New recruits set to spearhead in-game advertising growth

Author: IGA Worldwide

March 2, 2006

IGA Worldwide Inc. has announced the appointment of its former VP Publishing and company co-founder Ed Bartlett as its VP Europe. Bartlett, who has over 12 years experience in the interactive entertainment sector, and previously founded the world's first in-game ad agency Hive Partners before its acquisition by IGA, will assume responsibility for expanding operations across Europe.

Meanwhile three new director-level employees have joined the company to build on its recent success. The in-game advertising specialist is anticipating a surge in advertisers' adoption of innovative media as response to traditional advertising continues to wane.

Tom Hosking assumes the role of European Media Director. In the last ten years he has worked both within the media agency area including positions at Carat, Walker Media and CIA, and also in media sales. He was most recently Group Head at Express Newspapers.

Having handled over £25 million of media spend across large media groups such as ZenithOptimedia, OMD and Starcom, Hosking will be responsible for coordinating IGA's media sales across all major European territories.

"The industry is really taking off," said Hosking. "As more advertisers such as T-Mobile, Orange and Ben Sherman experience the unique opportunities and effectiveness of in-game advertising we'll see an exponential growth in this new ad medium."

IGA Worldwide's appointment of Rob Precious to the role of Director of Publishing brings over ten years of experience in account management. Five of these years were spent in the interactive entertainment sector where he established the 'Renderware' game middleware solution as market leader before its recent acquisition by publishing giant Electronic Arts. Precious will be managing the company's collaborations with game developers and publishers, including the intake of new titles into IGA's proprietary Radial ad network.

Julian Ireland has joined the company as European Communications Director of Hive Partners, IGA's wholly-owned communications consultancy. Also from a strong media planning and buying background, Ireland was previously Communications Director and Member of the Board at entertainment specialist Target Media. Most recently he founded 'Eyeball' - a strategic planning initiative for Target and NMI.

A veteran of the entertainment media marketplace, Ireland has worked on campaigns for Sony Playstation, Sega Europe and Future Publishing.

"As continued technological innovation continues to provide increased media choice for an on-demand consumer, traditional media such as TV are suffering from fragmenting audiences and reduced effectiveness," commented Ireland.

"Modern consumers are media-savvy and understand how to 'pull' their media and entertainment. The emergence of in-game advertising represents the cutting edge of this 21st century evolution of digital media. The ability to weave brands into the gameplay experience with contextual and photorealistic relevance is exclusive to this exciting new media space."

Finally, the company has also appointed Andre Sonder as New Business Development Manager for the company's Berlin office.

Commenting on IGA's ongoing recruitment drive, Ed Bartlett said: "The appointment of such high-calibre talent on the heels of our recent investment round represents another milestone for the company. The arrival of these experts to the team and their recognition of what we do is a fantastic endorsement of the industry and our leading position within it."

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NOTES TO EDITORS

About IGA Worldwide, Inc. (www.igaworldwide.com)

IGA Worldwide, Inc. is the global leader in unique 360-degree in-game advertising solutions, helping brands to understand and exploit the rich and diverse opportunities available now and in the future. Its proprietary ad serving network, Radial, enables advertisers to target millions of engaged consumers across a wide range of platforms and genres whilst they play.

It also provides strategic consulting services including integrated product placement and co-promotion through its wholly-owned communications consultancy, Hive Partners. Headquartered in New York with offices in London and Berlin, the group is backed by Easton Capital Group, Morgenthaler Ventures and DN Capital.

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