• by Colin Kirkland , Yesterday

In a continued effort to scale its ad business across Europe, Overwolf -- a third-party in-game player companion platform -- has hired Activision Blizzard’s former Group Director of Agency Partnerships Adam Davis as director of brand partnerships. 

With its ad platform reaching over 100 million gamers a month on Minecraft, Fortnite and premium console titles, Overwolf has attracted big-name brands and agencies over the past year, including Armani, Lancôme, Verizon, Pepsico, Amazon, Publicis, Havas, dentsu, Wavemaker, Mediacom and more.

Overwolf has carved out a niche for brands trying to reach gamers by running unobtrusive ads while players are actively gaming.

“We’re the gamers’ companions, allowing them to play better, win and better enjoy their games from the product-side. From the brand-side, these apps basically allow us to reach and serve media,” Noam Korin, Overwolf’s vice president of brand partnerships, told MediaPostlast year.

Since then, Comscore has ranked Overwolf as the second-largest U.S. gaming property in terms of reach. Now, the company is attempting to boost its ad offerings in Europe, having already gained momentum in Germany, France and the U.K., growing its EU revenue 385% year-over-year.

Davis is expected to help support Overwolf’s continued growth in the region and its mission to help brands engage with hard-to-reach gamers directly during gameplay, the company says.

Prior to joining Overwolf’s European team, David has specialized in video advertising across both gaming and traditional publisher environments, helping bring XboX’s new ad offering to market at Activision. 

“Gaming is reshaping modern entertainment,” Davis says. “More brands than ever are looking to gaming to accelerate their marketing efforts, but one consistent challenge is accessing top-tier titles at scale.”

“As our European growth gains momentum, Adam’s leadership and prior experience at Activision will be instrumental in scaling Overwolf’s presence and bringing more brands into the worlds where gamers play,” adds Uri Marchand, CEO of Overwolf.