The gaming industry is booming and rapidly becoming the world’s favourite form of entertainment. Advertisers are eager to tap into this lucrative market, and we at DMS are excited to be at the forefront of this innovation.
In a recent interview, Ziad Khammar, DMS’ COO, and Wilfrid Obeng, Co-Founder & CTO of Audiomob announced and discussed their companies’ new partnership and how the collaboration is focused on delivering innovation and accessibility to regional advertisers, enabling them to better tap into this high potential market space.
WHAT WERE THE KEY FACTORS THAT MADE THIS A GOOD FIT FOR AUDIOMOB?
Wilfrid Obeng: MENA is a crucial market with a diverse audience with over 377 million gamers. This made partnering with a company that has a long track record of supporting innovative technology a vital step for us in establishing ourselves in the region. DMS has helped scale monetization of one of the largest music streaming platforms in MENA, Anghami, and we’re confident that they will do the same
for us.
WHAT MAKES AUIDOMOB’S AD SOLUTION STAND OUT?
Wilfrid Obeng: In advertising, brand recall and engagement are two of the most important factors for growth. Especially as digital audio revenues are expected to increase by 19.8 per cent (CAGR) in MENA between 2019 and 2024 (PWC).
Our patented technology not only ensures that ads are delivered to users without disrupting their experience but that the user’s device is at a certain volume before the ad plays. By partnering with DMS we can offer an even better experience to users and reach a wider audience than current audio mediums.
WHY IS AUDIOMOB A GOOD CHANNEL FOR ADVERTISERS?
Wilfrid Obeng: We’re witnessing a rapid expansion of the MENA game industry. Advertising partners such as DMS and regional government bodies are fully embracing the medium. This is why we partnered with AD Gaming, the region’s leading body driving growth in the game industry, and why we opened an office in Abu Dhabi. As new games and experiences emerge from talented game studios in the region, advertisers will have better opportunities to deliver more relevant ads. Audio is one of the fastest growing ad formats offering advertisers a non-intrusive and highly attentive option to reaching their desired target audience.
WHAT UNIQUE CAPABILITIES DOES THE PARTNERSHIP BRING?
Ziad Khammar: At DMS, one of the most important areas which we look at, especially in our partners is innovation and their long-term vision. Audiomob, led by its co-founders Christian and Wilfrid, delivers both in abundance, with its clear vision and capability to effectively disrupt the mobile gaming space. Consumers are already loving Audiomob’s innovative audio mobile gaming ad format, which makes it a compelling complement to our portfolio and DMS’s overall market-leading audio advertising proposition.
HOW DOES YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH AUDIOMOB ENABLE YOU TO BETTER TAP INTO THIS MARKET?
Ziad Khammar: Reed Hastings, Netflix’ CEO has stated that they count gaming as a direct entertainment competitor to Netflix. This stamps the arrival of mobile gaming as an everyday routine and core media channel for many consumers. With tens of millions of mobile gamers across the Arab World, Audiomob has created an innovative format that will resonate with both, gamers and advertisers, as it carries the dual benefit of being highly attentive, but less intrusive.
WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DO YOU ANTICIPATE FOR BRANDS IN THE MENA REGION?
Ziad Khammar: Today’s consumers have spoken, and they are saying that gaming delivers the ideal mix of entertainment, social engagement and connectivity, signaling that it is here to stay. Brands and consumers need to engage in virtual environments but in a way that is native to the environment. With audio advertising having already successfully made inroads and integrated well into podcasting and music apps, Audiomob’s audio format becomes the first of many innovations that will continue to attract brands to invest more in gaming.
