA) basis.  BidSystem also enables advertisers to bid for leads from additional traffic channels on a price-per-click (PPC) basis. With millions of consumers playing thousands of games on social networks like Facebook and MySpace each day, Super Rewards generates millions of high-quality leads for hundreds of different advertisers every month.

About Adknowledge
Adknowledge, the largest privately-owned ad network with revenue in excess of $250 million, utilizes powerful predictive technology to connect advertisers with consumers across multiple channels, including Social, Email, and Web Content. Adknowledge has grown to be the largest independent advertiser marketplace focused on high-quality alternatives to traditional search engine advertising.  In the past two years, the company has acquired Super Rewards, MIVA, Cubics, Lookery, Mediarun, and Adonomics. Headquartered in Kansas City, Adknowledge has domestic offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and Florida, and international offices in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. For more information, visit www.adknowledge.com.

About Super Rewards
Super Rewards is a leading provider of monetization solutions for online games and social networks. The Super Rewards “offer wall” delivers highly targeted advertising offers to millions of global Web site and social network users. The platform seeks to maximize revenues for developers while allowing users to earn virtual currency in exchange for signing up for free products or trial offers. For more information, visit www.srpoints.com.

Adotas - Mar 1, 2010

By Jason Bailey

According to Forrester’s “U.S. Interactive Marketing Forecast, 2009-2014,” search marketing represents about 60% of online marketing budgets, and a substantially higher percentage for advertisers focused solely on direct response. However, as Charlotte McEleny from NewMediaAge reports, the opportunity is significantly broader. Going forward, media strategies need to fully leverage developing forms of advertising.

Today I want to discuss two complementary channels for direct response advertisers, as well as brand advertisers who have clear engagement metrics: performance display on social networks and in-game advertising.

Performance Display on Social Networks

Facebook is the dominant provider in this space and the best place to start. Growing from 300 million users in September 2009 to 400 million in January 2010 is impressive. Even more staggering is when Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was quoted at Davos as reporting that 50% of Facebook users come to the site every day.

This is an audience that cannot be ignored.

Fortunately, Facebook provides a rich set of targeting criteria including geography, age, gender, education and even relationship status that allow you to sift through the 400 million users to your exact audience. Of course, targeting by itself is not enough. As has been discussed in the past on Adotas, advertisers must craft a consistent message, from ad copy all the way through the final steps in the conversion funnel – and for each niche audience. They must also measure and adjust to ensure optimal campaign performance.

In-Game Advertising

Users on Facebook spend more time on applications than on any other section of Facebook with the exception of the home page, according to a May 2009 study by Nielsen. What is the majority of these applications? Games.

The dominant form of in-game advertising is done via offers in which an advertiser defines the exact engagement criteria and, in return for completing the engagement, the consumer is rewarded with a small amount of virtual currency that they can use in the game. A sample of successful consumer engagements include:

• Watching a movie trailer then joining the movie’s fan page
• Submitting a credit card offer
• Registering for a trial membership at a fitness club

By combining a performance display buy with in-game advertising, advertisers are able to significantly increase their reach as well as engagement. Where do you start? Facebook for performance display and Adknowledge as one option for in-game advertising.

Article Link Below: http://www.adotas.com/2010/03/tag-team-champions-performance-display-and-in-game-advertising/

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

Inside Social Games - Feb 26th, 2010

By Bobby McFarland

[Editor's Note: Bobby McFarland of Super Rewards, part of Adknowledge, provides some tips on techniques for making money through virtual currencies in social games.]

Discount pricing programs have been used for years by online and brick-and-mortar businesses to acquire customers, promote products, drive brand loyalty, and materially increase profits. Similar programs have been proven to work extremely well for virtual currency and goods inside social games. Below are some discount pricing tips that social game publishers can use to maximize ROI and more deeply engage their players.

1. Tier Discounts for Virtual Currency

Creating different tiers or levels of discounts is a proven way to keep users engaged, especially for “hardcore” gamers. The Facebook game Country Life does a good job at this: gamers can pay $5 for 50 coins, $10 for 105 coins, $20 for 220 coins, etc. But once these direct pay ratios (or exchange rates) are set, it’s difficult to change them without irritating users who’ve grown accustomed to the pricing. One concern is that players will spend less when they get more. But this is a well-debunked myth. People will buy more than they need today, have a flush account, and then spend it all much more quickly than they intended. Brick-and-mortar stores have been proving this for years with massive bags of tube socks and ‘family-sized’ portions. Super Rewards provides simple tools for building these types of dynamic ratios.

It’s also very important to balance the payouts received from direct payments with those received from advertising offers to avoid cannibalizing offer revenue. For example, it would not make much sense to offer 100 coins for $10 via direct pay if the payout from a Netflix offer is $20 for 100 coins. Also, note that will cause some currency inflation as now you may have on average 125 coins going into your system for every dollar a user spends instead of your expected ratio of 100 points per dollar.

2. Set Proper Exchange Rates

Publishers and developers are increasingly using multivariate and A/B testing to help set their discount levels and currency exchange rates. Super Rewards is working with developers to help them set up accurate testing models to better understand user behavior in various scenarios. We encourage developers to build testing technology into their game designs to continually improve user experience and to maximize ROI. Many game developers have a ‘set it and forget it’ mentality when it comes to their exchange rate and use a number that they initially ‘felt’ was right. Virtual currencies are a science: go with facts not feelings. The Super Rewards Game Advisory Team or even our Account Managers can help with this, in addition to A/B testing tools.

3. Reduce Inflation with Dual Currencies

But over time, even smart discounts and exchange rates cannot completely escape inflation, which is the main reason why some games have developed two currencies (more details, here). The model works because it motivates both new and aggressive gamers to continue buying currency as they climb different levels. The model also improves user retention rates, enhances the overall game experience, and drives sustainable revenue for publishers. Mob Wars is a good example of the dual currency model in action. A user at level one will happily buy 10,000 coins for $10. A user at level 30, for example, may earn 100,000 coins a day on their farm. Make sure there is a compelling value proposition for all levels of players. This is where a dual currency easily allows you to offer more coins for the same price.

4. Tie Currency Discounts to Holidays & Special Events

Virtual currency discounts (e.g., a 20 percent off “across the board”) are also effective, particularly for casual gamers. While these “across the board” discounts are more volatile than the tiered discounts above, they can produce significant revenue spikes. Holidays (e.g., Christmas, Black Friday, Easter, 4th of July) and special events are good opportunities for publishers to offer this type of discount. For example, Galacticos Football has tied its discounts around World Cup soccer events, generally for one to two days. A pitfall to watch out for here is having players “wait” for a sale. If they know every Sunday is discount day, they will wait until Sunday to buy. Mix up the discount percentages and their frequency. You don’t want to be predictable. Having a sale will likely cause a dip in revenues as people ‘stock up’ on sale day, but the dip is always much less than the spike.

5. Discounted or Limited Time Virtual Goods

Finally, another simple but effective way to engage gamers is to discount virtual goods for short periods of time, usually one to two days or even for a few hours. This is most effective for role-playing games like World of Warcraft, or games where the goal is to accrue goods over time, such as Pet Society and FarmVille. In FooPets, you can find discounted water bowls or leashes for your favorite virtual pet. Having an ultra-rare item that is only available for a few days and then is no longer available or expires can often see spikes in revenue of 3-4x your usual daily rates with little residual revenue down turn effects in the following days.

Article Link Below:

http://www.insidesocialgames.com/2010/02/26/5-tips-for-using-discount-pricing-to-maximize-revenue-in-social-games/

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

Industry Leading Technology Enhances Offer Management Console to Ensure High Quality Offer Control

A critical component in developing a successful virtual currency system is effectively managing the user experience. In May, Super Rewards launched a tool to allow publishers to adjust on a five point scale the type of offers being displayed to their consumers (http://www.virtualgoodsnews.com/2009/05/super-rewards-announces-offer-management-console.html). We are glad to see other companies following in our footsteps.

Today, we set the next standard in offer control by releasing a new proprietary offer white listing tool embedded within the existing Super Rewards’ Offer Management Console for Publishers.  This provides publishers an unprecedented level of transparency and control to choose exactly what offers are shown to their unique user base.

Upon request, publishers can now enable white listing. This functionality allows a publisher to work with the Super Rewards account team to establish a set of specific offers that they choose to run on their offer wall.

Offers Whitelist

Once enabled, publishers will have two sets of offers they can review:

1) An initial offer set that includes advertising offers that are reviewed, scrubbed, and tagged by Super Rewards to be in compliance with the Facebook and MySpace advertising guidelines.

2) A second broader set of optional advertising offers for a publisher to run IF their offer wall is running outside of Facebook or MySpace.

These offers can be searched, sorted and selected based on attributes like specific title, brand, category, geography and timeframe which are all ranked based on proprietary algorithms with an emphasis on estimated earnings potential, making it easy for publishers to identify and build a white list of offers that meet their specific user’s needs.

When a publisher enables this tool, only the offers that are put on their unique white list will be run on their specific games and applications.

“With more than 4,000 offers within the Super Rewards advertising inventory database and new offers being added every day, it is critical that we continue to build tools that provide our publishers with flexible options and greater control over the offers that are presented to their unique user base,” said Jason Bailey, Founder of Super Rewards. “We are proud to lead the efforts in raising the bar for online advertising protocol to ensure publishers and consumers continue to enjoy the best possible social and online gaming experience.”

SuperRewards continues to maintain the leadership position in helping iPhone developers monetize their apps through virtual currency.  Julie Craft, Super Rewards Vice President, presented the Super Rewards SDK and mobile monetization solutions last week to approximately 300 iPhone app developers at the standing room only iPhone Meet-up in Palo Alto.   

Julie Craft presenting at iPhone meet-up

Super Rewards powers many existing iPhone apps and was the first company to monetize virtual currency on mobile platforms, social network applications, virtual worlds, and Twitter.  You can check out the Super Rewards’ offerwall on iPhone apps such as  Loot Wars and Epic Pet Wars and many more.  We encourage all application developers to check out just how easy it is to implement the Super Rewards iPhone SDK by signing up today at www.srpoints.com.

Chris Abad, CEO of Irata Labs, accompanied Julie to the event and gave an outstanding demo of his Super Rewards integration on his overnight-sensation and the very first Twitter game, Spymaster http://playspymaster.com which recently launched on the iPhone as well.  What started as a fun and unique exploration of Twitter’s application platform for Chris and his team, has since taken over Twitter and become an addiction for thousands of passionate users. Chris and his team are the first company to successfully implement a true cross-platform persistent play user experience spanning the web, twitter and now mobile. 

Chris Abad presenting at iPhone meet-up

Tom Koltai, an influential technology blogger, wrote a great article this week on the success of Facebook apps, the recent increase in interactive online game play and his theories on why this may be occurring…he attributes the integration of Super Rewards into these games as one of the main reasons why user engagement is on the rise! ….read on…….  

Non-traditional media interactive game playing has recently increased from 44.25 hours per month to 68.82 hours per month and from 12% of the population to 19% of the online population.

Are the games being used more because they are getting easier to access because of their presence on Facebook – as opposed to being located in a Shopping centre with a big sign saying “Computer Games Here”.

Are the alternative payment methods for commercialization leading to wider adoption and higher profits for the game makers ?

I would put it to you dear reader that all of these factors have a contributing influence in the uptake, the continuing use of and the absolute virulent propagation that we are witnessing.

Just as Microsoft copied the functionality of WordStar by inventing a better Word Processor with substantially increased throughput capabilities, The Facebook developers appear to be copying the best ideas from each other, with the clear benefit being:

Increased productivity.
More competition.
More users leading to more subscribers – both direct and indirect.

Another one of the answers lies in companies like Super Rewards (Adknowledge) who are thinking outside the square to allow companies like Zynga to offer alternatives to users desiring to maximize their playing experience.

Game developers’ success coupled with Super Rewards integrated monetization model is proof that Benjamin Franklin was right: 

Tell me and I will forget.
Show me and I might remember.
Involve me and I will understand. (and play even longer!) 

Read the full article here:  http://www.perceptric.com/blog

 

ADKNOWLEDGE IS THE LARGEST INDEPENDENT ADVERTISING NETWORK

Adknowledge has acquired KITN Media, owner of Super Rewards, the largest virtual currency monetization platform for online games and social applications.  The acquisition combines the Super Rewards platform with the technology expertise, financial strength, and international presence of Adknowledge to create a full suite of social advertising solutions for developers and advertisers.

The Super Rewards platform enables developers of social applications and online games to offer virtual currency to consumers who sign up for advertising offers.  Consumers redeem the currency for virtual goods or other services in more than 1,000 social games, including five out of the six largest virtual currency applications on Facebook.  Super Rewards has experienced rapid growth month-over-month and recently announced its expansion into iPhone applications and Twitter games.

Adknowledge currently partners with more than 1,200 developers to deliver banner ads on social networks through its sales operations in the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Australia.  Adknowledge delivers more than 700 million banner impressions daily to consumers using Facebook, MySpace, and other social networking sites.  Combined, Super Rewards and Adknowledge will work with over 80 percent of the top application developers on the leading social networks.

“This is a significant step forward for the social advertising industry,” commented Jason Bailey, Super Rewards CEO and co-founder. “The acquisition combines the strengths of both companies to create an unrivaled monetization vehicle for social application developers.  We will be a single company offering developers access to a monetization program for virtual currency, offer redemption, and banner representation.  The Adknowledge network will bring sophisticated targeting technology, an international presence, and more advertisers to Super Rewards, creating more choices for our consumers and more revenue for our developers.  It’s a win all the way around for advertisers, developers and consumers.”

“We are excited about the Super Rewards team and the unique advertising model they’ve created for consumers and developers,” said Scott Lynn, CEO of Adknowledge.  “On any given day, consumers are earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in virtual currency by signing up for advertising offers.  Super Rewards is the leader in the space and they clearly offer the best solution for developers.  This is our fifth acquisition in the last two years in the social media space, and we’re excited about maintaining a leadership position,” said Lynn.

Brett Brewer, President of Adknowledge and co-founder of Intermix Media, commented: “In 2003, when Intermix launched MySpace, we projected that traditional banner advertising would drive ad revenue.  Applications and virtual currency weren’t even on the map.  MySpace and other social networks have added hundreds of millions of members who are engaging daily with many of the applications and social games that offer virtual currency.  Super Rewards has proven that virtual currency provides significantly more revenue than traditional banners for game developers, and increased engagement for consumers.”

The acquisition solidifies Adknowledge’s position as the largest independent cost-per-click network focused on high-quality alternatives to search engine advertising.  Adknowledge remains the leading choice outside of Google and Yahoo! for advertisers looking to bid on ad space in Email, Social, and Display mediums.  Adknowledge has acquired MIVA, Cubics, Lookery, Mediarun, and Adonomics over the past two years.

About Adknowledge

Adknowledge is a performance-based advertising network that utilizes powerful predictive technology to connect advertisers with consumers across multiple channels, including email, search, domain, and social networks.  Adknowledge provides a social advertising platform (www.cubics.com) that is used by thousands of applications developers to monetize their user base.  Over 50,000 advertisers currently use the Adknowledge ad network to promote their offers.  Headquartered in Kansas City, Adknowledge has domestic offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and Florida, and international offices in the United Kingdom and Australia.  For more information, visit www.adknowledge.com.

About Super Rewards

Super Rewards is the largest provider of monetization solutions for online games and social networks.  The product enables applications and online games to turn virtual currencies into real dollars by offering users an opportunity to earn extra points or virtual dollars by participating in surveys, trials and online purchases.  This turnkey solution delivers highly-targeted offers to millions of local and international social network users across multiple platforms.  Super Rewards maximizes revenues for developers while increasing engagement for users through points, credits, and currency.  The company has offices in Burlingame CA, Vancouver, and New York.  For more information, visit www.srpoints.com.

Super Rewards Signs Distribution Deal With Mochi Media

Flash Game Developers Now Able to Better Monetize With In-Game Offers

Tuesday July 21, 2009

Super Rewards, the largest virtual currency monetization platform for online games and social networks, announced today a partnership with Mochi Media, the leading platform for Flash game monetization and distribution. The Super Rewards advertising offer platform will appear within the newly-released Mochi Coins product to help Flash developers more effectively monetize their games. This joint solution will provide alternative ways for gamers to earn virtual currency they can redeem for in-game items, level unlocks, and extra content available within the premium Flash games.

“Earlier this year, Super Rewards was the first to bring virtual currency monetization to mobile apps, and then Twitter games. Now we are excited to deliver the first in-game offer monetization solutions to the independent Flash games community at-large,” said Julie Craft, vice president of marketing at Super Rewards. “This is another strategic step to extend our leadership position in virtual currency and offer management solutions.”

According to recent comScore data, Mochi Media attracts nearly 100 million unique visitors a month and, in April of this year, took over the number one spot within the online gaming category, surpassing Yahoo! Games, MSN Games, and EA Online. The Mochi Media product suite provides game developers with monetization, distribution and analytics solutions, delivers compelling games and incremental revenue to site publishers, and empowers advertisers with targeted opportunities to reach this engaged audience.

“We are excited about our partnership with Super Rewards because it provides more payment choices to consumers, which enhances the overall user experience while delivering additional revenue to the Flash developers within our community,” commented Jameson Hsu, Chief Mochi and co-founder, Mochi Media. “MochiCoins will help encourage developers to invest more in building bigger and better games which will in turn provide better content to game players and our network of publishing partners.”

About Super Rewards

Super Rewards is the largest provider of monetization solutions for online games and social networks. The Super Rewards turnkey solutions deliver highly-targeted advertising offers to millions of Web site and social network users. The platform seeks to maximize revenues for developers while increasing engagement for users of any Web site, game, or application through additional points, credits, tokens, coins or chips, etc. Super Rewards has offices in Burlingame, Vancouver, and New York. For more information, visit www.srpoints.com.

About Mochi Media

Mochi Media is the world’s largest casual online game network, serving the needs of thousands of Flash developers, reaching over 100 million unique users each month with a library of over 14,000 games, and enabling advertisers to reach engaged consumers with targeted display, text, and video ads. The company’s Flash game development products and services provide developers with tools to track distribution and usage analytics, enable version control and live updates to distributed games, and provide monetization via micro-transactions and real-time insertion of pre-game and in-game ads. Mochi Media’s developers gain distribution opportunities to over 30,000 Web sites, as well as monetization opportunities by sharing in the ad and micro-transaction revenue generated by their games. Mochi Media is headquartered in downtown San Francisco.

June 25th - MSNBC, “It’s the Economy” segment covered Super Rewards live from NYC!

The segment highlights Super Rewards virtual currency monetization platform and in particular, focuses on the fact that Super Rewards was the first company to monetize Twitter Games.  The wildly popular Twitter game, 140 Mafia, was showcased as an example of how Super Rewards is successfully monetizing Twitter games and demonstrates how Super Rewards continues to maintain its leadership position in this market segment.    

Check out the Super Rewards MSNBC video now:   Super Rewards LIVE on MSNBC

This news story was also picked up on 17 additional TV stations across the U.S. on Fox, NBC and ABC.