Anzu gets patent for tracking ad viewability in 3D environments

Anzu.io, an in-game ad company, said it has been granted a patent for its ad tracking technology which measures viewability in 3D environments.

The technology works across multiple gaming platforms, including consoles. Anzu has a platform for tracking whether players see ads in in-game campaigns. The patent and Anzu’s technology are also compliant with the updated MRC and Internet Advertising Bureau intrinsic in-game advertising guidelines.

The patent deals with a new mechanism for determining the viewability score of objects displayed on a screen, the key building blocks for intrinsic in-game ad measurement. Anzu’s 3D ad tracking engine measures intrinsic ads in dynamic gaming environments across all major platforms and devices multiple times per second using a combination of mathematical and geometrical calculations and physics.

In a video, Anzu showed how a truck inside a game might block a player’s view of a billboard with an ad. In that case, the view will not be counted as a valid impression.

In addition to measuring viewable impressions and other standard MRC metrics, the 3D ad tracking engine collects unique data points about intrinsic in-game ad placements and their lifecycle, including average screen coverage, occlusions, virtual world position, and orientation in relation to user view. This data is combined with conversion and session data to create robust data models, used to help optimize the delivery of campaigns and provide media value to advertisers.

Ben Fenster, chief product officer at Anzu, said in a statement, “We started developing our ad tracking engine over five years ago. We’ve continued to enhance and invest in it, as we understand that for Anzu to succeed and for gaming to become a recognized advertising category, advertisers need an efficient and transparent way of measuring intrinsic ads, as well as a means of comparing them with common ad formats. This technology is highly significant because it provides advertisers with an efficient way to calculate viewable impressions in compliance with the new guidelines while meeting the stringent technical requirements of triple-A game publishers.”

The granted patent 11,260,299, named “An Object Viewability Determination System and Method,” is part of Anzu’s drive to improve viewability, attention metrics, and data available to advertisers when running in-game ads. Anzu has several more patents pending approval.

Thanks to partnerships with IAS and Oracle Moat, both providers can measure the data gathered from Anzu’s patented tech in real-time, efficiently giving brands third-party measured data across platforms.

“Marketers are increasing their gaming ad spend as the medium continues to grow and reach new audiences,” said Tom Sharma, chief product officer of IAS, in a statement. “Our work with Anzu delivers in-game measurement and transparency to marketers investing in this burgeoning space, equipping advertisers with a clearer picture of the quality of their media and positioning the medium for even greater expansion in 2023.”

Backed by WPP, Sony Innovation Fund, NBCUniversal, HTC, Bitkraft, and other investors, Anzu has raised $37 million.

Originally appeared on: TheSpuzz