Tag: In-game advertising

Singapore – In-game mobile advertisements are leading gamers in the Asia Pacific (APAC) area to stop gaming, according to a new research by Omnicom Media Group (OMG) APAC. The poll included 12,204 people who were asked to rate their attitudes toward advertisements while playing mobile games.

Most of the participants report that commercials often cause them to stop playing games. Respondent preferences include wanting in-game advertisements to rotate within a gaming environment or to be seasonal. Some claim that these advertisements don’t inspire people to make in-person purchases, while others say they remember a brand for future transactions.

It is worth noting that engaging in-game encounters are crucial for drawing in players, and by bringing these encounters outside of the virtual world, businesses can make a bigger impression. When playing games, APAC players indicate a desire for material rewards from the real world, especially when it comes to mobile game advertisements.

Moreover, brands can create their own games, host gaming events, and offer in-game and real-world incentives linked to in-game successes as ways to entice and please mobile gamers. Aware of the potentially large expenses associated with developing original content, companies may decide to take advantage of the released titles like Fortnite and look into ways to create new worlds or distinctive experiences within those well-known gaming environments.

Furthermore, value is a major motivator for over half (47%) of APAC gamers, who want to get the most out of their gaming experiences at the lowest possible cost. This group is more likely to make in-game purchases or microtransactions during sales events (47%) or when they need power-ups (37%). Furthermore, a sizable portion confines their purchasing to limited-edition releases (30%) or sees such purchases as gifts for particular occasions (32%).

Speaking about the research, Nina Fedorczuk, OMG APAC’s chief enablement officer, said, “The gaming universe is an incredibly exciting one and there are numerous opportunities for brands and marketers. We need to understand the different nuances within the gaming ecosystem, including the types of moments gamers experience. For example, they can connect with friends via gaming over the weekends and be fully immersed in the experience but also play a quick puzzle game during a weekday commute.” 

She added, “It is no longer enough to treat gamers as a niche audience because almost everyone is a gamer. Brands need to find the sweet spots for this audience, and think hard about how they can add value to the gaming experience, instead of blatantly interrupting it.”

London, UK – Bidstack, an in-game advertising and video game monetisation platform, and Venatus, a publisher monetisation and advertising platform for gaming and entertainment, have signed an exclusive commercial partnership to leverage both companies global presence and expertise in video game advertising and monetisation. 

The new partnership will give Venatus exclusive access to Bidstack’s extensive video game advertising inventory across six key global markets. Venatus will take sole ownership of direct sales of Bidstack’s in-game inventory across the US, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, and South Korea, leveraging its extensive global sales presence of more than 40 gaming specialists. 

The access to Bidstack’s intrinsic in-game network adds another dimension to the Venatus offer, centered on campaigns in-game, next to the game, and around the game, including leading websites such as EA, Futbin, and Rovio, and custom activations on platforms like Roblox. 

Bidstack has pioneered the intrinsic in-game advertising format since 2017 and has amassed a network of more than 400 high-quality video games across mobile and PC, with a total monthly reach of 100 million people. The company works with publishers such as Sports Interactive, Ubisoft, and Miniclip and has delivered award-winning in-game campaigns for brands such as OneFootball, Apple, Samsung, Marriott Bonvoy, Paco Rabanne, and Doritos. 

In 2022, the IAB and MRC released official measurement standards for intrinsic in-game advertising, while DoubleVerify recently announced its support for the format.  

Venatus and Bidstack have previously collaborated to monetise esports properties such as Gfinity through advertising. 

James Draper, founder and CEO at Bidstack, said, “Bidstack and Venatus have a shared history as innovators in the video game advertising space. Now, we’ve identified an opportunity to create massive value for both businesses, our customers, and partners through a major tie-in that combines Venatus’ gaming specialist sales heft with Bidstack’s programmatic technology and carefully nurtured network of games. With the tailwinds behind in-game advertising, the opportunity is crystallising too quickly for Bidstack to capitalise on alone and we’re delighted to have Venatus alongside us.”

Also commenting on the partnership, Rob Gay, co-founder and CEO at Venatus, said, “Venatus offers brands multiple touchpoints with consumers within, next to and around video games. With the rapid growth of intrinsic in-game advertising, we now partner with experts in the format and add another string to our bow on behalf of our customers. This partnership comes at an opportune moment after the expansion of our US leadership team in June and, with Bidstack’s world-class in-game network, we can build richer, more diverse campaigns on behalf of our clients in this incredibly exciting gaming media channel. 

Syndey, Australia – iion, the global adtech company that aims to redefine monetisation and advertising for gaming, today debuts immersiion, a first-of-its-kind self-serve advertising platform that’s purpose-built for the gaming ecosystem. With its time-saving campaign builder, immersiion aims to redefine the way brands connect with their audiences in any gaming environment at scale. 

immersiion is the first platform that scales in-game advertising by enabling brands to find their target audience in all gaming environments. With immersiion, advertisers can select the right games to reach audiences, build, and serve rich creative options that speak their customers’ language, and deliver contextually relevant, personalised messages.

The end result is a fun experience for the brand’s audience to engage with advertising campaigns, without disrupting the gaming journey.

“For advertisers, the exponential rise in the gaming community represents a massive opportunity,” said iion Co-Founder Giuseppe Martoriello. “As the first-ever advertising platform that connects game publishers and brands through a holistic targeting experience within all IAB-defined gaming environments, immersiion provides brands with an entire new channel that is comparable to online and TV – but more fun and innovative.”

“We’re excited that immersion is the first platform to really scale in-game advertising – where you can run innovative types of campaigns across Mobile, PC and Console Games with Display, Video and Audio formats,” added Martoriello. 

Gaming is a continuously booming industry, emerging as a dominant form of socialisation and recreation, and now attracting a diverse mix of ages and genders. According to an Entertainment Software Association (ESA) report, the average gamer age in 2022 is 31 years with its age group – 18 and 34 years – representing the highest number of players at 38%. Interestingly, female gamers are also on the rise, currently making up approximately 45% of the world’s gaming population.

immersiion’s smart capabilities, furthermore, allow it to capture every type of audience segment imaginable across all IAB gaming environments. This is achieved via its proprietary suite of buying and selling game tech, which it uses to power brands.

Features of immersiion: 

  • Offers advertising solutions catered to the entire gaming ecosystem, including in-game ads at scale across mobile, PC, console, cloud and e-sports across display, video and audio formats
  • Targets all 3 IAB gaming environments (in the game, around the game and away from the game)
  • Targets any audience segment + contextually relevant placement across those environments
  • Enables advertisers to create engaging standard, rich media and video creative ads seamlessly inside the same platform, A/B test creative
  • Provides near real-time reporting to measure reach and performance metrics and automatically blacklist individual games/apps/websites, if not hitting target metrics/parameters
  • Targets all 3 media types (display, audio and video) inside its holistic game-tech platform

iion Co-Founder Sanjaya Molligoda said, “IGA is one of the most rapidly expanding fields of marketing today. It helps brands to communicate with their target market, building familiarity with those who play these games. And this growth rate is the direct result of the adoption of digital transformation technologies worldwide, the popularity of mobile gaming and increasing strategic alliances among game developers and advertisers.

“We are excited to debut immersiion to the market. It offers brands a new and exciting way to create meaningful connections, find their audience in all gaming environments, select the right games to reach them, serve rich creative options to speak in their language and deliver the right message in the relevant context,” added Molligoda

iion Co-Founder Wout van Damme also commented, “Due to the crowded and complex nature of the gaming world and its position in this booming sector, brands need a solution that’s backed by significant experience and industry know-how to best navigate the dynamic gaming landscape. Brands need new innovative ways to connect with their target audience, beyond traditional media. Gaming is that new channel that helps advertisers and consumers to connect while the audience is wearing the gamers’ hat.”

“At iion, we understand these dynamics and don’t just connect brands to gamers, we connect them to their target audience when they are playing their favourite game and their focus and brand recollection is high. We also have a robust partner network to help move brands forward, supporting them every step of the way along their journey,” he added.

Sydney, Australia – European-headquartered digital media, gaming, and entertainment company Azerion has partnered with advertising platform Right Thing Media to allow advertisers to deliver campaigns with social impact messaging inside its portfolio of in-game advertising and high-impact inventory across APAC. 

Under the partnership, Azerion and RT.M will enhance existing creative with social and environmental impact messaging and calls to action that inspire and engage audiences. They can work with any ad format, distributor, agency or media owner across web, mobile, and app campaigns. The two companies also manage the full creative and amplification process, from concept to completion: compiling post-performance data from ad distribution partners, and delivering funds to non-profit, charity, and social enterprise partners.

Moreover, the partnership enables advertisers to earmark an agreed percentage of their total campaign spend to be pledged to a nominated charity or nonprofit partner. It also produces an impact report that combines ad performance with impact insights and outlines how the campaign has made a tangible difference to society, whilst meeting the brand’s ad performance goals.

Gerson Barnett, executive director of Right Thing Media, commented, “We are thrilled to team up with Azerion in the Asia-Pacific region to drive change within the media industry and enable charities to elevate their profile. We’re all about action, and our partnership with Azerion will enable more brands to deliver effective high–social–impact campaigns to deliver a responsible media supply chain.”

Meanwhile, Georgia Woodburne, Azerion’s JAPAC managing director, said, “We have a platform that allows us to reach millions of users, serving quality creatives in environments where we already have secure heightened attention. We’re excited to be able to partner with Right Thing Media to use our platform for positive social impact, and to bring awareness to causes that really matter, for both consumers and brands.”

Singapore – Digital marketing performance and branding solutions platform Entravision MediaDonuts has partnered with in-game ad solution Anzu to bring its in-game advertising platform in Southeast Asia.

Through the partnership, Entravision MediaDonuts will now represent Anzu in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, enabling advertisers in these markets to tap into the power of real-world ads inside gaming platforms. 

The partnership will also provide brands with a sophisticated channel where they could run campaigns in some of the most popular titles by Ubisoft, Saber Interactive, Amanotes, and other leading game developers. These video and banner ads via blended but highly viewable IAB-compliant formats can appear as stadium banners, billboards, buildings, or other 3D renditions.

Pieter-Jan de Kroon, CEO at Entravision MediaDonuts, said, “Gaming in our region has seen incredible growth over the last two years. We’re thrilled to partner with Anzu to bring its groundbreaking, nondisruptive in-game advertising solutions to 8 countries in APAC.”

He added, “Asia will remain a mobile-first gaming region, but we also see growth in console gaming so advertisers can now connect with consumers across all gaming platforms, leveraging Anzu’s full suite of advertising solutions.”

Meanwhile, Stephanie Lublinski, head of partnerships of emerging markets at Anzu, commented, “Southeast Asia has seen phenomenal growth in gaming in recent years, home to over half of all the world’s gamers. Our partnership with MediaDonuts means advertisers in SEA can now reach this massive, rapidly growing audience with in-game advertising that preserves the gameplay experience.” 

She added, “Thanks to our patented, adaptive technology, first-to-market in-game ad viewability measurement with Oracle Moat, and full suite of third party integrations with adtech vendors, advertisers will be able to achieve this huge reach in a measurable, cost-effective way.”

New York, USA – Integral Ad Science (IAS) and Anzu have recently announced a partnership to enable global brands and agencies to effectively monitor the quality of their in-game media investments in mobile gaming environments.

Through this collaboration, IAS provides advertisers with Invalid Traffic (IVT) measurement and reports on Viewability through the IAS Signal platform.

This strategic collaboration further delivers ad transparency into mobile gaming environments, continuing IAS’s progress related to in-game brand safety, suitability, IVT, and viewability measurement everywhere in the digital advertising ecosystem. 

Tom Sharma, chief product officer at IAS, said, “Gaming continues to emerge as a medium with broad appeal and growing reach. By partnering with Anzu, we now deliver in-game measurement and transparency for advertisers within gaming environments. This integration sets the platform for quality standards within ad-supported gaming and allows advertisers to better understand and control the quality of their media on Anzu.”

Meanwhile, Itamar Benedy, co-founder and CEO of Anzu, commented, “Anzu’s new partnership with IAS is the next step in standardising in-game viewability and performance in the mobile gaming industry, which is projected to reach $136 billion worldwide this year. This new partnership means advertisers can now get enhanced visibility into the effectiveness of their campaigns. This further strengthens the already robust metrics and reporting advertisers benefit from when running in-game ad campaigns with Anzu.”

Lastly, Joe Cady, EVP of advanced advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, commented, “This important measurement advancement will help accelerate advertisers’ ability to scale their in-game media investments by further demonstrating the high performance of the Anzu platform. We are excited to see Anzu and IAS partner to expand insights and streamline measurement operations for marketers as they evaluate their in-game media effectiveness.”

Tel Aviv, Israel – In-game advertising platform Anzu has announced that it has raised US$20m in funding, bringing its total capitalization to US$37m since 2017. The funding will be used to continue its work as a global in-game advertising platform.

The funding round was led by two global brands namely entertainment company NBCUniversal and technology company HTC. It should be recalled that Anzu and NBCUniversal entered into a partnership to allow the brand’s marketing partners to run non-intrusive, in-game ads across Anzu’s cross-platform gaming inventory, which spans mobile, PC and consoles.

Itamar Benedy, CEO and co-founder at Anzu, said, “Everyone is talking about the impending metaverse, and we are starting to see it emerge from several different angles. However, if you want to see it in action right now, you just need to look to today’s most popular gaming platforms, which are hosting virtual concerts and film screenings. This funding will further expand our in-game advertising solution, helping even more advertisers understand where their brand fits in, and how they navigate these immersive, digitally-connected spaces.”

Other investors include WPP, Sony Innovation Fund, BITKRAFT Ventures, HBSE Ventures, Alumni Ventures Group, the iconic baseball team The Chicago Cubs, Goal Ventures, and a prominent angel investor Marc Merrill, the co-founder, co-chairman, and president of games at Riot Games. As with the previous round, all investors will act as strategic partners, while Anzu will remain an independent company.

Benedy added, “I am proud to have iconic investors who share in Anzu’s vision and enable us to bring in-game advertising and our best-class tech to more gaming platforms and global brands. Our last investment round helped us achieve some monumental milestones, including bringing in-game advertising to Roblox, becoming the first advertising platform to be verified by Unity, extending our partnership with Ubisoft, and launching new partnerships with leading games studios, including Saber Interactive for its AAA game Dakar Desert Rally.”

Sydney, Australia – Gametech and gaming marketing company Livewire has expanded its exclusive partnership with in-game advertising platform Anzu to help more APAC advertisers reach players within some of the most popular AAA console titles via non-disruptive in-game ads.

The partnership between Livewire and Anzu first began in January when the two companies partnered to help APAC advertisers reach players in Roblox.

Anzu is the sole official licensed provider for Xbox and their offering includes AAA console titles from leading game studios, including Ubisoft and Saber Interactive, who recently announced a partnership with Anzu to bring in-game ads into their highly anticipated AAA racer Dakar Desert Rally at launch.

Many more AAA titles are also on the way, which adds to Livewire’s growing suite of gaming solutions including the recent launch of a social gaming offering and the Livewire Creative Studios.

Furthermore, advertisers working with Anzu and Livewire benefit from advanced gaming marketing and gametech solutions, including research, gaming strategies, brand lift measurement, audience verification, data enrichment, and fraud detection in partnership with industry leaders such as Moat, Comscore, Kantar, and Nielsen.

Livewire co-founders Indy Khabra and Brad Manuel, said, “Launching in-game ads within premium AAA console titles is a significant milestone for gametech. Console games boast large durational play time, high attention rates, and are often played on large screens. Brands and agencies can now reach players within this premium environment via in-game ads that add to the gaming experience.” 

Meanwhile, Itamar Benedy, co-founder and CEO at Anzu, commented, “We are very excited to bring our premium AAA console inventory to more advertisers in APAC through this extended partnership with Livewire. We have already seen huge success working together with Roblox. I’m looking forward to extending this partnership and success to the console space, which is becoming an increasingly important media channel for advertisers looking to connect with their audience in an authentic and engaging way.” 

The expanded partnership taps on the 1.4b gamers in APAC, which is expected to grow to 1.8b by 2024, where advertisers running their campaigns in premium titles have a unique opportunity to place themselves in front of this large and diverse audience. With the APAC games market also estimated to grow by over 10% annually with a total market cap of $708.3 billion by 2026, this lucrative region has plenty of demand up for grabs.

Tel Aviv, Israel – In-game advertising company Anzu has secured rights from game developer Saber Interactive to be its in-game adtech provider for its racer game title ‘Dakar Desert Rally’. The secured rights comes after the two companies partnered up in November 2021 to bring blended in-game advertising to Saber Interactive’s upcoming game titles.

Anzu is helping the team replicate that; advertisers will be able to run their banner and video ads within Anzu’s in-game ad placements, which will take the form of 3D objects like roadside billboards and banners. They will also be able to take advantage of a variety of custom integration options, including custom vehicles that can be painted with brand colours, logos, and even have the driver wear a custom uniform. 

In addition, there are also options for roadside flags that can be branded with a product logo and different colours, and garage takeovers, where brands can add custom wall banners and items to decorate the building.

Alex Yerukhimovich, VP for games at Anzu, said, “We’ve been working closely with Saber Interactive to ensure our ad placements are perfectly positioned to enhance both the player and advertising experience. This is a great opportunity for advertisers to showcase their campaigns in a visually stunning AAA title, and for players to experience races with real ads that are relevant to the setting alongside the track. Just like they would expect to see if they were watching a real race, making the experience all the more authentic.”

He added, “More and more advertisers are making in-game advertising a larger part of their digital ad strategies. As the anticipation continues to grow around this title, we’re looking forward to bringing many into the Dakar experience to reach its millions of diverse and dedicated fans who stretch across the entire globe.”

Meanwhile, Todd Hollenshead, head of publishing at Saber Interactive, commented, “Our goal is to bring Dakar to life in a realistic and fun way, and it’s been great to see that passion mirrored by the talented team at Anzu through their industry-leading technology and expertise. We’re working closely together to ensure these ads are implemented in a way that is immersive and serve to help faithfully recreate the real-life rally experience.”

Tel Aviv, Israel – Global in-game advertising platform Anzu and game developer Saber Interactive has just signed a three-year deal enabling Anzu to bring blended in-game ads to a highly anticipated upcoming Saber game this year.

The move will mean Anzu’s placements will be implemented within the game from day one, giving advertisers an opportunity to reach players at launch via ads that are built into 3D objects that sit within the game’s environment. 

As part of its commitment to providing the best user experience possible, Anzu ensures its ad placements are not entirely dependent on an internet connection or ad servers. The platform displays a fallback image if the connection drops to ensure the user experience remains intact. 

“We’re thrilled to partner with Saber Interactive. Over the years, they’ve released some extremely impressive and successful AAA games, so it’s great to be working with a team that has such a wealth of expertise and knowledge. We’re excited to collaborate with them on their promising upcoming project,” said Alex Yerukhimovich, vice president for games at Anzu.

Anzu’s software development kit (SDK) ensures high-quality direct traffic, complete control of ad placements, and precise audience targeting based on first-party data. The company’s blended in-game ads, which sit in the background of games mimicking placements you’d expect to find in the real world, are already being used by many of the world’s leading games companies, including Ubisoft.

“We’re excited to be working with Anzu to incorporate their in-game ad formats into our upcoming game. We are working closely to ensure the ad placements are only implemented into the gameplay where it feels natural, adds value, and does not detract from the user experience in any way. We’re looking forward to sharing more about the game, and this collaboration, soon,” said Todd Hollenshead, head of publishing at Saber Interactive.

Anzu has worked with some of the globe’s biggest advertisers, including Vodafone, Samsung, PepsiCo, McDonald’s, and American Eagle.

Meanwhile, Saber Interactive is known for game titles such as ‘World War Z’, ‘NBA Playgrounds’ and ‘Snowrunner’.