Fiat Group Automobiles Germany Accelerates With IGA Worldwide

IGA Worldwide Delivers Campaign For The FIAT Grand Punto Abarth Via Its Radial Network 

Berlin, 25 November 2008 – IGA Worldwide, the leading in-game advertising network, and FIAT Group Automobiles Germany AG have teamed up for an in-game advertising campaign for the new ABARTH Grande Punto. IGA Worldwide will be delivering the dynamic campaign from mid-December 2008 via its Radial advertising network, using racing games from its partners Electronic Arts and Codemasters on PlayStation 3 and PC.

With the new ABARTH Grande Punto, the corporate group is reviving the legendary tuning brand Abarth. In order to raise the profile of the motor-racing-enthusiastic target group, the corporate group and its agency Xenion Interactive are embracing dynamic in-game advertising and are booking media in the highly popular racing games “Need for Speed – Undercover” from Electronic Arts and “Race Driver:GRID” from Codemasters.

“Unlike other mediums, the market for in-game advertising is proving to be countercyclical by continuing to display strong growth during the current economic conditions. With ad budgets shrinking, advertisers increasingly turn to in-game ads to provide effective, quantifiable results, as the introduction of contextually relevant in-game ads has been proven to boost the consumer’s positive perception of brands. We are delighted to have an opportunity to support FIAT Group Automobiles Germany AG with the ABARTH brand,” says Justin Townsend, Chairman, at IGA Worldwide commenting on the cooperation with the Italian corporate group.  

“The ABARTH Grande Punto is a sporty car, which, thanks to its design and the outstanding value for money it offers, is particularly attractive to young drivers looking for high performance. This predominantly male target group in their mid-twenties and mid-thirties is extremely heterogeneous and difficult to reach with traditional advertising efforts,” explains Marc Nabinger, CEO of the Hamburg-based agency Xenion Interactive. “It is for this reason that we have opted for a dynamic in-game campaign, which enables us to reach the target group reliably and with the relevant topics.”

“The Abarth brand enjoys a long and successful tradition in car tuning and also has its own cachet. By teaming up with IGA Worldwide, we have a partner at our side, which will help us to breathe new life into the brand that celebrates in these days 100 years anniversary of its founder Carlo Abarth and make the jump to a modern and innovative interpretation of Abarth,” added Giuseppe Fiordispina, Head of Media & Communications at FIAT Group Automobiles Germany AG.

* Study “Consumers’ Experience with In-Game-Content & Brand Impact of In-Game-Advertising” by Nielsen BASES and Nielsen Games on behalf of IGA Worldwide.

About IGA Worldwide

IGA Worldwide (http://www.igaworldwide.com) is the world’s leading in-game advertising network. IGA enables advertisers to target millions of highly engaged consumers playing games across a wide range of gaming platforms and genres. IGA Worldwide was selected by Sony Computer Entertainment as the first in-game advertising provider for the PLAYSTATION®3 and is partnered with leading game companies such as Activision, Atari, Codemasters, Electronic Arts, id Software and Valve Software.  The company has delivered campaigns for a broad range of brands such as 20th Century Fox, Gillette, Intel, McDonald’s, Puma, Toyota, and Unilever. IGA was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in New York City with additional offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Paris and Berlin.  IGA’s financial backers include GE/NBCU, Intel Capital, Morgenthaler Ventures, Easton Capital, DN Capital, KTB Ventures, Translink Capital, Itochu Technology and Sumitomo/Presidio STX.