Facebook's Sponsored Stories Get Game

Facebook advertisers are paying for a new kind of impression when it comes to the Sponsored Stories they purchase. Their ads are now also appearing in the app ticker viewed by gamers and users of other apps on the social site.

For games like Words With Friends, Sims Social and Bubble Island, as well as apps like the career networking tool BranchOut, users will see the ads when their friends have used those games or apps. For instance, Bubble Island players may see a Sponsored Story ad for Sims Social if a friend had played the latter game. It will read: “[Friend’s Name] played Social Sims.” Or: “[Friend’s Name] likes Amazon.com.”

A Facebook rep explained in an email to ClickZ that the app ticker ads are purchased like regular Sponsored Stories, which debuted in January. “Appearing in the ticker does not change the audience target of a Sponsored Story,” said the spokesperson for the Palo Alto, CA-based social giant. In other words, currently advertisers cannot buy app ticker inventory only.

Launched on Aug. 11, the ad units are only served to viewers whose friends are using games and apps on Facebook. The app ticker itself appears alongside apps, presenting a stream of a user’s Facebook friends’ app activity, scores, and activities.