Anzu and Livewire Announce Exclusive Partnership Extension & Expansion into Europe, Building on APAC Success

Anzu, the world’s most advanced intrinsic in-game advertising solution, and Livewire, the leading global gametech and gaming marketing company, have today announced an extension to their hugely successful partnership. The new multi-year deal will see both companies exclusively partner to help advertisers across APAC and Europe to connect with gamers through intrinsic in-game advertising, with the partnership covering popular titles across mobile, PC, and console.

Livewire and Anzu first partnered in January 2022, and have helped advertisers across APAC leverage in-game advertising to engage with the incredibly diverse gaming audience, made up of generations of adults who have played games for decades and are passing this passion of playing games down through their families. Since then, Livewire has expanded into a total of six live markets, including North America, Australia, the UK, Southeast Asia, DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), and India, appointing senior executives from globally leading brands such as Snap Inc. and TikTok, to drive brand partnerships forward and connect with the global gaming audience of over 3 billion.

The extended partnership will enable more brands to reach the gaming audience via non-intrusive in-game ad placements across mobile, PC, and console, built to enhance gameplay and bring a sense of realism to titles. They appear in locations where you would expect to find ads in real life, acting as a targetable and digital form of traditional out-of-home advertising. 

Also Read: Anzu Granted Patent For Advanced Ad Tracking Tech To Measure Viewability In 3D Environments

APAC is the largest gaming market on the planet, accounting for 55% of players worldwide and representing 49% of global consumer spending on games, making gaming in this region extremely attractive to advertisers. The gaming audience is also extremely diverse, comprised of individuals from every age, gender, background, and culture imaginable. Google numbers found that female gamers make up 38% of the Asian gaming population, and GWI reported mothers are some of the region’s most engaged mobile gaming fans. 

It’s no surprise that many major brands already invest heavily in gaming in the region, as in-game ads allow advertisers to quickly and easily enter the gaming space while targeting an audience passionate about playing games inside titles they love, where their attention is highest. In-game has proven to be a great addition to large cross-channel marketing campaigns, helping to boost engagement rates to connect brands with hard-to-reach audiences that are no longer spending time on traditional media channels.

On the partnership, Anzu Co-Founder and CEO Itamar Benedy said: “In-game is a powerful tool for advertisers, presenting them with a non-intrusive, brand-safe way of connecting with a diverse and hugely engaged audience. As gamers themselves, Livewire’s Co-Founders are perfectly positioned to lead the team in helping advertisers everywhere to tap into gaming by unlocking this medium and taking advantage of the enormous opportunities it presents”.

Livewire’s Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, Brad Manuel and Indy Khabra, said: “Together with Anzu, we offer unrivaled opportunities for brands to engage the gaming audience, providing the biggest inventory of in-game advertising opportunities with the potential to reach billions of gamers worldwide. Our partnership drives a new age of brand engagement, with gaming fast becoming an essential and enduring part of the marketing mix.”

Anzu announced last month that it had been granted a patent for its ad tracking technology, which monitors how viewable ad campaigns are based on distance, angle, time, and other factors in line with the updated intrinsic in-game advertising guidelines. Through partnerships with IAS and Oracle Moat, both providers can now measure the data gathered from Anzu’s patented viewability technology in real-time, efficiently giving brands third-party data measured across platforms. Anzu and Livewire know brands require this measurement and look forward to setting the standard in the industry.