SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Twitch, the world’s leading video platform and community for gamers, today launched the Twitch Media Group, a new internal ad sales division designed to ensure harmony between advertisers and Twitch’s burgeoning community of gamers. The Twitch Media Group is composed of video game industry veterans who understand the importance of aligning the right type of advertisers with Twitch’s core audience of gamers.
In May 2013, Twitch surpassed 35 million unique visitors who watched content produced by more than 600,000 unique broadcasters, and the Twitch Partner Program has now grown to more than 4,500 members. In addition, the size of the Twitch community has quadrupled since the company’s first milestone announcement in August 2011 which helped Twitch win back-to-back Webby People’s Voice Awards in 2012 and 2013. Given this growing community’s support for Twitch, it was important that the brand vision which attracted them remain intact. Achieving this goal was the impetus for creating the Twitch Media Group.
Senior members of the Twitch Media Group include:
Kym Nelson, Senior Vice President of Sales: Kym previously served as Vice President, west coast sales at IGN Entertainment from 2002-2012. In this role, she led the company’s award-winning advertising sales team in developing strategic digital marketing programs that delivered superior return on investment for leading game publishers, advertisers and agencies. Kym also led the vertical sales division of Fox Interactive Media with both MySpace.com and IGN combined, offering game publishers unique digital marketing campaigns that combined social marketing with content marketing integrations.
Andy Swanson, Vice President of Sales: Andy is a 15 year veteran of the video game ad sales industry beginning in 1998 at Future US where he rose to the position of publisher in Future's Games Group, which included Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer and PSM: 100% Independent PlayStation Magazine. In 2007, he joined Ubisoft as Senior Director of Strategic Sales and Partnerships, and then in 2010 he moved on to GameFly as VP of Digital Business Development where he spearheaded the digital expansion of the world's largest games by mail rental service.
Christina Grushkin, Senior Sales Manager: Christina previously served as Senior Sales Manager at Future US selling to endemic gaming and technology advertisers, from 2005-2009 and again from 2011-2013. She was charged with providing an integrated global approach to planning media campaigns against digital, print, tablet and retail properties. Prior to Future US, Christina was a Senior Media Planner at OMD Los Angeles working on the PlayStation account.
Because Twitch appeals primarily to a young male demographic with an interest in gaming, it has become a prime target for advertisers looking to engage with this notoriously hard-to-reach audience. A key responsibility of the Twitch Media Group will be to ensure that advertisers feel endemic to the Twitch community in order to maintain the culture that has made it the top destination for viewing live streaming video game content.
“Since advertising is a key part of what keeps the Twitch ship afloat, part of maintaining our appeal is ensuring those placements complement the viewing experience in an organic way,” said Jonathan Simpson-Bint, Chief Revenue Officer, Twitch. “The Twitch Media Group is committed to making that happen which made establishing an in-house team of specialists a necessity."
About Twitch
Twitch is the world’s leading video platform and community for gamers. More than 35 million gamers gather every month on Twitch to broadcast, watch and chat about gaming. Twitch’s video platform is the backbone of both live and on-demand distribution for leading video game broadcasters including casual gamers, pro players, tournaments, leagues, developers and gaming media organizations. Twitch is leading a revolution in the gaming community, working to create a participatory experience that transcends gameplay. Learn more at http://twitch.tv.
