Bidstack in demand as home working sparks surge in video game playing

What it does

Bidstack Group PLC (LON:BIDS) bridges the gap between gamers, game developers, and advertisers by enhancing the experience with rich, real-world advertising inserted into the games.

How it’s doing

In a trading update in mid-December, the company said it is on track to “exceed market expectations” for revenues in its full year as its said demand from advertisers has “significantly increased” in the second half of 2020.

Bidstack also said it is working closely with leading international advertising agencies and brands, with briefs received by the company evolving from test spend to being “on plan” as advertisers try to reach the growing audience of video gamers.

The firm is also making progress with its relationships in the industry, revealing in September that it has signed an exclusive deal with top tier games studio Ubisoft to deliver native in-game advertising into the Hyper Scape game.

Hyper Scape is Ubisoft’s free-to-play, urban battle royale game, with a game mode style like Fortnite. It was launched in mid-August.

Chief executive James Draper noted that Ubisoft has become a close partner of the company. Other Ubisoft games, which aren’t attached to today’s deal, include the Tom Clancy franchise of games titles, Watch Dogs, Just Dance, Assassins Creed, and Far Cry.

Landing deals like this is part of Bidstack’s stated strategy of focussing new business efforts towards the leading video games developers and publishers to incorporate Bidstack’s proprietary technology into their games.

What the boss says: James Draper, chief executive

“In the second half of 2020 we have been conducting our work with quiet efficiency. Over that period we have seen a step change in interest from brands wanting to activate within gaming. We are witnessing average order values increasing significantly and experiencing advertising agencies now including in-game advertising as a component in large media plans. We believe this is a meaningful shift from where the market was 12 months ago. In addition Bidstack is considering a number of new commercial opportunities where our technical offering and insight may be of interest to some global technology led companies.”

“We are at the beginning of a new industry, where brands will continue to explore and invest in ways to activate and protect their IP in and around interactive entertainment. The diligent work of our growing team, the knowledge we have accumulated and the demonstrable acceleration of revenue being run through our products put Bidstack in a strong position to capitalise on this growth.”