365 Digital has indicated that it will serve as the representative of Anzu in South Africa. The partnership will aim to empower local brands to reach their current and potential customers in-game using Anzu's advertising platform on mobile, PC and console.
According to the duo, 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
3.5-billion ZAR (192-billion USD) in 2018 to 5.44-billion ZAR 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." The duo says that, adding in the recent
introduction of 5G to both mobile and fixed wireless, the southern hemisphere nation is staged for big gaming market growth.
365 Digital provides 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 says that it will give advertisers the ability to programmatically serve ads into the gameplay at scale, thereby creating new opportunities to connect brands to gamer audiences without disrupting the gaming experience.
Anzu allows ads to be served in IAB-recognized formats. In partnership with cybersecurity firm Cheq, it says that it has 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.
According to the partners, 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 its 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," says Jethro Fitz-Patrick, publisher services manager at 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," adds Fitz-Patrick.
Julian Jordaan, commercial director of 365 Digital, says, "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."
"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," adds Jordaan.
Itamar Benedy, co-founder and CEO of Anzu.io, concludes, "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."
For more information, visit
www.365digital.co.za or
www.anzu.io.