Metro launches mobile-centric gaming platform backed by £1.9m ad campaign
Metro has launched a responsive design-based gaming platform, Metro Play, as it looks to diversify revenues and sustain engagement across its portfolio.
The newspaper will support the launch with a £1.9m ad campaign, which will kick off at the start of next month.
Metro Play has been created to sustain engagement with readers’ beyond editorial coverage alone, becoming a gaming destination for adult urbanites on the move.
Usage spikes for digital and social media occur on week days at 11am, 3pm and 8pm according to Metro’s research, and Metro has shaped the gaming proposition accordingly to entertain its urbanite demographic during their downtime and commuting hours.
Jamie Walters, executive director at Metro Play, told The Drum the move marks a “critical” step in its wider, mobile first strategy and its path to becoming a multi-product and services company.
“Any business, not just publishers, need to be diversifying their revenue cleverly and relevantly and this marks a big step for us on that path,” he said.
"We want to find ways to increase engagement with customer touch points and our research has shown us that our readership has a greater propensity for online gaming, and gambling online than the population at large - in fact it's twice as high. We want to create a more in-depth relationship with those users," he added.
Metro Play features more than 200 web games and 20 mobile games, with a further 50 to be added in the coming weeks. There will be opportunities for advertisers on Metro Play including integrated sponsorships on games such as its puzzle slider.
The ad campaign launches next month and will include cover wraps, a website takeover and interstitials on the tablet Edition.
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