RockYou introduces Deal of the Day ad program for social games

If there's one thing social gamers like, it's getting free stuff. If there's one thing advertisers like, it's getting their target audience to engage with their message day after day. Combining these two obvious ideas seems to be the impetus behind RockYou's new Deal of the Day program.

Unlike traditional lead-generation offers -- which require players to sign up for subscription services or free trials to receive in-game benefits -- the Deal of the Day program gives players in-game items or cash for completing short, simple tasks offered daily by various advertisers. These tasks could be anything from watching a movie trailer or becoming a fan of a Facebook page to taking an online quiz, RockYou Chief Revenue Officer Lisa Marino said in a telephone interview.

On the demand side, these offers help fulfill the desire most players have to receive in-game items without spending money, Marino said. "Users of social games... want to level up or advance in the game and they don't want to pay for it," she said, pointing to a Q Interactive study showing that 97 percent of female social game player preferred receiving items through offers or rewards rather than paying.