Zynga's New Ad Pitch for Draw Something: ‘Draw This Brand’
NHL Among First to Buy Paid Terms in Hugely Popular Social game — Zynga's latest big-ticket acquisition has already figured out how to draw in users, but now Draw Something has an ad model that brings brands into the picture.
Context & Ripple Effects
Zynga moved from talks to acquire OMGPOP to a completed purchase in April, after reports that the price for Draw Something could exceed $200 million. The new ad format is an early attempt to turn that acquired mobile audience into a brand-sales channel.
The move arrives as Zynga reported record first-quarter bookings and revenue but an $85.4 million net loss, sharpening the commercial importance of finding additional ways to monetize a hit beyond its initial player growth.
First-order effects
- NHL becomes one of the first marketers able to buy paid drawing terms, placing its brand inside the game’s core prompt-and-response mechanic.
- Zynga gains a sellable advertising product for Draw Something, giving its sales organization an additional revenue proposition tied to OMGPOP’s game.
Second-order effects
- Other brands seeking social-game audiences must weigh branded prompts against conventional game advertising, while Zynga must show that paid terms fit play without diminishing the user experience.
- For Zynga, the format makes the economics of its OMGPOP acquisition depend partly on advertiser demand, not solely on player spending or audience scale.
Third-order effects
- If branded gameplay proves repeatable, social-game advertising can shift from interruptive placements toward sponsorships embedded in the activity players perform.
- The model would reward game publishers whose mechanics create simple, repeatable moments that brands can sponsor without rebuilding the game around an ad campaign.
The trend: Social-game publishers are testing advertising formats that make brands part of play, rather than treating games only as inventory for display-style ads.