Bidstack, the in-game advertising and video game monetisation platform, and Venatus, the leading publisher monetisation and advertising platform for gaming and entertainment, today (August 30th, 2023) announce a commercial partnership that will give Venatus exclusive access to Bidstack’s extensive video game advertising inventory across six key global markets. 

Having pioneered the intrinsic in-game advertising format since 2017, Bidstack has amassed a network of more than 400 high-quality video games across mobile and PC, with a total monthly reach of 100 million people. It works with leading publishers such as Sports Interactive, Ubisoft, and Miniclip, and has delivered award-winning in-game campaigns for brands such as OneFootball, Apple, Samsung, Marriott Bonvoy, Paco Rabanne, and Doritos. In 2022, the IAB and MRC released official measurement standards for intrinsic in-game advertising, while DoubleVerify recently announced its support for the format. 

Under the new partnership, Venatus will take sole ownership of direct sales of Bidstack’s in-game inventory across the US, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, and South Korea, leveraging its extensive global sales presence of more than 40 gaming specialists. Access to Bidstack’s intrinsic in-game network adds another dimension to the Venatus offer, which centres on campaigns in-game, next to the game and around the game, including leading websites such as EA, Futbin, Rovio and custom activations on platforms like Roblox. Venatus and Bidstack have previously collaborated to monetise esports properties such as Gfinity through advertising. 

James Draper, founder and CEO at Bidstack, said: “Bidstack and Venatus have a shared history as innovators in the video game advertising space. Now, we’ve identified an opportunity to create massive value for both businesses, our customers, and partners through a major tie-in that combines Venatus’ gaming specialist sales heft with Bidstack’s programmatic technology and carefully nurtured network of games. With the tailwinds behind in-game advertising, the opportunity is crystallising too quickly for Bidstack to capitalise on alone and we’re delighted to have Venatus alongside us.”

Rob Gay, co-founder and CEO at Venatus, said: “Venatus offers brands multiple touchpoints with consumers within, next to and around video games. With the rapid growth of intrinsic in-game advertising, we now partner with experts in the format and add another string to our bow on behalf of our customers. This partnership comes at an opportune moment after the expansion of our US leadership team in June and, with Bidstack’s world class in-game network, we can build richer, more diverse campaigns on behalf of our clients in this incredibly exciting gaming media channel.”

Globally, the in-game advertising market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11% to 2030, from its current estimated valuation of USD$8.4bn (£6.6bn). This figure currently represents around 1% of the USD$850bn (£671.5bn) global advertising market, highlighting the opportunity of more than three billion people playing games on a daily basis.