Wonder why you're craving a Starbucks mocha frappuccino in the middle of a gaming session? It's because in-game ads actually work, according to a new study.

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A new study from in-game ad firm Double Fusion and research company Interpret says that in-game ads actually have influence over gamers’ buying decisions.

“Double Fusion’s ad effectiveness research validates what many have assumed but never proven --  that gamers not only notice ads in games but are impacted by them positively, increasing their intent to buy,” said Double Fusion CEO Jonathan Epstein in a statement.

Double Fusion’s study surveyed the impact of 36 different kinds of in-game ads across 10 games of varying genres, including FPS, action, racing and sports.

The study implemented a methodology that included eye tracking in order to find out the effectiveness of ad location, dimension and design.

Findings include:

• 75% of gamers engage with at least one ad per minute across most, but not all, game types; 81% of gamers engage at least every other minute
• Less-cluttered ads are three times as effective at garnering gamer notice than ads that are either cluttered or within cluttered environments
• While both contribute positively to ad engagement, placement of the ad in the primary camera plane (eye-level) is more important than large size ads
• Not all ads are created equal – dynamic billboards, around-game interstitials, sponsorships, and interactive product placements all offer different levels of user engagement and pervasiveness in the game
• The data obtained from the study forms the basis for a new view on gaming measurement, which will allow gaming media plans to be constructed in a way that is both comparable and additive to other media plans

Interpret is also the company behind Gamemeasure, a tracking report that provides publishers and advertisers with in-game ad data.

A March report from Interpret said that retail sales figures from firms such as NPD are insufficient in conveying the reach of in-game advertising.

For a presentation of the research, e-mail inquiries to pr@doublefusion.com.