London, UK, 12 March, 2020 – MG Motor UK has become the first automotive manufacturer to champion in-game advertising in real time. Working with leading native in-game advertising provider Bidstack and digital marketing agency tmwi has allowed MG to feature in Codemaster’s iconic DiRT Rally 2.0. The move has helped the fast-growing UK automotive manufacturer to evolve its media strategy to increase brand awareness among a younger demographic, and reach an untapped audience.
The gaming industry has a huge audience, and is currently valued at $150bn worldwide – more than the film, video-on-demand and music industries combined – which makes it hugely attractive to brands. According to Superdata, a Nielsen company, video game content is the most important, and large, new media platform since social media, with 2.6bn people – one-third of the world’s population – spending an average of seven hours per week on video games.
Working together with Bidstack and Codemasters, tmwi and MG took advantage of their unique AAA gaming inventory, allowing MG Motors UK to reach an audience aligned with its target market, in this previously hard to target community. The interest in MG cars from younger age groups is on the rise, with the release of a range of new electric vehicles, such as the MG ZS EV, bolstering awareness from this demographic.
Independent agency tmwi has helped MG build its media plan and strengthen its position as the fastest growing automotive manufacturer in the UK. Insights gathered on the manufacturer’s audience by tmwi revealed its website visitors were active video gamers, further reinforcing the strategic media placement.
Codemasters is an award-winning British video game developer and publisher with over 30 years of heritage. The company specialises in high-quality racing games including DiRT, GRID, and the BAFTA award-winning official F1® series of video games. In 2019, F1® 2019 won Best Racing Game at the TIGA Games Industry Awards 2019, with GRID picking up Best Racing Game at the gamescom 2019 Awards.
Daniel Gregorious, Head of Sales and Marketing at MG Motor UK commented, “We’re always trying innovative methods to target new and existing MG customers. tmwi has helped us stay at the cutting edge of marketing technology and media techniques, implementing this project, as well as TV sync activity and utilising its audience refinery to help us discover more about, and continue to grow our customer-base. To be the first automotive manufacturer to be featured in a AAA title like DiRT Rally 2.0 via Bidstack’s technology is just one example of this.”
Chris Phillips, Managing Director of tmwi said, “We are very lucky to have a client like Daniel and his team at MG who trust us to push their brand in new ways. We have invested heavily in the area of AI and advertising technology in recent years, and the insights and results we are able to generate have been heightened significantly, as a result. Witnessing the growth of MG surge, thanks in part to our work, is excellent to see.”
James Draper, Bidstack CEO added, “The advertising industry is in a state of evolution, with the demand for new channels like in-game advertising, addressable TV and DOOH growing at a rapid rate. So when tmwi approached us with the opportunity to help MG on their journey to get in the game and reach a previously unreachable audience, we were more than happy to help.”
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About tmwi
tmwi is an independent digital marketing agency, pioneering the use of data and tech in delivering bespoke marketing, ecommerce and business solutions for market-leading national, global and EMENA clients.
The company focuses on delivering the best possible client KPIs, ROI and business objectives across fact-evolving online landscapes, impacting the entire customer journey.
Its specialist teams in London and the Midlands are uniquely skilled and experienced in integrating data benefits into marketing plans. tmwi works across audience segmentation and above-the-line media activity for programmatic, paid and organic search, as well as conversion rate optimisation / customer experience and web development. It builds replicable, scalable marketing plans and models.
For more information, please contact James Jeffrey, Group PR and Marketing Manager at tmwi via email at james.jeffrey@tmwi.co.uk or call 01789 404 180 ext (2301)
About MG Motors
The origins of MG brand heritage stretch back to 1923, long before the company was bought out by SAIC Motors in 2006.
About Bidstack
Specialists in native in-game, Bidstack are redefining immersive advertising in the gaming space. Bidstack bridge the gap between gamers, game developers and advertisers by enhancing the gaming experience with rich, real world advertising. We deliver targeted, native in-game ads to gamers globally – across multiple platforms (mobile, PC and console).
Bidstack are the first company to develop technology that allows adverts to be served programmatically into natural spaces within video games. They are creating an entirely new ad category and are at the forefront of engendering change in the advertising industry.
For more information about Bidstack, please contact Nadine Sanders (nadine.sanders@teamgingermay.com).
