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.