Esports

IN-GAME AD PLATFORM ANZU.IO RAISES $9M TO FUEL GLOBAL EXPANSION

Published

6 years ago

February 2, 2021

Israel-based global gaming advertising platform Anzu has secured $9M USD in a funding round led by BITKRAFT Ventures and HBSE Ventures.

The round also attracted participation from the world’s largest marketing services organisation, WPP; Sony Innovation Fund, the investment arm of one of the world’s largest gaming groups and the owner of PlayStation; Alumni Ventures Group, the leading LGBT+ VC Gaingels; iconic baseball team The Chicago Cubs; Goal Ventures; and prominent angel investors Marc Merrill, Co-Founder, Co-Chairman, and former Co-CEO of Riot Games. and Dylan Collins, Co-Founder and CEO of SuperAwesome – the industry’s leading kid-safe ad platform which was recently acquired by Epic Games.

Anzu says it will use the new capital to catalyse commercial growth, and fuel sales and marketing efforts to help propel it forward on a global scale. The participating investors will act as strategic partners, with Anzu remaining an independent company.

With the gaming industry already larger than the music and film industries combined, and expected to reach around $275B by 2025, brands are starting to recognise the potential of gaming, and are finally starting to embrace it as an advertising channel.

WPP CEO, Mark Read, noted:

“Gaming is one activity that has exploded over the past year and increasingly an important advertising channel. In partnership with Anzu, together with our agencies, we can make it simpler for them to reach the growing audience in the esports and gaming space.”

Anzu’s state-of-the-art programmatic technology blends real-world ads into the highest quality video games, esports tournaments, and live streams, adding authenticity to environments and turning game objects into valuable advertising opportunities.

The company’s client list is already impressive, including game publishers Ubisoft, Lion Castle, and Nacon, along with huge global brands like Pepsico, Samsung, American Eagle, and Vodafone.

CEO and Chief Investment Officer at Innovation Growth Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, Gen Tschikawa, commented:

“Anzu has been delivering the technology they promised and growing their industry footprint. We are excited to join this funding round and support Anzu, entering a new phase of growth in in-game advertising. The company’s gamer-first attitude will enable developers to access new business models and bring advertisers closer to gamer audiences without disturbing gameplay.”

While Founding General Partner at BITKRAFT, Jens Hilgers, added:

“Since our initial investment, the Anzu team has built the most sophisticated platform to deliver blended in-game advertisement at scale in the higher-end games segment.

“The impressive line up of game integrations combined with brands executing unique campaigns on the platform has validated Anzu’s market position and technology. We are proud to invest alongside this stellar group of co-investors and look forward to seeing the Anzu team continue to redefine in-game advertisement!”

The latest investment will help Anzu follow its strategic roadmap, which includes new products to compliment and amplify its core technology, along with global expansion to the United States (starting with Los Angeles, and New York), Singapore, China, and other major locations.

Illustrating the potential of Anzu, at the end of October 2020, the company announced a partnership with the developers of massive multiplayer online role-playing game Virtuverse. The game has an average play session lasting an incredible six and a half hours, giving plenty of opportunities for players to econoutner video and banner ads displayed on immersive billboards and interior screens.

The company has also partnered with German esports venue developer VERITAS Entertainment, to enable advertisers to communicate their messages within game and esports tournaments (don’t miss our exclusive interview with Dorian Gorr, MD, CMO & Co-Founder of VERITAS Entertainment here).

AYO.NEWS says:

With online audiences becoming unresponsive to conventional advertising, and the effectiveness of traditional media like sponsorships, television, print and radio dwindling despite costs remaining high, in-game advertising offers perhaps the best opportunity to reach and engage with today’s audiences without annoying them.

And, with platforms like Anzu and Adverty now offering an easy way to exploit in-game advertising opportunities in some of the most popular games, the surprising thing is that its taken brands this long to realise the potential.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2019-2021.

Esports

LEXUS SUPPORTS ESPORTS AWARDS FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR

Published

5 years ago

October 29, 2021

AYO News Staff

Luxury carmaker Lexus is returning to support the Esports Awards for a third year running

As Official Auto Partner of the awards, the company will be working with the Esports Awards on a number of activations that incorporate their vehicles. Lexus will also sponsor both the Esports Organisation of the Year and Streamer of the Year awards.

Lexus made its esports debut with the Esports Awards in 2019, when it provided several supercars from blockbuster movies, which took centre stage at the Esports Stadium Arlington. Last year, the carmaker collaborated on exclusive content as part of the highly successful virtual ceremony.

“It’s an honour to be able to welcome Lexus as a partner for the third year in a row. After supporting us through a successful virtual ceremony last year, it speaks volumes that Lexus has once again committed to going all-in and driving the esports ecosystem forward. Both of our brands focus on prestige and excellence, and I look forward to showcases our joint values as we return to a physical event in November,” said Michael Ashford, Managing Director, Esports Awards.

Esports

REKTGLOBAL BRINGS TOP GAMING TALENT TO INFINITY FESTIVAL 2021

Published

5 years ago

October 29, 2021

AYO News Staff

ReKTGlobal, the digital entertainment and esports organization, has been named one of the official presenters of gaming content at the 2021 Infinity Festival.

On 3 November, superstar gaming creators Ally Battaggia (a.k.a TheGeekEntry) and Gabby Murray will join Stove’s Kitchen and Paul Shaw in a panel exploring the content creator economy. In addition, ReKTGlobal CCO Kevin Knocke will share his unique expertise in a panel on esports.

Battaggia, who has a growing following across social media, took on streaming during lockdown, joining the fan-favorite NoPIxel GTA RP server. Since then, she’s become a mainstay participant, even crafting a NFT/TCG collection from her beloved GTA RP character. With 9.6M social media followers, Murray has built a fanbase as a multi-talented lifestyle and gaming content creator, with a Discord community that is expanding by the day.

Top gaming creator Stove’s Kitchen (whose real name is Steven Cho), part of the Team RAR (Rare and Ridiculous) internet group, has a devout fan following on his YouTube channel, where he posts gaming and challenge videos. Meanwhile, Shaw oversees Special Projects at TalentX Entertainment, a subsidiary of ReKTGlobal. The four will join forces for Making a Living as a Content Creator: Much More Than Gaming — a panel that explores what sets livestream content monetization and strategy apart from pre-produced content.

Also on 3 November, Knocke will take part in an esports panel with Darin Kwilinski, Lead Content Producer at IGN Entertainment, and Amanda Solomon, CEO at Tyrus Talent Management. The panel, Esports or Esports? Does It Matter? will break down misconceptions about esports to separate the hype from actual substance.

Knocke, who has been competitively gaming since he was a kid, has years of involvement with high profile companies and events in the esports business – specifically Blizzard Entertainment, IGN, SiriusXM, Sony, South by Southwest, E3, PAX, and Ubisoft — giving him a broad perspective on the industry. Before joining IGN, Kwilinski, a lifelong gamer, was a senior editor for esports at ESPN, establishing its vision and voice. Solomon is an executive with a well of expertise in the strategic sales and partnerships realm, specializing in esports, gaming, and talent.

Now in its exciting fourth year, the forward-focused Infinity Festival is the place where Hollywood meets Silicon Valley. The multi-day annual event, held in Los Angeles, brings together Hollywood’s finest storytelling talent with the innovative creators of cutting-edge technology. For 2021, Infinity Festival will blend in-person and virtual events for a unique hybrid experience.

The in-person portion will be held in several adjacent Hollywood locations with most events happening at Goya Studios and the Dream Hotel; the online component will be presented through the easy-to-use FNvirtual event platform. The festival will continue its theme of “Story Enabled by Technology” with an entirely new slate of innovative programming, including industry-leading speakers, panel discussions, an exhibition hall, innovation labs, and a fine art gallery, each with an emerging-tech focus.

For tickets and additional information, visit infinityfestival.com.

Esports

TEAM SINGULARITY TO LAUNCH FAN TOKENS VIA BLOCKSPORT

Published

5 years ago

October 29, 2021

AYO News Staff

Danish esports organisation Team Singularity has extended its partnership with Swiss fan engagement platform Blocksport.

The multi-year agreement will see the launch of the $SNG Fan Token, giving holders access to unique opportunities to influence team-related decisions, enter the fast-track at SNG Academy, access exclusive content, train with professional esports athletes and more.

$SNG Fan Tokens are expected to launch in December 2021 with a supply of 3M, and will be priced at €1 each in the initial sale.

Commenting on the news, Atle S. Stehouwer, CEO and Founder of Team Singularity, said: “I am happy that our partnership with Blocksport is officially extended and we can finally announce the next step in our collaboration.”

Vladimir Liulka, CEO and Co-Founder of Blocksport, added: “We are happy to extend our exclusive partnership with Team Singularity and launch $SNG Fan Token for their fans. Singularity has a global and awesome fan community. The Token opens up a new world – an environment in which they have the chance to be very close to their favorites players and team”.

Team Singularity currently fields rosters in CS:GO, Fortnite, Rocket League, League of Legends, FIFA, Apex Legends, Rainbow Six, VALORANT, Free Fire, Teamfight Tactics, Hearthstone, Quake, League of Legends Wild Rift, Call of Duty, Call of Duty Mobile, Call of Duty Warzone, PUBG, PUBG Mobile, DOTA 2, Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, Battalion 1944, H1Z1, Tekken7, Rogue Company, Brawlhalla, and Clash Royale. In addition to Blocksport, the organisation has commercial partnerships with PWC, Pluck GG, Raven, SCUF, KontrolFreek, Randers FC, Esportal, Challengermode, MYESPORTSCARD, and MYFUTCARD.

Staying with esports and Blocksport.io, just yesterday we reported the platform had partnered with Jordanian sim motorsports organisation Desert Fox Racing.