AdColony, the in-app marketplace for brands, with a focus on gaming, has signed an exclusive partnership with global in-game advertising platform, Anzu.

AdColony will now offer Anzu’s blended in-game advertising solutions across both display and video to brands and agencies in Australia and New Zealand.

In-game advertising platform Anzu blends real-world brand ads into gameplay across PC, console, and mobile games, while offering advertisers ad viewability and programmatic capabilities.

Holding group WPP was one of the company's first backers in its series A funding round, injecting $6.5m and taking a 10% stake.

Additionally, Anzu brings a suite of industry tools, including campaign effectiveness measurement in partnership with Nielsen Connectivity, fraud prevention in partnership with Forensiq, ad verification in partnership with Cheq, and more. Anzu has opened up new ways for brands to reach gamers globally by making gaming and esports more accessible.

Thanks to the partnership between AdColony and Anzu, brands in Australia and the rest of the region will be able to generate deeper levels of engagement with audiences through advertising games.

More than 15 million Australians are gamers and 57 per cent now play games daily on their mobiles. Furthermore, 67 per cent of Australians have claimed to play more games since the COVID-19 outbreak.

"Through Anzu’s technology, brands can now deploy blended in-game ads programmatically while measuring viewability and ad effectiveness in in-game environments," Lance Traore, Country Manager of AdColony in Australia and New Zealand says.

"With gaming already being the number one digital entertainment activity in Australia, AdColony together with Anzu offer a unique opportunity for brands to connect with consumers seamlessly in and around their favourite games”