SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 31, 2014) - RockYou , a media publisher focused on in-game ad monetization, today announced it has secured $10M in additional financing from FastPay , the definitive financial platform for digital media. RockYou will use the new funding primarily to acquire new online, social and mobile titles, expanding its video ad inventory for brands like Universal, eHarmony and P&G that today turn to RockYou to reach its user base of 75M engaged players.
In addition to today's funding, RockYou also announced it has grown revenues by 250 percent year over year. Growth has primarily been driven through the acquisition and monetization of 12 new owned and operated titles from publishers such as Disney Interactive and 50 Cubes, including popular hits like Words of Wonder, Gardens of Time and City Girl. It has also grown impressions for its owned and operated titles by a factor of 10, with between 300MM and 500MM total monthly impressions each month -- and use on par with Hulu, according to comScore.
"Brands are realizing that gaming audiences are extraordinarily more engaged compared to practically all other mediums," said Lisa Marino, CEO of RockYou. "Today's funding will help us continue to grow our premium game inventory, thereby giving brands an even more powerful way to reach the players that will be most receptive to their products -- all programmatically."
"We've worked with RockYou over the last year on the financing of several strategic game acquisitions, and we're thrilled to extend this relationship by issuing a facility that accommodates their impressive trajectory," said Jed Simon, founder and CEO of FastPay. "The growth potential for in-game advertising is enormous. RockYou's growing video ad inventory puts it in a very unique position in the market, and one that's proving to be very attractive for large brands."
By bringing together its private marketplace, greater than standard transparency, and ability to manage a game's programmatic video ads across titles, platforms and demand partners, RockYou is well-positioned to lead a growing industry. According to a recent report from Business Insider Intelligence, programmatic and real-time bidding will comprise $18.2 billion of U.S. digital ad revenues in 2018, rising from just $3.1 billion in 2013, with video advertising being one of the key growth drivers. Further, according to report from Gartner, overall mobile advertising will reach $42B by 2017.
About RockYou Founded in 2006, RockYou is a media publisher focused on in-game ad monetization, connecting brands to millions of highly motivated consumers while helping game publishers grow their revenue. The San Francisco-based company has been profitable since 2013, and currently delivers up to 500 million monthly ad impressions to its partner network. Learn more at: www.rockyou.com .
About FastPay Founded in 2009, with offices in Los Angeles and New York, FastPay provides liquidity and financial workflow solutions to the booming digital media industry. Through FastPay's proprietary technology platform, they can dynamically assess the creditworthiness of digital businesses and provide loans in real-time. Since inception, FastPay has originated over $350 million in loans across thousands of publishers, networks, exchanges, DSPs, SSPs, agencies and app developers. Learn more at: www.gofastpay.com .
Media Contacts Amy Ziari & Vanessa Camones theMIX agency for RockYou Email Contact Scott Nelson FastPay Email Contact
