Venatus partners with PlayerWON™ to offer full-screen, in-game sponsored video

Venatus, the global advertising technology platform focused on gaming and entertainment, has partnered with PlayerWON, the first engagement and monetization platform to reach and reward Free to Play (F2P) PC and console gamers. Through this partnership, Venatus will work with PlayerWON, a division of Simulmedia, Inc., to help brands access highly sought-after gaming audiences through premium, full-screen and player-controlled video campaigns.

 PlayerWON enhances the playing experience for gamers by providing them with opportunities to earn valuable in-game rewards while driving engagement, retention, lifetime value and additional revenue for publishers and developers. For advertisers, PlayerWON is the only viable means to reach highly valuable but otherwise extremely elusive audiences inside games and reward them for viewing sponsored video messaging.

 This partnership has further bolstered Venatus' extensive gaming and entertainment portfolio, which has grown significantly over the last year into an all-encompassing platform for publishers, brands and agencies alike. Commenting on the PlayerWON partnership, Dave Madden, President of PlayerWON said, "We're excited to partner with Venatus in PlayerWON's mission to enrich the gaming experience for players and publishers worldwide while helping brands reach highly discerning and otherwise unreachable audiences".

 Rob Gay, CEO, Venatus, adds, "We are thrilled to be working with the PlayerWON team to add these full-screen video experiences to our gaming portfolio. We are delighted to be able to drive results for our clients while adding to the gaming experience for players and driving revenue for game developers."

 Venatus has worked with the media agency Essence to bring Bulldog Skincare, the experts in men's skincare, on as the pioneering brand to test the platform. Bulldog will be promoting their award-winning skincare and razors. The campaign will run across several large F2P gaming titles, reaching Bulldog's core audience of males aged 25-44 years. As audiences consume less traditional media such as TV, gaming offers premium marketing experiences allowing marketers to engage with those hard-to-reach audiences.

 Commenting on the upcoming campaign, James Barnes, Head of Marketing, Bulldog Skincare, said, "We're thrilled to be testing out this brand-new format, one we believe can help us reach even more men and introduce them to Bulldog's quality grooming products in an authentic and playful way."

 Nisha Devshi, Senior Media Planning Executive, Essence Global, added, "This exciting format is exactly the kind of innovative media that we were searching for to support the strategy behind Bulldog's first gaming-focused campaign. Additionally, Venatus' credible inventory gives us confidence that we will be reaching a wide range of gamers with formats that authentically deliver the brand message."

 The Bulldog campaign launches this week, running until October 2021.