IGN Acquires Global Strategic Partnerships And Innovation Agency 1TwentyFour
/IGN Acquires Global Strategic Partnerships And Innovation Agency 1TwentyFour To Expand Its Media Offering Across The Company’s Portfolio Servicing More Than 100 Countries and 250 Million Monthly Users Around the World
New integrated agency grounded in storytelling and data-rich insights is part of an aggressive agenda to translate innovative partnerships into profitable growth across a diverse portfolio of clients on over 35 platforms
1TwentyFour Co-Founder Karl Stewart Begins New Remit as Senior Vice President
Los Angeles, CA, October 11, 2022 - Online media giant IGN, a world leader in games and entertainment media, has acquired global independent strategic partnerships agency 1TwentyFour. The acquisition will allow the world’s premier brands, studios and storytellers to connect with millions of fans across more than 100 countries and 250 million monthly users around the world on over 35 platforms. Established in 2017, Los Angeles based agency 1TwentyFour will operate as a stand alone division within IGN. Co-Founder Karl Stewart will serve as Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Innovation and will continue to lead 1TwentyFour. Stewart will report to Yael Prough, Executive Vice President and General Manager, IGN. In his new remit, Stewart will work across the entire IGN organization to establish and develop strategic partnerships and business offerings for new and existing film, television, gaming entertainment, QSR, CPG, automobile and technology clients across eCommerce, media, social engagement and WEB3. The acquisition is a forward-thinking business decision for both companies, allowing them to leverage their shared resources and strengthen their service offering to clients. Stewart begins his new post, effective immediately. He is based in San Francisco.
“1TwentyFour is an incredible agency that is founded in relationship building, trust and storytelling across the entire entertainment industry,” said Prough. “I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with Karl for over a decade both on the client and agency side across film, television and gaming. I’ve seen first hand, their passion and commitment for innovation across multiple campaigns for clients including HBOMax, Marvel’s Avengers’ and Netflix. Our combined vision is for 1TwentyFour to continue supporting and growing their current portfolio with full access to our reach and data while also bringing their services into the mix across the entire IGN portfolio to support the ongoing growth of the business. I truly believe our two companies will bring the industry a new and unparalleled combination of services in today's evolving media market.”
“As the gaming, film and TV landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace, marketing and media teams are eager to develop ground-breaking and innovative campaigns designed to cut through the noise,” Stewart said. “Over the last few years, some of the most groundbreaking campaigns have been collaborations with the world’s biggest consumer brands. Our vision is to couple IGN’s proprietary consumer data and consumer reach, alongside our passion for storytelling and matchmaking to help brands and studios align on developing meaningful, targeted and results-oriented campaigns across traditional media and into areas such as WEB3 and the ever evolving concept of the Metaverse.”
1TwentyFour helps the industry better understand how consumers are engaging with content and brands on a global scale. They create partnerships for studios, networks, gaming, publishing, mobile and streaming companies to attract deep fan engagement through a measurement standard that compliments traditional tracking and ratings. These partnerships add exponential value to their clients’ intellectual property and franchise libraries. 1TwentyFour has launched strategic campaigns for some of the most popular entertainment content producers and successful brands in the world, including AT&T, DC Comics, Marvel Studios, DELL, Discovery, HBOMax; Fever, Creator+, Mattel, Netflix, Peacock, Square Enix, WarnerMedia, Wizarding World and others.
One of the first big collaborations already in the works between both companies is the upcoming launch of the AAA survival horror game ‘The Callisto Protocol’ (Striking Distance Studios and Krafton), releasing on Dec 2, 2022. Both IGN and 1TwentyFour are working with the development and publishing teams to help create a groundbreaking campaign that is focused on supporting their vision and ambition for creating a next generation transmedia experience for players firmly centered around a core gaming experience.
“Individually IGN and 1TwentyFour are valued strategic partners who understand our IP, know our customers, and have had a big impact on our campaign for The Callisto Protocol,” said Kevin Kimball, Vice President of Marketing, Striking Distance Studios. “We’re excited to see what happens when these two companies come together under one roof.”
IGN Entertainment is one of the leading Internet media companies focused on video games and entertainment. Part of Ziff Davis, Inc., IGN reaches more than 250 million monthly users around the world, and is followed by more than 54MM social and YouTube followers. With an extremely engaged audience, watching over 400MM minutes of content monthly, IGN also publishes daily content on 35 platforms including TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat Discover.
Established in 1996, IGN is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Sydney and London. IGN content is localized in 20 languages and 110 countries and hosted on websites and native applications on mobile, connected TV, and Xbox and PlayStation platforms.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kelly Kimball | 310.701.7773
STAY CONNECTED:
Website: www.IGN.com
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube: @IGN
