Gfinity partnership with Bidstack and Venatus

RNS Number : 4716H

Gfinity PLC

25 March 2020

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via the Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

25 March 2020

Gfinity plc

("Gfinity" or the "Company")

Gfinity enters strategic partnership with Bidstack and Venatus

Opportunity to drive additional revenues from Gfinity's web platforms

Gfinity plc (AIM: GFIN), a world-leading esports provider, announces it has signed a programmatic media buying agreement with in-game advertising firm Bidstack (AIM: BIDS.L) and leading global advertising technology platform, Venatus Media.  This partnership becomes effective from 1 April 2020 and has the potential to generate additional revenue from the Company's fast growing RealSport101 and Gfinityesports web platforms.

The three-way partnership will see Bidstack and Venatus work together to sell advertising space on Gfinity's web platforms, connecting publishers and large-scale brands with gamers and esports enthusiasts. The solutions that will be offered include programmatic advertising, bespoke video and audio-based promotions and brand site takeovers, significantly increasing the opportunity for additional revenues to be generated.

Gfinity's web platforms include Gfinityesports and Realsports101.  In the last six months, traffic to these websites has grown exponentially, with visits to Realsport101 currently up 400% from two million views per month in April 2019 to nearly nine million per month in February 2020, while Gfinityesports is currently up from 14,000 monthly views since April 2019 to nearly seven million views this month. 

In addition, Gfinity recently launched a third website, Stealth Optional, a tech site dedicated to news, reviews and features relating to the latest technology and gaming peripherals.  This website is also included in this strategic partnership.

John Clarke, CEO, Gfinity said: "The demand for gaming related content has never been greater and gamers are choosing to visit Gfinity sites en-masse. This is creating increased commercial opportunities. Through partnering with industry leaders Bidstack and Venatus, we have the ability to connect our growing audience with leading publishers and brands, paving the way for our Gfinity Community to deliver substantial, consistent and incremental revenue growth for the Company.  We are excited to be partnering with Bidstack and Venatus and look forward to working with them to deliver unique esports solutions for our partners."

Francesco Petruzzelli, CTO, Bidstack said : "We are delighted to have partnered with Gfinity and Venatus on this, who are leading names in advertising and esports respectively.  We have been working towards creating new touch points for our clients for some time and this partnership opens the door to a growing, diverse and highly engaged audience. We look forward to building on this strategic partnership to deliver the best experience possible for gamers and for our clients."

Robert Gay, CEO, Venatus Media said: "Venatus is thrilled to be partnering with Gfinity Esports, working across their RealSport 101, Gfinity Esports and Stealth Optional sites. Gfinity is the go-to brand for all things esports, and it's a privilege to welcome them to the Venatus portfolio. We work with the biggest names in gaming and entertainment, making Gfinity the perfect fit for our advertisers. We look forward to introducing our clients to this valuable esports audience. Gaming helps us escape from reality, and in times like these, we need it more than ever. We look forward to working with Gfinity to support the growth of gaming and esports."

ENDS

Enquiries

John Clarke, Gfinity	[e-mail]
Camilla Cunningham, Teneo (media)	[phone]
Jeremy Porter, Allenby Capital (Broker and Nominated Adviser)	[phone]

About Gfinity

Gfinity is a world leading esports business. Created by gamers for the world's 2.2 billion gamers, Gfinity has a unique understanding of this fast-growing global community.  It uses this expertise to provide both advisory services and to design, develop and deliver unparalleled experiences and winning strategies for game publishers, sports rights holders, commercial partners and media companies.

Gfinity connects its partners with the esports community in authentic and innovative ways. This consists of on and off-line competitions and industry leading content production. Partnerships include EA SPORTS, Activision Blizzard, F1 Esports Series and the Forza Racing Championship.

Gfinity connects directly with competitive gaming consumers through its growing community of gamers and its owned competition platform, the "Gfinity Elite Series".

All Gfinity services are underpinned by the Company's proprietary technology platform delivering a level playing field for all competitors and supporting scalable multi-format leagues, ladders and knock out competitions.

About Bidstack

Specialists in native in-game, Bidstack are redefining immersive advertising in the gaming space. Bidstack bridge the gap between gamers, game developers and advertisers by enhancing the gaming experience with rich, real world advertising. They deliver targeted, native in-game ads to gamers globally - across multiple platforms.

Bidstack are the first company to develop technology that allows adverts to be served programmatically into natural spaces within video games. They are creating an entirely new ad category and are at the forefront of engendering change in the advertising industry.

About Venatus

Venatus is a global advertising technology platform, focused on gaming and entertainment. 

Co-founded by Robert Gay and Matt Cannon in 2010, Venatus was created to provide advertisers with direct access to gaming audiences. As the gaming ecosystem expanded, Venatus has remained at the forefront of the industry, gaining unique access to gaming and esports publishers for global brands. 

Venatus exclusively represents the direct and programmatic ad sales for over 600 publishers, including Rovio, EA, Rolling Stone, OP.GG, What Culture and FUTBIN. Supported by in-house sales teams delivering award-winning creative campaigns for the likes of Unilever, BBC, Universal, Hasbro, Activision and Intel.

Now in its 10th year of business, Venatus has offices in London, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney and Seoul.

 

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