Bidstack

Overview

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 end 2021, 70 brands across 30 markets were using Bidstack’s platform including Doritos, MG, Unilever, Subway, and Paco Rabbane. 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, the firm entered into a 3-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.

Funding and financials

Bidstack was listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market in November 2017. Since then, the firm has raised additional funding in a series of post-IPO share issues, the most recent being in July 2021, where the firm raised GBP 10.9 million (~USD 13.6 million). The funding was used to develop its in-menu ad format launched in October 2021, which allows brands to deliver integrated ads into game menus, user interfaces, and loading screens across mobile games. In October 2022, Bidstack r aised GBP 10 million (~USD 11.2 million) in a new equity issue from Irdeto, a cybersecurity firm to develop a platform to allow users who hold commercial rights to have direct control of the ad content that appears in their intellectual property as well as accelerate its expansion to the US.

In 2021, Bidstack achieved a 55% YoY revenue growth amounting to GBP 2.6 million (~USD 3.2 million). The firms had also secured a two-year guaranteed revenue deal beginning in March 2022 worth USD 30 million. While the management did not disclose any specific targets, analysts expect Bidstack to achieve a revenue of GBP 8.9 million in 2022 (~USD 10.9 million), a growth of 242.3% YoY.