deal united’s PAY.BY.SHOPPING is now available in Frogster’s international hit online game Runes of Magic. Players in Spain, France, Germany and the UK can get 300 virtual diamonds for use in the game when they complete a deal united offer.

Sound cool? Click here to play, and don’t wait too long — diamonds may be forever, but the deal only lasts through May 8.

 

deal united tips our hats to game publisher Ubisoft for their success at the German Computer Games Award 2011 on March 30. Ubisoft’s Die Siedler Online won the prize for “Best Browser Game,” while Yves Guillemot, Chairman and CEO the company, took home the prestigious LARA of Honour –  a distinction reserved for an individual who has significantly impacted the history of computer or video games.

We also get to enjoy a slice of the pie here at deal united, since Ubisoft recently integrated PAY.BY.SHOPPING into their award-winning game. Users can now earn gemstones for Die Siedler Online by shopping and purchasing in deal united partners’ online stores. Start building your own empire at www.diesiedleronline.de and collect some precious stones courtesy of deal united and our shopping partners.

Note: Game available in German language only.

How to Effectively Integrate PAY.BY.SHOPPING  into online games and virtual worlds

From deal united by Jürgen Weichert

Offer walls, by definition, attract users with the promise of getting virtual currency without having to spend money. They may be asked to fill out a survey, watch a video or provide personal information in return for the free currency. While this promise is attractive, there is a catch: one party will always lose. Often, users are scammed with fraudulent offers as their information is sold to third parties or their credit cards are charged with hidden fees (see http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/18/free-posters-aka-scamville-its-back/). Sometimes it’s the advertisers who get betrayed, losing tons of advertising money when users register with fake email addresses or don’t fill out their surveys correctly.

PAY.BY.SHOPPING from deal united is different. Unlike offer walls, we openly and honestly provide a service that involves spending money — as indicated in the name. How do you pay? By shopping. End users can pay for virtual goods by shopping at their favorite online stores — which they like doing anyway — and making a purchase. The deal is that customers get both, but only spend money on one.

The benefit of the model is that real value is created through the purchase. In conjunction with the clear communication around PAY.BY.SHOPPING, it encourages fair behavior. It’s fair to the merchant (game) because the payout is a multiple of the offer walls’ payouts and provides reliable results. It’s fair to the users because they get fair deals at their favorite online stores, and it’s fair to the advertisers because they get new, paying customers. Our extremely high customer satisfaction scores support our theory in every day practice.

A huge portion of users already buy physical products online from well-known brands, like our advertisers, and know what to expect: quality products, safe payment options, great selection of goods. What does that mean for a successful integration? Inform your users of PAY.BY.SHOPPING deals, and they’ll keep coming back.

Ideally, PAY.BY.SHOPPING is presented on websites as an alternative to regular payment options or offer walls. A clear separation from traditional payment options and offer walls helps the user to differentiate between them and allows the online game or virtual world to generate the highest ARPPU.

If merchants (games) want to skip the integration effort, deal united offers the Offer Wall Converter. With the Offer Wall Converter, deal united is compatible with all third party offer wall API’s. Hence, the integration effort is close to zero.

That just leaves one question: what to do with the existing offer wall integrations? We can only recommend that you screen the offers carefully and force your offer wall provider to discontinue offers you deem inadequate for your audience and your business. The one major thing to avoid is the loss of players due to dishonest or fraudulent offers.

If you think this blog is biased, you’re right, but that doesn’t mean we’re wrong. Call us. Challenge us. We look forward to fruitful discussions.

Contact merchant@dealunited.com or call +49 (0) 89 381 640 360

deal united’s PAY.BY.SHOPPING is an alternative payment method for monetizing digital and virtual goods. Integrating PAY.BY.SHOPPING is even easier now with the new Offer Wall Converter.

• Easier integration of the PAY.BY.SHOPPING alternative payment method for games and online services

• $50,000 US sign-up bonus for the first 10 online games using Offer Wall Converter

At this year’s Virtual Goods Summit on October 12th and 13th in San Francisco, deal united will introduce our new Offer Wall Converter, which makes it even easier for online games to integrate PAY.BY.SHOPPING if they already use other providers. If a game already uses Tapjoy (former Offerpal), for example, the Offer Wall Converter takes their API and converts it for deal united’s alternative payment method. In this way, integration becomes painless and problem-free for publishers.

The first 10 online game publishers to use deal united’s Offer Wall Converter will receive $ 5,000 as a special sign-up bonus. To be eligible, a publisher must generate a minimum revenue of $5,000 per month in the first three months after going live.

“deal united’s alternative payment solution PAY.BY.SHOPPING focuses on different high quality shopping deals, making it a perfect extension of classical offer wall business,” says Jarg Temme, CEO of deal united. “With our new Offer Wall Converter, game publishers are able to quickly and easily begin providing players with our alternative payment solution.” In this way, game publishers can give their players the optimal opportunity to combine shopping needs with free virtual currency.

Publishers or journalists interested in finding out more about deal united and the new Offer Wall Converter can always stop by at booth 11 at the Virtual Goods Summit for further information.

The Virtual Goods Summit West 2010 will take place at the Moscone West Conference Hall in San Francisco on October 12th and 13th. Several experts will present and discuss the future of virtual goods.

deal united is a sponsor for the event, which Jürgen Weichert (CSO), Daniel Shefer (Head of US Business Development) and Torsten Bongartz (Senior Sales Manager) will attend. If you’d like to meet with them, please visit our booth No. 11 or to make an appointment beforehand, contact merchant@dealunited.com or call +1 (650) 241-9120 (USA) /+49 (0) 89 381 535 860 (Germany).

• Two free offers for sports fans: Live streams for sporting events and a premium account for the game “SPORT1 Bundesliga Manager”
• SPORT1.de users can shop online with deal united partner shops

Users of the online sports portal SPORT1.de can now receive immediate free credit for the live streaming of important event broadcasts. In addition, players of the online game “SPORT1 Bundesliga Manager” have the option of acquiring a premium account at no additional cost. In cooperation with SPORT1 GmbH, deal united implements both offers with PAY.BY.SHOPPING, the alternative payment method for the monetization of digital and virtual goods.

Soccer on the free live stream
The sports portal SPORT1.de, along with the sports TV station SPORT1, is operated by SPORT1 GmbH. Sports enthusiasts can watch live streams of various events such as soccer, handball and motor sports on the site. Each stream usually costs between 0.99 and 2.99 euros, but users can now add free credit to their accounts valued at 15 euros to tune into events. They just shop at a deal united partner shop, make a purchase and then watch sports for free! Our offer is prominently displayed to viewers on SPORT1.de in banners as well as in the payment area.

Premium account for “Bundesliga-Manager” now free
In addition, players of the popular “SPORT1 Bundesliga Manager” game now get a premium account for free. The object of the game is to have as many points as possible on your account at the end of the season through clever transfers and smart team lineups. The game is provided by SPORT1.de for free, but the premium account costs a one-time charge of five euros. However, when gamers make a purchase at a deal united partner shop online, they get a premium account for free. The offer is advertised via in-game banners and in the payment area.

PAY.BY.SHOPPING is motivation to buy digital products
“Our renowned partner shops fund the campaigns,” explains Jarg Temme, CEO of deal united. “They pay a premium if the user finds their way to the shop and makes a purchase there.” The alternative payment method PAY.BY.SHOPPING motivates surfers in social networks and online games, as well as on sports and software platforms, to purchase a premium account, virtual currency and full versions of software. The companies promote the deal united offer in the payment area in banners, pop-unders and via email. PAY.BY.SHOPPING is not only suitable for seasonal events, but also over a longer period in order to increase turnover for digital and virtual goods and services, as well as software. deal united partner shops include GAP, OTTO, Toys”R”Us and buecher.de.

The Game Developers Conference Online will take place from October 5-8, 2010 in Austin, Texas. The conference focuses on connected games including casual, MMOs, virtual worlds and social networking games. More than 120 sessions will address the most pressing development challenges for connected games with tracks related to Business and Marketing, Design, Production, Programming and going Live. In addition to the return of a robust expo floor and four full days of content, GDC Online will also feature one- and two-day summits including Game Narrative Summit, iPhone Games Summit, iPad Gaming Summit and 3D Stereoscopic Games Summit.

This year, deal united will also attend the Games Developers Conference 2010 in Austin, Texas. Torsten Bongartz (Senior Sales Manager) and Daniel Shefer (Head of US Business Development) will be there from October 5-8. To make an appointement beforehand, please contact merchant@dealunited.com or call +1 (650) 241-9120 (USA) /+49 (0) 89 381 535 860 (Germany).

Halloween is just around the corner!

The gleeful sounds of “trick or treat!” will ring from neighborhoods everywhere once again on October 31^st. But it won’t just be constumed kids cleaning up this year — Halloween guarantees high turnover for offline retail. People spend a lot of money on costumes, Halloween make-up, movies and decorations every year.

With deal united’s alternative payment method PAY.BY.SHOPPING, game publishers, software vendors and online services can also benefit from the seasonal event. How? By activating players’ willingness to pay for Halloween-related products.

Most game publishers, software vendors and online services face the same problem: players and users are not willing to spend money on premium-version software, virtual currency or additional features. They do, however, enjoy online shopping and Halloween.

So why not make this user readiness work to your favor, while at the same time giving them a worthwhile deal? With PAY.BY.SHOPPING, you can offer them a bonus like software, virtual currency or a premium account free of charge if they shop at one of deal united’s partners. The bonus you give a way for free will be refinanced by our partner shops.

deal united only works with high-quality advertising partners like myToys and OTTO in Germany, Toys”R”Us and Spartoo in the UK and Priceminister and plusdemags in France, which enables you to present your users with attractive offers for Halloween while boosting your revenue.

 

The advantages of PAY.BY.SHOPPING for Halloween:

Monetization:
Activate your users’ desire to buy Halloween-related products like costumes and decoration articles.

Increased Revenue
With a Halloween campaign, you will generate incremental revenue by addressing your users with attractive offers.

Seasonal Event:
Benefit from Halloween even if your business is unrelated to the holiday.

Global Orientation:
PAY.BY.SHOPPING from deal united is available around the globe, currently focusing on the USA and Europe.

 

From September 15th to 16th, 2010 the biggest German online marketing conference dmexco will take place in Cologne. This year, deal united will be present with our own booth: Hall 8.1. Booth A-81 – B-080.

This will be the perfect oppurtunity for curious visitors to get a better understanding of our alternative payment method PAY.BY.SHOPPING. deal united will also introduce the new platform GamesClubCard, especially interesting for our advertising partners.

Markus Steiner (Head of Advertiser Marketing), Christine Bialowons (Senior Sales Manager), Veronika Beuschel (Junior Marketing Manager), Tanja Penning (Junior Marketing Manager) and Melanie Richter (Sales Manager) will be representing us, and they would be glad to welcome visitors at our booth, answer questions and discuss potential business partnerships.

To meet up with us there, please contact service@dealunited.com or call +49 (0) 89 381 535 860. Or you can just stop by at our booth: Hall 8.1, booth  A-81 – B-080.

Free2Play browser games, massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) and social games are still a growing market. But since high user numbers don’t automatically generate revenue, the problem that almost every game publisher faces nowadays is how to monetize users.

Most players are not willing to spend money on virtual currency or premium features, the source of revenue for game publishers. Many Free2Play online games try to get as many players as possible to generate advertising revenue by clicking on ads. This strategy works only short-term though, and is not the best method of achieving successful monetization.

Customer Care – What do I know about my players?
Every game publisher should be able to answer the following questions about their users:
How did the player find out about my game?
How often does he play?
Which features does he use frequently?
Has he ever paid for additional features?

The key to successful monetization is not high user numbers, but rather active customer support, which involves three crucial steps:

1. Continually acquire new players
2. Draw players’ attention to your products
3. Convert your registered users into paying customers

The more you get to know your players, the better you can respond to their needs. If players feel like they are addressed personally, they will respond by developing a more stable and intensive relationship with your game. This approach is based on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) which is used in eCommerce: The “customer life cycle,” the click rates and the customer value analysis are used by online traders to get to know online shoppers better. These methods can also be adopted by game publishers.

The Five Phases of a “Customer Life Cycle“
The customer life cycle goes through five phases. Game publishers should adjust marketing measures according to these:

1. Awareness of the Product
The user hears about your game but has not yet registered. Your goal is to get the user to sign up via various marketing and sales measures.

2. Registration
In phase two, the interested user creates an account on your game site and starts playing. As a publisher, you’ll create incentives to keep the player playing your game. Now is the time to get to know your new player in terms of preferences and future behavior.

3. Identifaction
A new player who identifies him or herself with your game will become a regular user now. This is the phase in which you can get your player to pay for features and to reward them with special items.

4. Retirement
In this phase, the player retires from your game and might even go to a competitor, often due to a change of interests. Active CRM can prevent a player from leaving and never returning to your game or brand.

5. Inactive Player
The player still has an account but does not use your game anymore. In this fifth phase, you might be able to reactivate your player by offering vouchers or benefits.

Players in phase 3 bring the company the most revenue. These players know the game, talk about it, recommend it and are most likely to spend money on additional features. Another thing that gaming can learn from Ecommerce has to do with RFM: Recency, Frequency and Monetary Value. High user numbers usually generate huge databases, but there are better ways than selling data and risking disgruntled users who never come back. Analyze your databases and find out what your players do:

Recency:
Did the player buy something? When was the last time he or she did?

Frequency:
How often does the user play and which features does he/she use?

Monetary Value:
How much money has the player already spent on additional features?

These questions allow you to divide your users into two categories:

1. “More valuable” — players who have already paid for additional features once or do so regularly.
2. “Less valuable” —  players that never spend money on additional features.

You as a publisher need to know these categories in order to address the players. If you pinpoint a person in your database (e.g. through calculations) who is likely to do something, what will be your part in it? Contact that person.

Knowing what your players do while playing your game is the first step in monetizing them. If you are aware of their preferences in the game, you can act on them, and if the player  feels like they are appreciated, they will bound with your game and stay. The next step is to realize that your players have a life outside of your game — one you should think about as well!