Zynga Adds Chief Revenue Officer

Jeff Karp brings branding experience to games company.

jeff-karpZynga is apparently ramping up its ad sales initiatives, bringing Jeff Karp on board yesterday as chief marketing and revenue officer. Most recently, Karp (left) was EVP for Electronic Arts’ “Play” division while helping build up game franchises like The Sims and Sim City.

Citing a quiet period, San Francisco-based Zynga today would not greatly detail how its newest executive might affect the digital games player’s ad sales strategies. In an email sent to ClickZ News yesterday, a company rep stated Karp would be “overseeing marketing and communications, international sales, and in-game revenue.”

Karp did offer more insight to Ad Age today. It seems he’ll be both marketing Zynga’s game products and working with brands that want to advertise on its platform.

“The key for us when we talk about brands entering our game is to make sure that those partnerships and promotions are informative, entertaining and educational for our players,” he told the publication. “Lucky for us we can be incredibly selective with the partnerships we move forward with, and we won’t just shove in brand promos or branded virtual goods unless they provide real value to our players.”

Before joining EA, Karp served at Wilson Sporting Goods as VP of interactive marketing.

Meanwhile Zynga, which filed a $1 billion IPO last month, claims to have 60 million daily active users and 232 million monthly uniques in 166 countries. Most of the users play games like Farmville, Zynga Poker, and CityVille on Facebook, where Zynga has advertised heavily to create its huge audience. It also recently launched Zynga Poker on Facebook’s social media competitor Google+.

In terms of its platform for marketers, Zynga ad types include:

Engagement Ads, in which players can answer questions about brand preferences and purchase behavior in exchange for in-game currency. For instance, a user might field questions about her American Express card.

Branded Virtual Goods, in which a brand ties advertising deeply into game play. The best-known examples are Farmer’s Insurance on Farmville, Bing, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s. Paramount recently launched a campaign in CityVille offering an in-game item to drive awareness of Kung Fu Panda 2.

Mobile Ads, which are served into free versions of Zynga mobile games like “Words with Friends” and “Hanging with Friends.” Advertisers have included Amazon, eBay, and HBO; Zynga alsohas used the space to cross-promote other mobile games.

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Whitepapers

US Mobile Streaming Behavior
Whitepaper | Mobile

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

5y

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing habits. Streaming video, however, still comes with a variety of pesky frustrations that viewers are ...

View resource
Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups
Whitepaper | Analyzing Customer Data

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

5y

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics f...

Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. You need more of it, all of which at higher quality, and all the meanwhile being compliant with data...

View resource
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people
Whitepaper | Digital Marketing

Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its peopl...

2y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...

View resource
Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy
Report | Digital Transformation

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

1m

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Exp...

Customers decide fast, influenced by only 2.5 touchpoints – globally! Make sure your brand shines in those critical moments. Read More...

View resource