RockYou spreading ad technique across Facebook

Social developer and advertising company RockYou has been working with other Facebook developers to integrate its Deal of the Day advertising system into games across the social network.

Deal of the Day is a system which offers players virtual currency in games in exchange for them viewing adverts. RockYou developed the system as an alternative to low click-through web ads and unpredictable microtransaction revenue from games.

During RockYou's games, when opportunities arise to buy or spend virtual currency, users will be presented with an ad, perhaps a short video or invitation to become a 'fan' of a product on Facebook, which they can then view or participate in in exchange for virtual currency.

Advertisers only pay out when users have fully viewed or clicked-through each ad.

RockYou's vice president of advertising, Sandy Diep, has said that ten per cent of all players click on the Deal of the Day offers to investigate them, with 50-70 per cent of those then taking up the offer.

"We are seeing a significant amount of demand from developers, users, and advertisers alike, for Deal of the Day - and we are very excited to be working with several more Facebook game developers to increase its availability," said Diep.

"Deal of the Day is a great way for game developers to monetize a larger percentage of their users. Advertisers want to reach social gamers, and Deal of the Day provides a clean brand experience that users feel comfortable returning to."

RockYou reaches 280 million unique users a month and produces 15 billion monthly ad impressions. No details were yet given on which developers the company is working with.