Behind NYT's First Foray Into In-Game Advertising | AdExchanger

"NYT went all in on advertising for Crossplay because it "leans into the power" of the Games portfolio, said Valerio Poce, NYT's head of ad product marketing, especially community habits and creating a "shared cultural phenomenon." For many people, NYT Games is a "daily habit," said Tracy-Ann Lim, CMO at JPMC. Frequency and trust were significant appeals in sponsoring the launch campaign."

"JPMC generally aims to target "financially active, digitally savvy consumers," said Lim. NYT Games' audience "tend to index on curiosity, completion, and problem solving" - skills that go hand in hand with JPMC's financially minded audience. In Crossplay, ads appear at the end of a turn, after a player has submitted their word. The ad plays for six seconds before a user is able to skip."

The New York Times Games app offers free access to games like Wordle, Strands, and Connections, with ads displayed for users without subscriptions. In January, NYT introduced Crossplay, a two-player game similar to Words With Friends, marking the first instance of ads appearing within gameplay rather than before it starts. Unlike other games launched with minimal promotion, Crossplay received a full marketing campaign with JPMorganChase as the launch partner. The game operates on a separate app but remains accessible through the main Games app. NYT emphasized advertising for Crossplay to leverage the Games portfolio's community habits and cultural impact. JPMorganChase targeted the audience for their financial alignment and the demographic's traits of curiosity, completion-oriented thinking, and problem-solving skills.

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