http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=146670
Zinga have done a phenomenal job with their games and the art of tempting consumers to pay real money for virtual goods. On my inital reasearch of Yoville I found that many players were spending at least a $100 a month on virtual goods through this game alone I found some that claim to spend $1000 a month on a regular basis right upto $5000 dollars a month for one player. With over 5 million active monthly users for Yoville alone (the last time I heard) they are pulling in some nice revenues.
The way they have generated revenues through brand marketing in this game is by offering players free yocash (which players pay for at a rate of over $10 for 50 yocash) when they sign up with brand x, the majority of which also need the player to purchase their services or put a cc on file. They ended up in a lawsuit at one point as a members credit card was billed for over $200 for offers she completed to receive YoVille currency.
However they could take this much further with a much more effective strategy than they are doing now.
>they are pulling in some nice revenues.
Amazingly high numbers. It's all in the masses and their credit card on file, easy billing for everything you think you need.
Yes Zinga are valued at $5.51 Billion.