Australia-founded adtech firm iion has launched its new self-serve advertising platform for gaming, immersiion.
Through immersiion, brands will be able to target audiences with context-relevance and without disruption to gameplay.
The popularity of integrated ads
According to iion, this new platform will allow a hybrid advertising system, with a trifecta of in-game, around-the-game, and away-from-the-game strategies available depending on each advertiser’s preferred approach.
Where in-game solutions are said to blend into an "optimal" experience, around-the-game ads would include interstitials and video ads with rewards, meanwhile away-from-the-game advertisements reach players from gaming news outlets and streaming.
The immersiion platform has been tailored for all gaming platforms – mobile, console, PC, cloud and more – and features real-time reporting as a means of measuring performance.
"Brands need new innovative ways to connect with their target audience, beyond traditional media. Gaming is that new channel that helps advertisers and consumers to connect while the audience is wearing the gamers’ hat," said iion co-founder Wout van Damme.
Integrated ads as a whole have been snowballing in popularity with developers, advertisers, and gamers themselves with more pros than cons for everyone. Seeking to expand into gaming, back in February media and technology company NBCUniversal partnered with Anzu to access the latter’s adtech integrations, ad viewability, audience verification and more.
More recently, Anzu and Eskimi partnered with Lay’s (Walkers in the UK) to create a six-second video ad played in mobile games, which has been hugely successful.
"For advertisers, the exponential rise in the gaming community represents a massive opportunity," iion co-founder Giuseppe Martoriello stated. "As the first-ever advertising platform that connects game publishers and brands through a holistic targeting experience within all IAB-defined gaming environments, immersiion provides brands with an entirely new channel that is comparable to online and TV – but more fun and innovative.
"The latest research shows that gamers spend twice as much time watching intrinsic in-game ads than on other digital channels. Gaming viewers are in front of the screen with 100 percent attention on the screen. You won’t find that opportunity anywhere else in today’s digital environment."
In new research published last month, intrinsic in-game ads were found to double the watchtime of other digital channels.
