RockYou spreads “Deal of the Day” to other Facebook game makers

RockYou, the maker of social games and ad services for social media, said today it is working with other game developers to integrate its successful social marketing program within their Facebook games.

The Redwood City, Calif.-based company has been integrating the Deal of the Day into its own games such as Zoo World since March. In the deal, users encounter a screen in the midst of a game where they have to decide whether to spend money or not. If they don’t want to buy virtual currency with a credit card to pay for a virtual item, they have another option — the deal. If they choose to accept the special offer (like the one pictured above from Pantene, the shampoo brand). If they take it, the user can proceed to the transaction, getting their virtual currency in exchange for a promise to do something, such as watching an ad.

Sandy Diep, vice president of advertising, said in an interview that the deals are particularly effective. Only a few percent of users will pay for a game item with a credit card. But some Diep said 10 percent of users click on Deal of the Day offers. And about 50 percent to 70 percent of those users accept it, a particularly high take rate.

RockYou says deals that offer to give users something if they watch a 15- to 30-second video work particularly well. The offers also ask users to engage in surveys or polls, or they ask them to play mini games. RockYou says it reaches millions of users already with the Deal of the Day. Overall, RockYou says developers can increase their ability to make money from users by three times to four times. On top of that, a number of big Fortune 1000 brands, like Coca-Cola and Hewlett-Packard, are participating in the deals, bringing high-end brands into social gaming.

RockYou, founded in 2005, reaches more than 280 million unique users a month and produces 15 billion monthly ad impressions. Backers include Sequoia Capital, Partech International, Lightspeed Venture Partners, DCM, SK Telecom Ventures and Softbank.

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