MoviePass co-founder’s PreShow Interactive raises $3M to expand into gaming – ProWellTech

PreShow Interactive offers players a new way to earn in-game currency in exchange for viewing ads – a concept that exists Get familiar with mobile games but hasn’t really made much progress on PCs or consoles.

The startup is led by Stacy Spikes, the founding CEO of MoviePass. When I spoke to Spikes about PreShow two years ago, he was testing an app that allows users to get free movie tickets for watching ads. But obviously going to the cinema last year had a great success.

Spikes told me yesterday that he had always hoped to break the pre-show concept into four categories – movies, games, subscription streaming, and video-on-demand – but the pandemic forced the startup to shift focus faster than expected and find out what a gaming experience might look like.

There are currently plans to launch a new PreShow Interactive app this summer that will allow viewers to link their in-game accounts and see how much virtual currency they want to earn. Then they look at an ad package and PreShow will automatically transfer the currency to their account – in other words, it will buy the currency for them.

Users need to download a separate app to see the ads and take advantage of the benefits. However, Spikes said it was actually better than trying to incorporate advertising or branded content into the game itself, which can be a slow process for the developer and advertiser. while it is also distracting for the players. This means that PreShow Interactive can support 20,000 games on PCs, consoles and in virtual reality at launch.

Credit: PreShow Interactive

“We just didn’t see the point in spending the time on integrations when it wasn’t really necessary,” he added. “Our business is only with the consumer for his time. We say, ‘This is your time. It has value. ‘”

One of the key elements of Preshow’s approach is the technology that can be used to detect when the viewer is actually looking at the screen of their phone. The ads stop showing if you turn away. This has been criticized as “Creepy Surveillance Technology” However, Spikes claimed that early PreShow users assumed this. He also argued that it is more transparent than the data collection and targeting that are currently driving online advertising.

“We used to think data was the new oil, but now we feel that permission, commitment and attention are the new oil,” he said.

In addition to announcing its new strategy, PreShow announces that the company has acquired $ 3 million in seed capital led by Harlem Capital with the participation of Canaan Partners, Wavemaker Ventures, the Front Row Fund, the ROC Fund, BK Fulton and Monroe Harris upset.

And to be clear, Spikes said PreShow isn’t giving up motion pictures. He said the PreShow app will ultimately bring both movie and gaming offerings “under one roof”, but brands are not currently keen to advertise to moviegoers.

“We are ready to go when the market is ready,” he said.