The excitement of the current game industry is obvious to all, which also makes the placement of in-game advertisements a new outlet. Recently, Anzu announced the completion of a $48 million Series B round of financing, led by Emmis Corporation, with participation from PayPal Ventures, Simon Equity Partners, and Evolution.

This round of financing raised its total financing to $65 million, and the new funds will be used to expand partnerships with more 3A games and premium content providers, including partnerships with well-known game companies such as Sony, Ubisoft, and EA Business Cooperation.

Anzu provides a sophisticated way to embed 3D ads in games, improving the advertising effect without affecting the gaming experience, and its 3D tracking engine is currently patented.

Recently, the company also launched a blockchain-based ad monitoring solution called Anzu Hybrid Solution. This solution combines traditional third-party advertising monitoring with blockchain technology, which can provide higher transparency and credibility, and prevent cheating and fraud.

Anzu said that the financing will further strengthen the company's technical strength and market share in the field of in-game advertising.

01. Make game ads smoother

Founded in 2017, Anzu is an Israeli company focused on in-game advertising. Anzu co-founder and CEO Itamar Benedy, formerly the CEO of global mobile marketing company Glispa, understands the potential and challenges of in-game advertising.

He believes that in-game advertising can not only provide game developers with more sources of income, but also provide advertisers with higher brand exposure and conversion rates.

However, traditional game advertisements often break the atmosphere and quality of the game, making users feel dissatisfied and disgusted. So Itamar decided to create Anzu, a platform that can seamlessly embed real-world brand advertising into gaming environments.

After getting acquainted with and inviting David Sable, the former global CEO and chairman of the global advertising giant Young & Rubicam, to become Anzu's strategic advisor, Itamar strengthened the idea. David is an avid gamer who plays almost every day, which makes him a good fit for Anzu's corporate strategy.

In 2019, Anzu received millions of dollars in Series A financing from well-known investment institutions such as WPP and NBCU to expand its global business and technical team.

Following the latest round of US$48 million in Series B funding, Anzu will use the new financing to expand its global business and technical team and increase the coverage of its in-game advertising solutions across multiple platforms including mobile, PC, console and Metaverse and function.

At the same time, Anzu will also establish a strategic partnership with its investors, using their resources and experience in advertising, entertainment, games, e-sports and other fields to promote the development and innovation of the in-game advertising market; and continue to maintain its independence and devote itself to Provide game developers and advertisers with an interactive, immersive and measurable in-game advertising platform.

02. Fastest form of entertainment on the road to growth

In fact, Anzu is not the only company that has paid attention to this outlet. In-game advertising has developed rapidly in recent years, which has caused many brands to scramble to try. Compared with traditional promotion methods, the IVT (invalid traffic) generated by in-game advertising is extremely low, and has long been regarded as a mature marketing channel.

In-Game Ads

Essentially, an in-game ad is an ad that runs somewhere within the virtual environment within the game. When game developers decide to open up their games to certain types of ads, they work with in-game ad tech providers to determine where in the game they can be monetized and build ads where appropriate.

The effectiveness of an ad depends on how well the game genre matches the ad design. The games themselves are divided into different genres, and ads are often placed in in-game locations that are more relevant to real life. For example, at a sporting event, ads may be placed around viewing areas, on game fences, and on the sides of buildings and vehicles.

In-game Targeting allows brands to gain a deep understanding of their target audience, including targeting using contextual and personal player data, and providing options related to age group, gender, and family status to differentiate their game Advertisement content matches different audiences.

Anzu Product Solutions

Anzu is known as the most advanced in-game advertiser in the world. Its self-confidence comes from its carefully divided advertising service content. It not only supplements the contact with the game player group for the brand side, but also realizes the currency of the game while respecting the gameplay of the developer's product. change.

Anzu is committed to creating the following three characteristics of in-game advertisements: hybridity, which maintains the integrity of the game rather than forced interruption; relevance, customized and personalized adaptive information; practicality, which enhances the connection between the game environment and the real world. On Anzu's official website, in addition to providing different entrances according to game developers and brand marketers, it also divides game categories.

The game category is divided into mobile games, computer and console games, and metaverse games. The world-renowned simulation restaurant management mobile game "Cooking Fever" chose Anzu as a partner. The game integrated SDK (Software Development Kit), and placed various forms of advertisements on posters, TV screens and other different scenes, and cooperated with Matching the content of the game enhances the sense of reality and immersion of the game.

According to the survey, the game developer Nordcurrent’s advertising revenue increased by 25%, the advertising click-through rate (CTR) reached 1.5%, and the advertising exposure rate (VTR) reached 90%, which is much higher than the industry average. The player retention rate and The number of active users has not been negatively affected, but has increased.

By placing a short 6-second video advertisement in a variety of popular mobile games, Anzu helped Lay’s successfully develop the Singapore market, achieving a video completion rate (VCR) of 92.5%, and also gained 14.8% brand awareness and 9.2% increase in purchase intentions.

Anzu also maintains close cooperation with Ubisoft and other major 3A game studios in the world, and is the only officially licensed in-game advertising provider for Microsoft Xbox. Anzu guarantees that the provided SDK is certified by ISO 27001 (international standard for information security management), complies with GDPR, CCPA and COPPA (three world-renowned data regulations) standards, and the lightweight SDK will not damage the game performance, self-developed creative rendering function match the ad content to the game world.

Anzu has also stepped into the metaverse field, providing freelance creators with more income while also adding realism to games. For example, world-renowned brands such as Samsung have adopted this service. Previously, Anzu has also cooperated with the creators of the Roblox platform to bring new sources of income to creators of UGC content enjoyed by hundreds of millions of players on the platform.

With the advancement of technology, the change of users' way of thinking, and the continuous growth of the audience of more than 3 billion gamers worldwide, in-game advertising is gradually able to compete with many traditional marketing channels due to its huge influence, high attention, and audience diversity. Compete and even surpass them.

The refinement of service and technology has brought about the improvement of brand benefits, which has also laid a solid foundation for Anzu to compete in the in-game advertising track.

03. Development of in-game advertising market

According to eMarketer's forecast, the global in-game advertising market will reach US$12 billion in 2023, accounting for 4.4% of the entire digital advertising market. In this huge market, there are three roles competing for the cake of in-game advertising:

Companies that provide in-game advertising solutions: such as Anzu, this company allows brands to place high-quality, interactive, and measurable ads in games of various types and platforms.

Companies that provide advertising platform services: such as Alphabet Inc., which can help brands and game developers achieve advertising and revenue.

Companies that provide in-game advertising resources: such as Blizzard and EA, they can provide brand exposure and promotion opportunities.

So, how are these companies using in-game advertising for better marketing?

First, let's get clear: Do gamers really want to see ads in their games?

A study by Anzu shows that gamers are receptive to in-game ads that make the game feel real. And, a study by ComScore Media Metrix found that heavy gamers (those who play games at least 16 hours a week) appear to be receptive to in-game ads.

In response, Anzu co-founder and CEO Itamar Benedy said on the AdExchanger Talks show that as long as the ads provide them with some kind of value, such as making the game feel more realistic and immersive, they will accept ads. Many gamers also prefer a free-to-play model without having to pay.

This means that to be successful in in-game advertising, brands must consider the following factors:

• Does the ad match the theme and atmosphere of the game?
• Are ads affecting the player's experience and enjoyment of the game?
• Does the ad provide information or rewards of interest to the player?

There are already many successful cases of in-game advertising on the market.

In the "Call of Duty" series of games, players can see various real brand advertisements, such as Coca-Cola, Nike, BMW, etc. These ads not only increase the realism of the game, but also give players a feeling of being in the future battlefield.

In Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, players can see some Olympic Games advertisements in ancient Greek cities. Not only do these ads fit in with the game's historical setting, but they also give players a sense of being part of an ancient event.

Of course, cross-border cooperation is also a very innovative way of in-game advertising and marketing. Sometimes the brand side directly moves its own IP into the gameplay! For example, some time ago, Michelle Ice City and "Egg Boy Party" launched a joint activity of Egg Boy Snow King Sweet Honey. This marketing strategy attracts and retains the attention of consumers by creating interactive, interesting and social digital content. Greatly enhance brand awareness and favorability.

All in all, in-game advertising is a form of advertising with great potential and challenges, and it will continue to innovate and change with the development of the game industry.

04. The future is more worth looking forward to

With the continuous development of technology and the update and iteration of games, in-game advertisements may take the following forms in the future:

• VR/AR in-game advertising: This is a way to integrate advertising elements into VR/AR game scenes, which can make advertising more natural and interactive, and also make it easier for players to remember and accept advertising information .
• P2E (Play to Earn) in-game advertising: The way of earning while playing can motivate players to participate and invest more in the game, and also allows players to have more autonomy and income rights. At the same time, this method can make advertisements more flexible and valuable, and it can also make players more active and willing to contact advertisements.
• AI in-game advertising: AI technology can make the game smarter and more interesting, and it can also make the advertisement more accurate and efficient. This in-game advertisement will use AI technology to generate or optimize advertisement content, which can make advertisements more personalized and also make advertisements easier to test and iterate.

For platforms or terminal devices, the screen size and resolution of different devices will affect the display space and clarity of in-game advertisements, thereby affecting users' attention and memory for advertisements. The operation mode and interaction mode of different devices will affect the way and degree of user interaction with in-game advertisements.

For example, Ubisoft's immersive tactile clothing and Apple's headsets allow players to experience a more realistic and richer game world. On the one hand, these devices allow players to interact with advertisements through head, hand or body movements, increasing players’ participation and conversion rates in advertisements; on the other hand, these devices can make advertisements more visual and auditory. Impact, thereby increasing the player's attention and favorability to the advertisement.

It can be seen that both technology and equipment are important factors affecting the effect of in-game advertising, and this requires developers to use various technologies and design appropriate in-game advertising forms, content and strategies according to the characteristics of different devices.

05. Broad prospects for brand marketing

In-game advertising is different from traditional advertising. It requires an understanding of game design and proficiency in advertising media. Anzu balances the two directions and achieves 1+1>2 to the extreme.

The game advertising strategy of forced interruption has a lot of risks for both brand owners and game developers, especially game developers. It is absolutely not advisable to lose players for the sake of advertising, and to exhaust the resources.

When using simple ideas, clear logos, limited text, and without any CTA (call to user button), we can understand in-game advertising as OOH (out of home advertising) in a sense, and the success of this marketing channel is often not It depends on indicators such as clicks and registrations, but after increasing brand awareness, it will virtually increase the willingness of gamers to purchase.

As technology giants such as Apple use VR devices to blow the horn of the virtual reality era, in-game advertisements are bound to turn into silent drizzles. When players immerse themselves in the metaverse and forget themselves, brand marketing will also take a wider and wider road. .