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, 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 and an industry 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, 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

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.