InMobi, a leading provider of content, monetisation, and marketing technologies that help businesses fuel growth, today announced a partnership with Anzu.io, the world’s most advanced in-game advertising solution.

The move means InMobi can now provide its advertisers with direct access to Anzu’s premium mobile programmatic inventory across the globe, in addition to first-look access to in-game mobile supply in Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

Anzu’s award-winning in-game advertising solution allows programmatic advertisers to run their banner and video ads via blended yet highly viewable IAB-compliant ad formats that sit on 3D objects like roadside billboards, stadium banners, and buildings. The ads are designed to complement the gameplay, respecting gamers, and in many cases, making the gameplay experience more realistic.  

Anzu’s technology is integrated with a full suite of third-party trusted vendors, including HUMAN for fraud detection, Comscore, Lumen, Nielsen for brand lift measurement, and Kochava for data enrichment. Anzu and Moat have also just enabled the first-to-market viewability measurement for in-game ads meaning InMobi’s advertisers can now request in-view metrics when programmatically running in-game ads. 

“I’m excited that this partnership with InMobi will help many more APAC advertisers experience the huge opportunity that in-game advertising presents, '' says Itamar Benedy, co-founder and CEO, Anzu. “InMobi’s expertise and vast advertiser network, combined with their knowledge of the APAC landscape, will help supercharge our solution within this market. There are more gamers in APAC than anywhere else in the world, and our solution will help brands to reach them in a non-disruptive, brand-safe way that compliments the gaming experience.” 

InMobi’s direct connections with top demand-side platforms across the globe, combined with direct supply to Anzu’s global inventory, enable advertisers to access these ad experiences through optimised supply paths. Access to Anzu’s inventory will help InMobi offer scale across a huge number of mobile games spanning multiple genres, allowing advertisers to reach engaged players within immersive environments. 

“InMobi’s preferred in-game advertising partnership with Anzu, co-funded by the world’s largest advertising agency WPP, allows our clients to seamlessly connect with gamers through integrated, non-disruptive ads,” says Kunal Nagpal, senior vice president and general manager of publisher platform and exchange at InMobi. “This partnership is beneficial to all parties, with new features and the goal to drive connections between consumers and brands with Anzu’s premium technology.” 

In addition, game developers partnering with InMobi will be able to take advantage of all the benefits that using Anzu’s SDK presents, which is already used by leading game developers including Ubisoft, MyGames, and Sir Studios, to monetise their titles with in-game ads that open up new reliable revenue streams, complement the gameplay, and work alongside other monetisation models and solutions. Additionally, InMobi will help gaming publishers tap into global premium demand and seamlessly expand into in-game ad monetisation to generate incremental revenue through both standard formats and in-game ads through a single platform.  

Ms. Ly, commercialisation manager for Amanotes, one of South East Asia’s most popular mobile publishers, said: “We have two main goals, to continually improve the user experience and grow our business. Ensuring we keep an equal balance between both can be challenging. Anzu allows us to accomplish both of these goals simultaneously. Their in-game ad placements put gamers first and bring a sense of realism to our experiences while allowing us to establish a consistent and reliable revenue stream to help grow our business. The ads also work great alongside the other monetisation methods we have in place.” 

Mobile gaming has sustained strong momentum from the initial surge at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, with new mobile game downloads 45% higher than pre-pandemic levels. This growth hasn’t been restricted to younger users only; eMarketer estimates that in the United States alone 163 million people—nearly half the population—play mobile games, breaking the traditional ‘gamer’ stereotypes marketers may have had in the recent past.