REG - Bidstack Group PLC - Two-year commercial deal with Azerion

BidstackAnnouncement

17/12/2021 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20211217:nRSQ9795Va&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 9795V  Bidstack Group PLC  17 December 2021

Certain information contained within this Announcement is deemed by the
Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse
Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR") as applied in the United Kingdom. Upon
publication of this Announcement, this information is now considered to be in
the public domain.

17 December 2021

Bidstack Group Plc

("Bidstack" or the "Company")

Two-year commercial deal with Azerion

Bidstack Group Plc (AIM: BIDS), the native in-game advertising group, is
delighted to announce a landmark commercial partnership with Azerion
(https://www.azerion.com/) , the leading pan-European digital entertainment
and media platform, who will be the exclusive commercial partner across
Bidstack's inventory over the next two years.

 

The agreement, thought to be one of the industry's largest programmatic
in-game advertising deals, will give Azerion's SSP and sales teams exclusive
access to all of Bidstack's advertising formats and will see the company
become Bidstack's sole external reseller.

 

The initial two-year partnership will grow Bidstack's global sales footprint
exponentially thanks to Azerion's established team of over 1,000 employees
operating across 26 offices in 18 countries.

 

Bidstack will leverage this enhanced reach with an aligned sales strategy
designed to accelerate commercial partnerships with game developers, brands
and advertising agencies which will see further gaming inventory locked down
and ad spend secured from respected partners.  Meanwhile, Azerion will start
adopting Bidstack's SDK into their existing portfolio of games.

 

Azerion will have access through this partnership to approximately 40 million
users and around 60 titles across a rapidly growing portfolio of AAA,
independent and mobile publishers.  The genres are diversified across
stadium, racing, open world and life simulation titles which provide an
attractive and highly engaged addressable audience.  The reach of the
partnership is global, including in key markets such as the US, UK,
Netherlands, France and Germany.

 

The agreement with Azerion comes at an important strategic moment for both
businesses, with 2022 expected to be a significant commercial breakthrough for
in-game advertising. Since 2017 Bidstack has worked alongside advertising
agency holding groups, global game developers and industry bodies to ensure
that in-game advertising became recognised as an advertising category in its
own right.

This education has contributed to major agency groups launching dedicated
gaming divisions and products, whilst the IAB launched its first-ever guide to
gaming (https://www.iabuk.com/news-article/iab-uk-launches-guide-gaming) and
an industry framework
(https://esportsinsider.com/2021/08/iabuk-announce-advertising-framework/) for
in-game advertising in 2021. With the ad channel now fully recognised and
significant, recurring investment from advertisers established, further growth
is expected in 2022.

 

Of the new partnership, James Draper, Bidstack Founder and CEO, said

 

"This contract signals a realisation that brand advertising within the
metaverse has truly arrived.  Since our pivot into gaming in 2017, we have
embedded a culture of no-shortcuts into the formation of in-game advertising
as a new channel.

 

"We expect this to be just the start of a long and deep relationship with
Azerion as both companies have strong ambitions within the digital
entertainment and media space.  I want to personally thank the incredible
efforts of our team, in particular Lewis Sherlock (SVP of Programmatic) and
Francesco Petruzzelli (CTO), who have played a key role in securing this
deal."

 

Umut Akpinar (https://www.linkedin.com/in/umutakpinar/) , Co-Founder and
Co-CEO of Azerion, added

 

"We are delighted to strike this strategic partnership with Bidstack which
strengthens our digital advertising platform. With this exciting partnership,
we allow brands to explore new advertising frontiers in premium and brand-safe
inventories, while connecting seamlessly with consumers through impactful and
immersive experiences.

 

"At Azerion, we believe that the future is digital entertainment. This new
partnership is perfectly aligned with our vision for the upcoming years."

 

-ENDS-

Contacts

 Bidstack Group Plc

 James Draper, CEO                                            via Buchanan
 SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nomad)                      +44 (0) 203 368 3550

 Mark Brady / Neil Baldwin / James Keeshan
 Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Broker)

 Fred Walsh                                                   +44 (0) 20 7710 7600

 Buchanan Communications Limited

 Chris Lane / Stephanie Watson / Kim van Beeck                +44 (0) 20 7466 5000

 bidstack@buchanan.uk.com (mailto:bidstack@buchanan.uk.com)

 

Notes to editors:

 

About Bidstack

 

Bidstack is the leading in-game advertising and video game monetisation
platform. Their sophisticated technology allows brands to serve advertisements
into natural spaces within video games whilst protecting the gaming
experience.

 

These branded experiences can vary from trackside banners and cityscape
billboards to pitchside LED boards, skins or any other contextually relevant
spaces within the metaverse.

The company has more than 80 staff across five international locations and is
a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange.

 

About Azerion

 

Azerion is a fast-growing and leading pan-European digital entertainment and
media platform. Azerion's integrated platform provides technology solutions to
automate the purchase and sale of digital advertising for media buyers and
sellers. Content creators, publishers and advertisers work with Azerion to
reach millions of people across the globe that play its games and its
entertainment concepts to increase engagement, loyalty and drive e-commerce.

 

Founded in 2014 by two Dutch entrepreneurs, Azerion has experienced rapid
expansion thanks to organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Azerion is
headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Glossary

 

Programmatic Advertising - Programmatic advertising is the automated process
of buying and selling digital ad inventory; connecting advertisers to
publishers to deliver ads to the right person, at the right time, in the right
place.

In-Game Advertising - Sometimes referred to as Native In-Game Advertising,
these ad placements are "in the game" and form a seamless part of the gameplay
environment.

Demand-Side Platform ("DSP") - An advertising technology platform that allows
marketers to manage their online media campaigns by facilitating the buying of
auction-based display media and audience data across multiple inventory and
data suppliers in a centralised management platform.

Supply-Side Platform ("SSP") - An advertising technology platform that
represents the suppliers of online ads (publishers). SSPs give publishers the
ability to increase their website advertising revenues by engaging with
multiple demand-side channels (Ad Networks, Ad Exchanges and DSP's) through a
single vendor.

Software Development Kit ("SDK") - An SDK provides a set of tools, libraries,
relevant documentation, code samples, processes, and or guides that allow
developers to create software applications on a specific platform.

The Internet Advertising Bureau ("IAB") - The IAB is an advertising business
organization that develops industry standards, conducts research, and provides
legal support for the online advertising industry.

Metaverse - The term metaverse describes a virtual-reality space in which
users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users.
These interactions take place in online virtual environments, usually via PC,
console or mobile devices and VR and AR headsets.

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  CNTFDLBFFLLZFBB