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Exclusive Q&A w/ Antoine Jullemier, VP of Gaming at Bidstack

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Tell us about your career to date and how you came to join Bidstack? (highlights and stories)

I’ve been immersed in the video games industry, digital environment and ad tech for the last 7 years, and specialise in advertising and monetisation. In 2016, I left my dear France to join the London branch of the French ad-exchange Mozoo and develop the Surikate product in Europe, which was the direct performance arm of the business (UA) for leading games and lifestyle apps. Following a period of significant growth, Mozoo acquired AdinCube in 2017, a leading ad mediation platform for game app developers. Here I was given the opportunity to join the new team, where I utilised my expertise to secure publisher partnerships across the EMEA region. A year later, in 2018, following a rapid period of expansion, AdinCube was acquired by Ogury, where I successfully built the gaming publisher portfolio from the ground up. Here I was able to onboard game studios such as Miniclip, Kwalee, Outfit7, Crazy Lab Games, Good Job Games and many more. In 2021 I was given the opportunity to join Bidstack to scale up the publisher portfolio across mobile, PC, and console and I am now responsible for the supply side of the business in Europe and in various other markets globally.

 

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What does your role as ‘VP of Gaming’ at Bidstack entail?

Primarily it is focused on managing and working with a young and entrepreneurial team who are passionate about gaming and helping game developers and publishers to unlock a new, incremental revenue stream that protects the gaming experience for the end user.

Reporting to our US-based SVP Gaming, my role is essentially to lead business development for Europe with game developers and publishers across the UK, EMEA and other international territories.

Our mission is to educate studios on the benefits of integrating Bidstack’s monetisation technologies, regardless of platform and structuring deals with AAA publishers, leading game studios, and AAA titles.

 

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What drew you to the games industry?

My path into gaming was carved out quite naturally. If I take a step back, I’ve always been passionate about gaming and have been a player myself for as long as I can remember. I can still see myself playing the SEGA Mega Drive with my brothers and spending hours on my Gameboy or Nintendo DS before evolving with each generation of new consoles like the PS1, PS2, the Xbox 360 etc.

When I started my career, I began in digital and advertising on mobile, first on the UA side of things at Surikate from Mozoo and then on the in-game monetisation side through various ad mediation platforms and ad networks; this gave me the opportunity to engage with game studios for the very first time.

The creativity, genuine talent, and passion surrounding these individuals really made an impression on me, and I found it amazing to discover more about programmatic exchanges and all the rules, processes and technical considerations that were happening in the background of the games themselves in order to drive revenue for those studios.

Today, I’m very grateful to work within such a fast-growing and ever-evolving industry. The gaming market is a multi-billion dollar industry that engages around 3 billion gamers yearly, and that number only looks set to grow.

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The industry is no longer a niche interest; video games are now mainstream and very much a part of everyday life for billions. Advertisers have started to pay more attention to that in addition to their traditional media mix like TV, Print or Social Media, which makes it the best place to be, in my opinion.

What’s super exciting in our industry is that you can never get bored. From new user privacy and data protection laws, new monetisation formats and gaming platforms to record-breaking mergers and acquisitions, there is always something new happening.

 

Are you a gamer in your downtime/what do you play?

I’m still a gamer myself, mainly on console. I’m a big fan of my PS5, and if you don’t find me hitting some COD Modern Warfare 2 these days, I will probably be trying to finish Elden Ring!

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Bidstack is an in-game advertising and video game monetisation platform. What does this mean in practice?

Bidstack’s mission is to empower game developers to dynamically control and monetise space within and around their gaming environments.

Our programmatic platform pioneered how brands deliver ads into natural spaces within video games – with these brand experiences varying from trackside banners and cityscape billboards to pitchside LED boards, skins and other contextually relevant surfaces within a gaming environment.

The platform was designed with performance in mind, and all of our products ensure stability and security for our partners across their in-game, rewarded video, and in-menu inventory. Our proprietary technology also ensures that the realism of a game is maintained by rendering effects on top of creatives to make them a seamless part of the experience.

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Bidstack gives publishers total control over what appears in their games via our AdConsole – here; they are able to approve or reject ads in real-time before they appear in their gaming environments. We further bolstered our ad quality capabilities with the acquisition of Pubguard (a malvertising and ad quality platform) in 2019, with their suite of tools ensuring that we deliver a premium advertising experience for our partners and maintain strict category exclusions.

Bidstack delivered the world’s first programmatic in-game campaign in 2018. Since then, we have grown from a team of 4 staff to more than 80 across 5 international locations and became a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange. We also have a unique sales footprint thanks to our strategic partners and secured a strong portfolio of +150 games across Mobile, PC and Console.

However, Advertising represents just one use case for our technology, with many of our gaming partners utilising the platform as a content management tool to reduce dev cycles and manage brand licensing relationships across their titles.

 

What are the benefits of in-game advertising for developers and players?

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The benefits are numerous. Our technology unlocks a new, sustainable route to revenue for publishers, which is non-intrusive and can work alongside existing monetisation strategies.

Developers can now authentically recreate real-world environments in which audiences have come to expect the presence of realistic advertising, including billboards, banners or product placements across in-game, in-menu and rewarded video formats.

We are the leading solution when it comes to helping developers across all platforms (Mobile, PC, Console, Metaverse) navigate the waves of the medium successfully, opening this new incremental revenue and reducing ad pressure with a better user experience.

In a world where the vast majority of gaming ads are performance-based, the brand advertising we offer reduces churn rates and increases user retention for developers, making the game a more premium and safe environment.

This leads me to the player benefits. Unlike other digital ad types, in-game advertising also sits better with consumers. Seven in 10 UK gamers feel positive or neutral towards organically embedded in-game advertising. Among console gamers, 22% are more likely to buy brands advertised in games.

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While some existing and well-established ad formats can be intrusive (full-screen unskippable ads etc.), when done well, in-game advertising, fully native and blended in the environment in a non-clickable way, can really increase the immersion and make the game a more realistic experience. I would personally love to stumble across a billboard promoting the latest smartphone from a real brand when walking around Night City in CyberPunk. This would look awesome and make me feel this is kind of real!

 

What’s the best in-game ad you’ve seen lately?

Probably our campaign with Paco Rabanne and Starcom into Rezzil, which won the Best Regional Campaign – North America at the TheWires 2022 ceremony recently. It delivered impressive results through the use of contextual and virtual reality, leading the way for future opportunities in that space.

 

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What are some of in-game’s challenges, and how can they be overcome?

One key challenge is the fact that every player is different, especially within the free-to-play arena, and will react to a game’s experience in their own way, so it’s important to explore different ways to monetise your titles.

Harmony between in-app purchases and in-game advertising is key. Both solutions are complementary and need to work in the right balance. As I was saying earlier, there are so many innovative formats in the market now that game developers have a real opportunity to support the development of their games whilst enhancing the experience for players.

Another challenge is keeping up with the new innovations that are driving value in a constantly evolving market. To stay ahead of the game, I think you have to build trust with your players and show them respect by leveraging quality branding ads in formats that are designed to enhance their playing experience rather than polluting the game experience with overly intrusive, non-relevant advertising that will damage the whole experience.

So with players now less accustomed to paying for accessing their favourite games and increasingly frustrated with intrusive monetisation methods, many developers are now turning to in-game advertising as an option that works for game creators and players alike.

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Looking forward, what can we expect to see from Bidstack – and you – in 2023?

Bidstack is in a stage of exciting growth. We recently announced some huge hires in the US and 2023 shows no sign of slowing down. Next year, we anticipate expanding our range of products and ad formats, bringing on board more games studios and brands, and further growing our talented team. For me personally, a part of my job that I love is attending amazing technology conferences and gaming events. With the world now fully opened up again, 2023 presents amazing opportunities for us to get our technology in front of the world’s best publishers and brands.

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Getting ready for Xmas: SplitMetrics partnership with Wargaming helps World of Warships app sail to new heights with 15% uplift in organic conversions

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Wargaming, a leading game developer, teamed up with SplitMetrics, an app growth solutions company, to boost conversion rates with seasonal Christmas-themed screenshots for the launch of its game World of Warships: Legends.
Coinciding with the game’s soft launch in Brazil, the Philippines, Canada, and France ahead of the Christmas holidays, Wargaming wanted to capitalise on the seasonality effect to influence its app engagement without advertising.
By working with SplitMetrics Agency, a leading mobile growth agency, Wargaming increased conversions by an average of 15% on iOS across App Store storefronts in Canada, the Philippines and France. Canada experienced the highest conversion rate increase with 31.45%, followed by the Philippines (9.61%) and France (3.44%). On Android, the Brazilian Google Play storefront experienced the highest conversion rate increase with 6.68%.
SplitMetrics Agency focused on A/B testing as its core strategy. The agency optimised visual assets, analysed performance and tested various creative hypotheses. Using SplitMetrics Optimize, the agency’s experts ran experiments to identify the best-performing illustrations for both the App Store and Google Play product pages.
A key hypothesis tested during this project was whether tailoring visuals to each region during Christmas would have an impact. For France and Canada, the images were adjusted to include a winter theme featuring snow, fireworks and a Christmas tree. For the Philippines, the agency used white ribbons, a local Christmas tradition, along with fireworks and ornaments displaying the country’s flag. And for Brazil, fireworks and ornaments decorated with the Brazilian flag.
During this testing period, there were no in-app events or paid user acquisition campaigns, allowing the performance changes to be directly attributed to the updated screenshots.
Thomas Kriebernegg, General Manager, SplitMetrics Agency, said: “Christmas is one of the main calendar events that app marketers need to prepare for, especially in the gaming category.
“The World of Warships: Legends case study is a great example of how seasonality can significantly impact your app’s performance and give you a boost in users. And this can be achieved without an advertising budget. It can all be done organically when you have the right calendar event, great graphics and A/B testing.
“As in the case of the Wargaming game, a comprehensive analysis and testing strategy increased its conversion rate by an average 15% across three markets.
“It is essential that app marketers forward-plan for any relevant calendar events. It’s also important to note that Christmas may not be relevant for every app but if you’re unsure you can always try A/B testing to see what works. And keep optimising.”

The post Getting ready for Xmas: SplitMetrics partnership with Wargaming helps World of Warships app sail to new heights with 15% uplift in organic conversions appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game

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Nolimit City takes you back to the grind with its latest release, Outsourced: Slash Game. For those who thought their consumerist cravings were a safe indulgence, think again. Following in the footsteps of Outsourced, this new addition pulls back the curtain on the sweat and sacrifice lurking behind those everyday luxuries—this time with a dash of danger. Outsourced: Slash Game is the studio’s second venture into crash-style gameplay, the first being xCrash™ in Skate or Die – but this time it’s a standalone crash game!

In Slash Game, players have to make some cutthroat decisions as a laser traces the outline of their hand, increasing the multiplier with every pass. Players hit “stop” to cash out, locking in the multiplier when they feel the timing is right. After which, they will be shown the potential winnings if they wouldn’t have stopped. But here’s the catch: if players hesitate a second too long and the laser slips, all the winnings are lost. A live scoreboard displays the Top Win, Top Miss and Last Round, so that players can keep track of their previous rounds.

Outsourced: Slash Game is not a familiar Nolimit City slot to some players but could cause some excitement with an increasing multiplier and a maximum payout of 1,500x the base bet. Outsourced: Slash Game, unlike Nolimit City’s high-volatility slots, is rated as ‘Medium Volatility’ but don’t let that fool you as it still includes the risk of losing your hand.

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Per Lindheimer, Head of Product at Nolimit City, said: “Get back to work, will you? We’re bringing players back to the unrelenting factory floor of Outsourced with an all-new twist. Slash Game is a standalone take on our crash-style games, and it’s packed with plenty of heart-stopping moments (and maybe a few hand-stopping ones, too). We’re thrilled with how it turned out and we hope that our fans will be too!“

‘Outsourced: Slash Game’ will be available to all Nolimit City partners on November 5th, 2024.

The post Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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CS2 Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024 SuperComputer: NaVi to bounce back after Blast Fall Final loss

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Final: Natus Vincere (36.5%) to beat Team Vitality (28.1%)

Semifinal 1: Natus Vincere (52.6%) to beat MOUZ (16.3%)

Semifinal 2: Team Vitality (47.7%) to beat G2 Esports (18.7%)

Quarterfinal 1: G2 Esports (39.8%) to beat FaZe Clan (32.8%)

Quarterfinal 2: MOUZ (35.9%) to beat Eternal Fire (24.7%)

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Group stage

  1. Natus Vincere – 48.7% to finish 1st; 17.0% to finish 2nd; 84.1% to make playoffs

  2. Team Vitality – 40.8% to finish 1st; 17.4% to finish 2nd; 77.7% to make playoffs

  3. G2 Esports – 19.3% to finish 1st; 20.4% to finish 2nd; 56.7% to make playoffs

  4. MOUZ – 14.5% to finish 1st; 21.8% to finish 2nd; 53.0% to make playoffs

  5. FaZe Clan – 13.9% to finish 1st; 21.0% to finish 2nd; 50.2% to make playoffs

  6. Eternal Flame – 40.7% to finish 1st; 16.2% to finish 2nd; 40.7% to make playoffs

  7. Liquid – 16.3% to finish 7-8th; 35.7% to make playoffs

  8. Virtus.pro – 15.4% to finish 7-8th; 29.9% to make playoffs

  9. Astralis – 28.9% to finish 9-12th; 31.5% to make playoffs

  10. The MongolZ – 32.7% to finish 9-12th; 25.4% to make playoffs

  11. Complexity – 34.3% to finish 9-12th; 21.2% to make playoffs

  12. Heroic – 26.8% to finish 9-12th; 23.5% to make playoffs

  13. paiN – 36.5% to finish 13-16th; 21.0% to make playoffs

  14. FURIA – 36.4% to finish 13-16th; 20.9% to make playoffs

  15. 9z – 44.7% to finish 13-16th; 14.6% to make playoffs

  16. Imperial – 49.1% to finish 13-16th; 13.9% to make playoffs

It has been quite the run for NaVi despite their loss with back to back grand finals in recent weeks but CSDB.gg’s predictive model suggests there will be no let up for the Ukrainian esports organisation.

G2 will also be looking to build more momentum in preparation for Majors season with NiKo on a quest to finally get over the line this year to win his first major title. Hopefully Rio won’t have to see a repeat of his reaction in the semifinals at BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024 where he punched a hole in a table after losing out to Team Vitality in a key moment.

However, the hosts of Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024 may want to lockdown any nearby furniture and reinforce their desks if G2 are set for disappointment at the semifinals stage as predicted by the CSDB.gg SuperComputer.

A victory in Rio could be even more consequential for how the end of the year shapes up for the leading teams on the circuit. The Valve Global rankings have both teams close at the very top (NaVi at 1988 and G2 at 1953) meaning a win for either team could hand them a key advantage when it comes to who enters the Majors as top seed. 

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Back-to-back wins in T1 events for G2, should they prosper in Rio, would set the Berlin-based team on an incredible trajectory going into the winter months.

Meanwhile, Brazilian hopes for glory look slight according to the CSDB.gg SuperComputer with FURIA, the team co-owned by Neymar, having only been given a 20.9% chance of even making the playoffs. 

They are the leading contenders to make an impact for the home crowd but there are other teams flying the flag for Brazil with paiN and Imperial also set to give it their best to give local fans something to cheer on.

In terms of forecasted matchups of note, G2 and FaZe Clan could offer up a fascinating encounter in the quarterfinals should both teams qualify, with each organisation rated as having a strong chance of making the semis with little to separate them should they meet.

How was the CSDB.gg CS2 Tournament SuperComputer created?

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The CSDB.gg CS2 Tournament SuperComputer is a predictive model created using world ranking points, team quality ratings and performance trends. An element of randomness is also included in the model to avoid the best teams and players always winning, to reflect the fact that upsets can happen.

Every tournament is simulated 1,000 times with the results aggregated into a percentage rating of the chances teams or players have to achieve the predicted result.

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