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Gamasutra Parent Acquires Game Advertising Online Network
by Staff [PC, Console/PC]
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February 23, 2010
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The UBM TechWeb Game Network -- the organizers behind the Game Developers Conferences, the double Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com website, and Game Developer magazine -- has announced a key acquisition expanding its services to game creators and gaming website publishers in the form of online game advertising network Game Advertising Online (GAO).
The ad network, which has been running since 2006, now reaches 50 million unique worldwide viewers and serves more than two billion ad impressions a month, according to Quantcast-compiled data.
GAO is a Top 150 Quantcast network that is already a major choice for a number of leading free-to-play online game creators, thanks to its formidable reach and leading tools to track cost per click (CPC), cost per acquisition (CPA) and return on investment across each of the network's video game-related and entertainment websites.
The network 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.
Game Advertising Online's 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 (formerly the Think Services Game Group). "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. In particular, 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.
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