Chartboost is a mobile ad and monetization firm acquired by Zynga for $250 million.
Chartboost offers services such as mobile advertisements, analytics, and in-app monetization for mobile applications.
This article will overview Chartboost’s history, features, and services.
What is Chartboost?
Chartboost is a leading mobile ad and monetization platform that helps mobile game developers maximize their revenue and user engagement. Founded in 2011 and based in San Francisco, California, Chartboost’s mission is to help game developers build profitable mobile businesses worldwide. With a turnkey mobile game monetization solution, Chartboost can provide direct-sold ads into games using its proprietary mediation platform (Ad Manager), plus comprehensive analytics tools (Insights) that show developers how their users engage with their games. The company recently announced it was acquired by gaming giant Zynga for $250 million in cash and stock.
Chartboost’s monetization team comprises ad experts from some of the most successful gaming companies, such as Outfit7, Rovio Entertainment, SGN, EA Games, Playrix Entertainment and Zynga. As a result of this extensive experience in the gaming industry, Chartboost has developed extensive knowledge about running successful campaigns across any device or platform – including iOS and Android – and within the biggest markets worldwide. In addition to running top tier campaigns and helping devs maximize their revenue with direct sold media buys and proprietary audience targeting tools, Chartboost also offers services ranging from product management and analytics to marketing strategy consulting.
History of Chartboost
Chartboost is a mobile ad and monetization platform founded in 2011. Chartboost is focused on helping game developers increase their apps’ discoverability by providing tools such as advertising networks, publisher acquisition, mediation, and back-end analytics. In addition, this platform allows developers to benefit from user acquisition campaigns, monetizing from other apps, targeted user segmentation and native ads.
Chartboost was initially funded in 2011 by TransLink Capital and Sequoia Capital with $2.4 million. In 2012, Chartboost acquired the mobile game advertising network PlayHaven which helped strengthen their position in the industry. The company then received another round of investments worth $19 million from SK Telecom Ventures, Signal Fire and Northgate’s other existing investors in 2014.
In 2019 Zynga announced that it had agreed to acquire Chartboost for $250 million thus significantly increasing its presence within the mobile gaming industry. Following this acquisition Chartboost’s product will be made available across all current Zynga titles many of which were developed for its platform but will now be able to access monetization options on Chartboost’s performance ad network as well as various features such as analytics and backend optimization tools used for targeting relevant users tailored for each specific game title .
Chartboost Overview
Chartboost is a mobile ad and monetization platform that Zynga purchased for $250 million in 2020. Chartboost makes it easy for developers and publishers to use sophisticated algorithms to serve ads and monetize users. It provides a one-stop shop for building, monetizing, and optimizing mobile games and an API for programmatically serving ads.
Let’s look at the features that make Chartboost such an attractive acquisition for companies.
Chartboost Services
Chartboost is a leading monetization and mobile ad platform for apps and games. Chartboost’s services help game developers create, manage, and control their advertising strategies to maximize the potential value from their apps and games. In addition, their premium services enable developers to build relationships with advertisers and effectively target their campaigns.
Chartboost helps developers promote their products through in-app ad placements, video ads, cross-promotional deals, app icon interstitials, rich media banners, custom video creatives on major networks such as Google AdMob and Apple iAds, as well as direct publishing on Google Play Store. Developers can also subscribe to reports such as install rates or demographics charts to observe the performance of campaigns over time.
To maximize return on investment (ROI), Chartboost allows publishers to customize their revenue stream using one optimization algorithm that considers all clients’ revenue streams at once — creating a unified revenue definition across platforms. This ensures optimum performance when serving ads or pushing notifications targeting specific audiences that offer higher returns than others.
Chartboost’s suite of services offers invaluable insight into how players engage with published titles while providing features that create great opportunities for app monetization by developing profitable partnerships between advertisers and developers alike — all in one package. This is why Zynga recently agreed to buy this mobile advertising firm for $250 million to strengthen its advertising business.
Chartboost’s Platforms
Chartboost is an mobile monetization and ad-tech platform that enables app developers to trade ads and insights with one another. Chartboost was founded in 2011 by Maria Alegre, Sean Fannan, and Rachit Shukla. The company serves over 250,000 apps in more than 100 countries worldwide. In 2020, it was reported that Zynga had agreed to acquire Chartboost for $250 million.
Chartboost’s platform supports various initiatives from developers and publishers, such as user acquisition, re-engagement campaigns, interstitial ads which are full screen ads that transition between different sections of the app for mobile games, rewarded video ads with incentives like bonus points or extra lives when users watch a video advert until the end instead of clicking “skip”, banner ads which are low-impact visuals that appear in an otherwise unoccupied area of an app’s interface, cross-promotion on publisher networks so developers can boost their user base even faster within a network of related games, mediation modules to maximize yield per impression across numerous programmatic networks, data analytics so developers can understand performance metrics such as install attribution estimated revenue per install (e.g., CPI), user segmentation capabilities to be able to better target campaign segments including existing players who haven’t returned lately, A/B testing options through adjustable settings like different placements or types of creatives to determine which ones best generate return installs or purchases from users from various demographics, frequency capping technology used for limiting the delivery rate of advertisements plus assured ad quality checks through third party verification software for malware detection ensuring a safer experience for users.
Zynga agrees to buy mobile ad and monetization firm Chartboost for $250 million
In June, 2020, Zynga announced the acquisition of Chartboost, a mobile ad and monetization firm, for a reported $250 million.
This acquisition is a big move for Zynga, who have been looking to expand their operations in the mobile gaming sector. Chartboost’s ad and monetization technologies will benefit Zynga’s existing mobile business operations.
Let’s look at the details of this acquisition and the implications for Zynga.
Reasons for the Acquisition
In December 2020, Zynga announced it had reached a deal to buy mobile ad and monetization firm Chartboost for $250 million. The acquisition provides a new platform that allows Zynga to extend its products across the mobile games and apps market and directly tap into revenue opportunities provided by advertising.
Chartboost was founded in 2011, and is best known for developing technology that enables app developers to divide their apps into smaller segments within each game or app’s programing – necessary for highly-targeted ad campaigns. For example, through Chartboost, Zynga can access more detailed user data analytics from ads running on its platform.
The acquisition of Chartboost could help Zynga boost its revenues significantly in 2021, with industry analysis predicting the global game market will grow to $209 billion in 2021 due to an increase in smartphone ownership and adoption in developing markets. Further advantages of acquiring Chartboost include:
- Direct access to publishers.
- A large network of advertisers across multiple industries.
- An extensive catalog of premium advertising products such as rewarded video and interstitials.
Benefits of the Acquisition
The acquisition of Chartboost by Zynga presents several potential benefits for the leading gaming company. As one of the world’s top mobile advertising and monetization companies, Chartboost can help Zynga tap into its vast portfolio of games and customers to enhance its monetization model. In addition, by combining Chartboost’s advanced ad targeting technology with its preexisting marketing tools, Zynga will likely see an increase in revenue from games that use it more efficiently.
In addition, with its highly scalable platform, Chartboost can provide easy access to more than two billion monthly users across a network of over 700,000 apps. This provides Zynga with a much bigger user base and new opportunities for advertising-driven revenue growth. Through this acquisition, Zynga will also gain access to best practices from Chartboost’s teams on running successful ad campaigns on their platform and effective tips on maximizing the impact of their ads.
Finally, by leveraging this large user base, solid marketing infrastructure, and advanced ad tech capabilities Chartboost brings with it through this acquisition—as well as leveraging long-standing relationships that exist between both companies—Zynga aims to become one of the top strategic players in premium mobile gaming and engagement platforms around the globe.
Impact of the Acquisition
On April 14, 2021, Zynga agreed to acquire mobile ad and monetization firm Chartboost for $250 million. This acquisition will have far-reaching implications for the mobile advertising landscape, as Zynga’s resources and user base have the potential to reshape the mobile advertising industry.
In this article, we’ll look at the impact of the acquisition on mobile advertising and monetization.
Impact on the Mobile Advertising Market
The acquisition of mobile ad and monetization company Chartboost by Zynga for $250 million is a major indicator of the power of mobile advertising. The deal gives Zynga access to an experienced team of executives at Chartboost and their valuable engagement and monetization resources, helping strengthen the gaming giant’s foothold in the growing mobile advertising market.
Mobile advertising revenues are estimated to grow from $30 billion in 2017 to an expected $50 billion by 2020. Driven by the increase in popularity of smartphones and tablets and new digital platforms, companies have been ramping up their investments in mobile technology with both large established firms and smaller independent developers investing more in creating personalized experiences that draw users in. Such personalization has been predicted to drive higher revenues for companies, creating more opportunities for mobile ad giants such as chartboost and its competitors Google’s Adwords, Facebook’s Audience Network, Applovin’s Native Advertising Platform or even Twitter’s MoPub platform that offer similar services.
The acquisition of chartboost by Zynga is yet another glaring example of how big companies are growing more aggressive in their efforts to dominate the rapidly growing mobile advertising space. It provides additional proof that these firms are pursuing a huge growth opportunity to provide value-added services like targeting analytics while leveraging existing data pools on consumers’ Smartphones/Tablets and other Web connected devices such as game consoles. The partnership is one more move towards increasing competition between existing market players while potentially introducing new ones seeking to capture shares within this lucrative space.
Impact on Zynga
The acquisition of Chartboost by Zynga has been a major development in the mobile gaming industry. The fact that Zynga, one of the world’s largest mobile game companies, is purchasing an ad and monetization company sets itself apart as a sign of how big the mobile space has grown and how much potential it holds. As a result of this acquisition, Zynga will gain access to powerful tools and technologies that can help it increase its revenue from in-game advertising on mobile devices. Furthermore, Chartboost’s internal team will now be able to leverage their expertise in building robust platforms for the company’s various product offerings.
Apart from gaining innovative technology, the acquisition also allows for better market gratification for Zynga and Chartboost users through increased strategic performance. The transaction further reinforces why companies increasingly rely on creating deeper partnerships at multiple stages within their operating cycle before making large investments such as acquisitions. By creating joint ventures with smaller firms or larger competitors, companies can position themselves to achieve higher returns from their activities in the latest technologies this rapidly changing space has created.
As a result of this impressive purchase, investors have become even more bullish about Zynga’s prospects as a leader in mobile gaming solutions, creating an optimistic outlook regarding its long-term success within the industry.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Chartboost is a mobile ad and monetization firm, founded in 2011. It offers a suite of products for publishers, allowing them to cross-promote their titles and monetize other apps from partners.
With Zynga’s purchase of this company for $250 million in 2020, it cemented itself among the top mobile ad companies in the industry. Moreover, it put itself in prime position to grow its reach even further.
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tags = Zynga, monetization firm Chartboost, $250 million in cash, Chartboost’s advertising partners, zynga chartboost 700m zynga idfatakahashiventurebeat, full-stack advertising technology
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