In-game advertising company Anzu has revealed that it has extended its partnership with Ubisoft following 'exceptional results' of ads in Trackmania and Growtopia.

Since the premiere of this partnership in 2020, where the first worldwide multiplayer streaming session of the then-unreleased Trackmania took place, Anzu has brought big brands like Samsung, Microsoft, American Eagle, and Vodafone into the game in ad form.

These in-play ads appear on in-game objects, such as billboards and banners, leading to a 176 per cent rise in campaign awareness and 20 per cent lift in brand consideration.

In-play advertising firm Admix has suggested that due to the success of in-play ads 81 per cent of media buyers plan to increase their spending on in-game ads over the next year.

Speeding ahead

The ad campaign has been recognised with a bronze at the Deutscher Digital Awards and a Highly Commended at The Drum Awards for Digital Industries 2021. Anzu was awarded Best Tech Platform of the Year that same year.

"We’ve been on an incredible journey with Ubisoft. They were one of the first big studios to work with us on our PC offering after identifying an opportunity to offer Trackmania fans a popular title, with in-game ads that not only compliment the gameplay but make it more realistic," said Anzu CEO Itamar Benedy.

"We’re thrilled about extending our partnership, and we look forward to bringing our blended in-game ads to more of Ubisoft’s premium titles."

In a recent report, Research Dive has suggested that by 2028 there will be $14 billion generated by in-game advertising, as the mobile games advertising industry continues to grow.