Tag: Mobile gaming

Singapore – Chocolate brand Kinder, part of the line of confectionery company Ferrero, has launched a new mobile application called ‘Applaydu’ that utilizes augmented reality (AR) to bring Kinder toys to life. 

Since the creation of Kinder, it has been engaging kids with toy surprises inside its egg-shaped packaging, wheretoys may range from toy cars to figurines of animals and characters. Through the application, it aims to deliver kids an immersive new experience. 

The app, dedicated to children from four to nine years old will feature environments, characters, and stories that are thought and built to spark their imagination and stimulate their ability to learn new things. Users of ‘Applaydu’ can enjoy games, interactive stories, activities, and a lot more.

Furthermore, the ‘Applaydu’ mobile app also provides a family-friendly, safe and controlled environment, that is free of ads nor in-app purchases, as well as parental control features such as activities report and adaptive difficulty to ensure a complete peace of mind for parents. It is designed to be used with the whole family, however, parents can rest assured that appropriate safeguards are in place to guarantee that children can enjoy themselves securely.

“By sparking the imagination of children, and uniting adults and children in play and enjoyment, we believe that Applaydu can play an important role in helping ensure that a happy child today will be a better adult tomorrow,” said Emiliano Laricchiuta, global head of Kinder Products with Surprise.

The app was developed by game developer Gameloft, and has sought the expertise from the Oxford University’s Department of Education in coming up with a set of guidelines to help Kinder’s development of the app, aimed at helping children’s progression by creating and developing a game that utilizes and develops cognitive skills including mathematics, motor skills, reading, and writing, as well as memory.

“We are really proud to partner with Kinder to make this project a reality. It is incredible to bring our 20 years of gaming expertise to the Kinder brand and their beloved toys in order to craft an app that brings a whole new layer of fun to families, by merging physical and digital worlds in order to expand the traditional play experience,” said Alexandre Tan, VP brand partnerships and advertising at Gameloft.

Applaydu can be downloaded now for free from the App Store or from Google Play.

Mumbai, India – In-game advertising platform has forged an exclusive deal with the newest installment of the World Cricket Championship (WCC) 2 game franchise in order to bring its in-game advertising solutions in the game, done through the game developer Next Wave Multimedia, a subsidiary of gaming company Nazara.

Through the exclusive deal, Next Wave Multimedia will leverage Anzu.io as its advertising platform of choice as it provides game studios with a monetization method targeted at enhancing the stadium ambiance to further replicate a live real-world match. 

Furthermore, the blended advertising format that the collaboration brings will help advertisers reach their audiences in a seamless manner, without disrupting user experience, while integrating a brand’s message in the game’s environment.

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In addition to providing native ad placements with blended in-game banner ads across the game on Android and iOS devices, Anzu.io will provide WCC2 with ad viewability, brand lift measurement, audience verification, data enrichment, and fraud detection in partnership with industry leaders such as Moat, Comscore, Kantar, and Nielsen. 

“We are glad to be able to bring more value to brands. We believe this collaboration will help us serve users and advertisers better by taking gaming and digital advertising a notch higher for enhanced experience,” said Next Wave Multimedia Co-Founder and CEO P.R. Rajendran. 

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Meanwhile, Anzu.io’s CEO and co-founder, Itamar Benedy, remarked, “Every region is seeing a growth in gaming, and advertisers realize that in-game ads can help them connect with a once-elusive audience. We are thrilled to partner with such a well-established studio and help them achieve their goals while opening up the in-game advertising market for advertisers across India.”

As Anzu.io’s newest deal entails a larger presence in the Indian subcontinent, its clientele base will have greater exposure, including the APAC arm of ad platform AdColony, to which they signed a deal last year.

“Gaming has transformed from an underground pastime to mainstream entertainment, and it is rivaling the reach of social media. Advertisers need to take note of this and treat gaming as an equal if not a more effective channel for communicating with consumers. Placing in-game ads in games like WCC 2 will allow advertisers to reach their desired audiences,” Amit Rathi, AdColony’s Country Manager for India.

The recent exclusive deal of Anzu.io comes right after its recently concluded US$9M funding for global expansion, with the help of various venture capital groups such as BITKRAFT, Sony Innovation Fund and other angel investors.

Singapore – AdColony, the in-app marketplace for brands with a focus on gaming, has named industry veteran Adrian Watkins as its new director for marketing and growth in APAC.

With 20 years of global experience leading growth and marketing for publishers, agencies, and their brands, Watkins was most recently chief strategy officer for media site theAsianparent. He also previously assumed the role of commercial director for world-leading gaming destination IGN Entertainment, where he scaled international revenues through expanding the commercial offerings and teams, as well as eCommerce and content syndication partnerships.

Watkins said that in 2020, gaming has already reached more consumers than any other medium, putting it at the forefront of a brand’s marketing armory for reaching women and men of all socio-demographics.

“Mobile gaming right now feels like when social media exploded to become the new must-have marketing channel 15 years ago. Gaming is now at this same intersection. If a brand is not embracing gaming as a marketing channel, it is missing out [on many] potential customers,” he said. 

He added, “Joining AdColony was an easy decision as it is perfectly placed to deliver award-winning custom solutions to brands who now realize they need to play in this space.”

Meanwhile, AdColony SVP for APAC Tom Simpson commented, “Adrian understands the massive opportunity around mobile gaming, and brings a calm, strategic and entrepreneurial approach to AdColony, which will allow us to grow exponentially. 2021 is shaping up to be a standout year!”

Taiwan – Global mobile ad tech company Adludio has announced that it has pivoted to tap into Taiwan’s rapidly-growing mobile gaming fanbase with the expansion of its operations to the region.

Adludio is a mobile advertising platform for delivering interactive creatives using gaming engine and artificial intelligence technologies. Following its launch in 2015, it has grown its presence across US, Europe, and Asia.

According to Adludio’s data, Taiwan is an emerging key market for mobile advertisers as the count of mobile phone connections in the country total 28.43 million, equating to 1.19 connections per person. Similarly, its gaming market shows great potential as it is expected to grow to $2.8 billion by 2021, with mobile games accounting for 60% of the revenue.

Benjamin Pavanetto, managing director for Asia commented on the growth opportunity the expansion offers, “Taiwan’s high internet penetration and fast-growing economic development makes it an ideal market for brands to effectively reach audiences digitally. The projected growth in Taiwan’s gaming industry also shows potential to create effective consumer engagement through gamified advertising.”

Meanwhile, Adludio’s Founder and CEO Paul Coggins said, “It is truly an exciting opportunity for us to expand into Taiwan. Taiwan is a market with extremely active mobile users, and Adludio’s mobile-first offering will bode well with creative and bold clients looking to increase their mobile performance and engagement.”

According to Coggins, the company is already working with clients such as LG, Audi and Cartier in Taiwan.

The Taiwan team will be led by Pavanetto who relocated from Singapore this year, alongside Adludio’s sales manager in Taiwan Clayton Chao.