Offerpal Media got stung last week when it was told it wouldn’t be providing special ad offers for Facebook’s new Facebook Credits virtual currency platform. That threatened the startup’s business with Facebook app developers, who are widely expected to adopt Facebook’s in-house Credits, leading to layoffs at Offerpal.
But this week, the company is announcing a new customer program that enables game developers to sign up new users through social recommendations, regardless of what platform the users are on.
Offerpal’s SocialKast platform will enable developers to reach more than a billion users in 150 countries through integrations with open app platform providers such as Yahoo and Google. George Garrick, chief executive of Offerpal, said that SocialKast can boost a game’s ability to spread through viral channels. That lowers the cost developers have to pay to acquire new users, known as cost of acquisition.
The system also lets gamers communicate with each other across platforms and makes it easier for games to spread to new users. That is, if you can communicate with a bunch of friends across a bunch of platforms, then it’s a lot easier to invite them into the game you’re playing and thereby boost the viral spread of the game. Users can, for instance, send gifts to their friends in other platforms, using distribution mechanisms such as Yahoo Updates.
SocialKast is available to developers who use Offerpal’s full-service money-making platform, which allows gamers to earn virtual currency in a free-to-play game by accepting a special ad known as an offer (such as accepting a Netflix subscription offer). Participants include game company Digital Chocolate.
Fremont, Calif.-based Offerpal was founded in 2007 and has more than 225 million customers across 2,000 publishers. Investors include Interwest Partners, North Birdge Venture Partners and D.E. Shaw Ventures.