Bidstack

Bidstack, a UK-based AdTech company, specializes in in-game advertising (IGA), allowing banners and custom objects to be placed within a video game environment across mobile, PC, and console games. Its AdConsole IGA platform allows advertisers and brands to manage ad inventory, monitor campaign progress, and track key performance metrics in real time. The firm's platform supports static and dynamic IGA advertising suited for stadiums, racing, and open-world gaming environments. The ads can be inserted programmatically into mobile, PC, and console games. In January 2023, in partnership with SimWin Sports, the firm launched "Bidstack Sports," a dedicated sports ad division to expand its presence in virtual sports environments.  For game publishers, Bidstack claims to provide the only custom-built proprietary supply-side ad platform (SSP) that allows publishers to manage ad inventory and enter into direct commercial agreements with agencies and brands. 

An independent study by Lumen Research revealed that Bidstack’s ads had higher visibility and greater average time spent on ads compared to industry norms, leading to higher brand recall and revenue uplift.

   Key customers and partnerships

As of 2023, the platform served 200 million users across 30 markets using Bidstack’s platform including Doritos, MG, Unilever, Subway, and Paco Rabanne. The firm has also partnered with players in the esports industry including GIMA Esports and Norwich City FC to expand the potential reach of a brand's marketing campaigns. 

Through partnerships with game developers including Sir Studios, Stork Limited, Nautilus, and Highbrow Interactive, the firm has grown its portfolio of games that run Bidstack’s software developer kit (SDK), which as of April 2021 included ~100 titles. In February 2021, Bidstack entered into its first virtual reality (VR) partnership with Rezzil, a VR training platform for professional football teams.

The firm entered into several partnerships with AdTech firms to enhance its ad-measurement capabilities. These included a partnership with Pubguard, a self-service ad quality management platform that analyses and monitors ad impressions to identify and report bad ads. The firm has also partnered with media companies including Azerion, a digital entertainment platform, entering into a two-year exclusive partnership to promote Bidstack’s AdConsole globally as well as to adopt Bidstack’s SDK into Azerion’s 70+ portfolio of games. The firm had also entered into partnerships to expand its presence globally. This includes partnerships with MMP Worldwide (MMPWW) to grow its presence in the Middle East and the North African (MENA) region, UNICORN to expand its operations in Japan, TotallyAwesome to bring its IGA solution to the APAC youth, and AdScholars to tap into the Indian gaming market.  

In July 2022, in line with Bidstack’s objective to diversity its revenue streams, the firm entered into a three-year commercial partnership with an unnamed mobile marketing technology company to develop a white-label version of its IGA platform for distribution in the Asia-Pacific market. Bidstack stated that this is the first technology white-labeling deal for the firm and is expected to deliver a passive, recurring revenue stream.