365 Digital, the leading South African independent multi-channel media network, and Anzu.io, the world’s most advanced in-game advertising platform, have announced a new partnership to bring immersive in-game ads to South African gamers.
365 Digital will serve as the representative of Anzu in South Africa, a country with an “educated, healthy, and well-off” gamer base, 23% of which have a university degree. The partnership will empower local brands to reach their current and potential customers in-game using Anzu’s advertising platform on mobile, PC and Console.
“Anzu is a game-changer for advertisers. The ANZU team and their products have been making waves in the global markets and we’re thrilled to partner with them to do the same in South Africa,” said Julian Jordaan, commercial director of 365 Digital. “In-game advertising isn’t new, with global advertisers making use of this channel for some time now. Anzu is different in the unique way they have reimagined in-game ads, blending them seamlessly onto in-game objects while maintaining extremely high viewability standards.”
Around the world, gaming is more mainstream than ever, and South Africa is no exception. Projections show the video game market in South Africa growing from R3.5 billion ($192billion) in 2018 toR 5.44 billion in 2023. According to a report by PwC, “smartphone-driven social and casual gaming growth is not coming at the expense of profits from traditional gaming hardware”.
Add in the recent introduction of 5G to both mobile and fixed wireless, and the southern hemisphere nation is staged for big gaming market growth.
365 Digital, an independent multi-channel media company, provides innovative advertising opportunities and marketplaces of premium ad inventory to brands and end-to-end publisher monetisation and technology solutions. By partnering with Anzu, the company will give advertisers the ability to programmatically serve immersive ads seamlessly into the gameplay at scale, thereby creating new opportunities to connect brands to coveted gamer audiences without disrupting the gaming experience.
Anzu, the world leader in programmatic in-game advertising, allows ads to be served in IAB- recognised formats. In partnership with cybersecurity firm Cheq, they recently announced the results of a pilot campaign showing 23% higher ad viewability compared to traditional digital advertising.
Anzu is the only in-game advertising solution to offer a full suite of trusted AdTech integrations including Forensiq, which detects and tracks fraud in real-time, and Nielsen Connectivity, a brand lift solution that measures key metrics such as brand desire, brand recall, and brand memorability. These solutions, many of which are commonplace in the greater world of digital advertising, give brands more confidence than ever before to spend in-game.
As part of the collaboration, Anzu will open up their exclusive gaming inventory across PC, mobile, and console to 365 Digital’s new and existing customers, empowering them to leverage in-game as another advertising touchpoint.
“The ability to target audiences and measure data and viewability in real-time across consoles and platforms is something we are particularly excited about,” said Jethro Fitz-Patrick, publisher services manager, 365 Digital, “We’re very quickly moving towards a standard where 100% viewability is expected and becomes the norm. It’s great to work with Anzu and be a part of this fundamental transition,”
Itamar Benedy, co-founder and CEO of Anzu.io added, “We 100% resonate with 365 Digital’s commitment to pushing the envelope in ad viewability standards. As a leader in the South African advertising landscape, they have demonstrated their commitment to bringing targeted ads to relevant audiences–and their eagerness to tackle in-game advertising is testament to their forward-thinking approach.”
