AdColony and Anzu.io join forces to bring blended in-game ads to APAC region
AdColony, the in-app advertising marketplace for brands, with a focus on gaming, has signed an exclusive partnership with global in-game advertising platform, Anzu. AdColony will now offer Anzu’s market-leading blended in-game advertising solutions across both display and video to brands and agencies in Asia Pacific.
In-game advertising platform Anzu seamlessly blends real-world brand ads into gameplay across PC, console, and mobile games, while offering advertisers comprehensive ad viewability and programmatic capabilities. A brand’s ads can now appear literally within the game – on the virtual perimeter boards around the football stadium, on a billboard in the street of an open world classic, or on custom-painted Formula One racing cars.
The AdColony and Anzu partnership also brings a suite of trusted industry tools, including campaign effectiveness measurement, fraud prevention and ad verification for the first time to blended in-game advertising across APAC – inventory is also available programmatically via the AdColony SSP. Put together, this opens up new ways for brands to reach gamers globally by making gaming and esports advertising opportunities more accessible, locally.
The launch of Anzu via AdColony means brands across the Asia Pacific region will be able to generate deeper levels of engagement with audiences via advertising within games. More than 1.5 billion consumers in Asia Pacific are gamers, and 70 per cent play games daily on their mobiles. Furthermore, 40 per cent claim to play more games since the COVID-19 outbreak.
Anzu’s CEO and Co-Founder, Itamar Benedy commented, “APAC is really the epicenter of worldwide gaming, and Anzu is thrilled to bring the combination of our programmatic in-game advertising experience with AdColony’s offerings to the region. This partnership represents a major opportunity for advertisers who are ready and eager to reach these ultra-engaged audiences.”
Tom Simpson, AdColony’s SVP for APAC said, “We passionately believe that gaming is the new and improved social media for marketers in terms of connecting with consumers at scale. This opportunity has been accelerated in recent months with the pandemic, and 2020 has seen an enormous uplift in the demand for new solutions for brands to reach gaming audiences. This partnership allows AdColony’s expertise in APAC markets to combine with Anzu’s global-leading blended in-game ad technology to offer a unique solution for brands to connect with consumers seamlessly in and around their favourite games. We look forward to pioneering new marketing offerings for our clients and delivering great work across APAC.”
AdColony is one of the largest mobile advertising platforms in the world with a reach of more than 1.5 billion monthly users globally. AdColony’s mission is to drive business outcomes that matter for advertisers and publishers using its best-in-class mobile technology, the highest-quality mobile ad experiences and leveraging its curated reach. AdColony is known throughout the mobile industry for its unparalleled third-party verified viewability rates, exclusive Instant-Play™ and Aurora™ HD video technologies, rich media formats, global performance advertising business, programmatic marketplace, and extensive SDK footprint in the Top 1000 apps worldwide.
Anzu.io is an in-game advertising platform that brings real-world brand ads to video gaming and esports. Backed by BITKRAFT Esports Ventures, WPP, and Axel Springer Digital Ventures, Anzu redefines digital advertising through seamless integration of non-intrusive ads into the gameplay. Bringing real-time data and programmatic to the video gaming world, the platform promises blended advertising, brand safety, and ad viewability.