News
IGA Worldwide Expands Global Footprint; Announces Exclusive Sales Capabilities in Australia and Canada
NEW YORK-(Business Wire)-May 15, 2007 - IGA Worldwide Inc., the largest independent in-game advertising network, today announced it has expanded its global footprint to include two exclusive sales partnerships in Australia and Canada. IGA will be working with Sensis, Australia's leading information resource and Access Marketing, an independent Canadian media company. This deal broadens IGA's global reach, while creating opportunities for local and regional advertisers in Australia and Canada to reach gamers in the highly targeted 18-34 demographic on IGA's worldwide network. As IGA expands its global footprint, the Company continues to stay on track to more than double its reach by the end of the year. IGA Worldwide presently generates over 200 million impressions per week for many of the world's leading brands.
The deals will see Sensis' digital advertising arm MediaSmart(R) representing IGA Worldwide's in-game advertising opportunities exclusively in the Australian market, through games inside of IGA's Radial Network. The partnership puts MediaSmart(R) in a strong position to capitalize on the distinctive in-game advertising channel which is poised for further growth in the Australian market and bound to play an influential role in future media buying. Sensis provides advertising services to thousands of leading Australian businesses and this partnership underscores the appeal of in-game ads as a way to reach consumers for businesses of any size.
Access Marketing will offer contextual in-game advertising and product placement opportunities to Access's clients.
"We are thrilled to add Sensis and Access Marketing as IGA Worldwide partners," said Justin Townsend, CEO, IGA Worldwide. "By expanding our business globally, we are now able to offer a full choice for our advertisers across all channels in the United States, Europe and now Australia and Canada."
Anthony Saines, Group Manager Sensis(R) Digital Marketing Services said, "With 79 percent of Australian households having a device for playing computer and video games,(1) the gaming audience cannot be ignored by the Australian advertising industry. With the average age of Australian gamers set at around 28, our partnership with IGA Worldwide allows MediaSmart to respond to more diverse media briefs and makes it easier for us to target the 'lost generation' of 18 to 30 year old males who are becoming more and more elusive to traditional media," he said.
IGA Worldwide is currently serving ads in more than 150 countries worldwide, reaching mostly the highly coveted 18-34 male audience but increasingly encompassing all demographics including both females and 'grey gamers'. IGA Worldwide remains committed to ensuring that all in-game advertising and brands are contextually incorporated in and around the game environments, and offers in-game advertising in a multitude of formats from video to outdoor-style billboards and even 3D geometry, as well as developing unique static integrations and product placements via Hive, its wholly owned subsidiary.
About Sensis MediaSmart(R)
Sensis is Australia's leading information resource. Sensis' popular information services make complex lives simpler by helping Australians find, buy and sell. These services include Yellow(TM), White Pages(R), Trading Post(R), CitySearch(R), UBD(R), Gregory's(R) and Whereis(R). Sensis provides advertising services to 420,000 Australian businesses, of which 90 per cent are small and medium enterprises.
Sensis MediaSmart(R) is a leading Australian digital media sales business, offering online, mobile and in-game advertising. MediaSmart(R) provides integrated media solutions across the digital spectrum, using world-class technology and infrastructure to deliver sophisticated targeting options.
About Access Marketing
Access Marketing was founded in 1998 specializing in non-traditional television media in Canada. Its focus is on developing effective and innovative broadcast communications strategies for clients and advertisers.
About IGA Worldwide Inc.
IGA Worldwide Inc. (www.igaworldwide.com) is the largest in-game advertising company with a proprietary ad serving network, delivering over 200 million impressions per week. The IGA Worldwide Radial network enables advertisers to target millions of engaged gamers across a wide range of platforms and genres. IGA Worldwide is currently serving ads in more than 150 countries worldwide and has delivered campaigns for diverse brands such as; 20th Century Fox, Ben Sherman, Discovery, FHM, Hawaiian Airlines, Intel, Jeep, MTV, and T-Mobile. IGA Worldwide also provides strategic consulting services including integrated product placement and promotion through Hive, its wholly-owned communications consultancy. Headquartered in New York with offices in London, Los Angeles and Berlin, the group is backed by Morgenthaler Ventures, Easton Capital Group, Intel Capital, and DN Capital.
(1) "Interactive Australia 2007", Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia, 2007.
