WPP puts money behind in-game advertising platform Anzu

WPP has its sights on the $43 billion gaming industry, backing Anzu.io, a platform that programmatically deploys personalized ads to video game users.

Anzu has raised US$6.5 million in Series A funding, led by BITKRAFT Esports Ventures, with help from WPP and Axel Springer Digital Ventures, the VC arm of the media and technology company Axel Springer. One of Anzu and it's backers’ goals is to attract big brands to spend in Xbox, PlayStation, PC and mobile-gaming environments.

Through Anzu’s programmatic technology and use of real-time data, the platform can serve up digital ads to gamers in a seamless, hyper-targeted way. To ensure safety, Anzu recently partnered with CHEQ, an ad-verification and fraud-prevention platform.

"I am thrilled to build a strategic partnership with BITKRAFT, WPP and Axel Springer Digital Ventures to further our mission to be at the forefront of ad tech innovation," said Itamar Benedy, Anzu’s co-founder and CEO, in a statement.

He added: "We will continue to push the boundaries of the advertising world as we apply the time-tested ad tactics used in the physical world to the gaming and e-sports industries to transform them into a premium revenue engine while enabling marketers to tap into pop culture through games."