The UBM TechWeb Game Network, a division of London-headquartered
United Business Media and the organizers behind the Game Developers
Conferences, the double Webby Award-winning Gamasutra website, and
the award-winning Game Developer magazine, has announced a key
acquisition expanding its services to game creators and gaming website
publishers, adding the online game advertising network Game Advertising
Online (GAO) to its portfolio.
The ad network, which has been running since 2006, now reaches
50 million unique viewers and serves more than two billion impressions a
month. GAO is a Top 150 Quantcast network that is already a major
choice for a number of leading free-to-play Massively Multiplayer Online game creators, thanks to its formidable reach and leading tools
to track cost per click, cost per acquisition and return on
investment across each of the network’s video game-related and
entertainment websites.
GAO is notable for its user friendly self-service interface
for advertisers to carefully manage their spend. Funds can be quickly
deposited via PayPal or bank wire and advertisers are able to easily
fine-tune their campaigns to pay only for placements that perform to
their requirements. GAO’s service provides a cost-effective mechanism
for online game firms to attract users to their games and monetize.
The ad network itself comprises a number of leading worldwide
game-related and entertainment websites, each receiving a robust
click-based return for banners served via the company’s proprietary ad
server and bidding-based advertising system. GAO enables publishers to
monetize their premium and/or remnant inventory with quality banner ads
that are highly targeted to their audience, producing high click-through
rates and enriching website content.
This acquisition is a reflection of UBM TechWeb’s commitment
to helping game creators maximize success in their business, making it
natural fit for the UBM division. Going forward, the company believes
that both the advertiser and publisher sides of the business will expand
due to consumer demand in the online game market. In particular, it
believes that a robust worldwide user acquisition pipeline is key to the
success of many online game businesses, from smaller indies through to
large multi-national online game firms.
"We’re truly delighted to announce this transformative
acquisition for the Group," said Simon Carless, Global Brand Director,
UBM TechWeb Game Network. "While we continue to operate our thriving
industry-leading products in the event, editorial website and magazine
spaces, we realized that game creators are looking for help beyond the
key information and networking that we are used to bringing them. GAO is
a natural evolution of our services to the game development community,
and we’re looking forward to seeing it thrive in the future."
"We are proud and excited to join the UBM TechWeb family,"
said Valera Koltsov, founder and Managing Director of Game Advertising
Online. "Becoming a part of UBM’s remarkable group of gaming industry
services is the key transition in the growth of our network. We look
forward to working with UBM and taking our scope and services to the
next level."
More information for social and MMO game companies who might
want to sign up as an advertiser for Game Advertising Online is
available at the official GAO website.
Game-related and entertainment websites with significant impression
numbers who are interested in signing up to be part of the GAO Network
should visit the same site for publisher application details.
