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Livewire, a games marketing and ad tech company founded only this March in Australia, has hired the former heads of Dentsu’s UK games offering to lead its expansion into EMEA.

Luke Aldridge and Peter Jacobs were appointed to lead DGame when it launched last year and left Dentsu in August. DGame has now been rolled into global proposition Dentsu Gaming.

Livewire, founded by Indy Khabra and Brad Manuel, offers services in both games marketing and “gametech” – ad and martech for games. Its tech products include a gaming ad marketplace, an audience segmentation model that does not rely on cookies, and a realtime measurement system called Gaming Maturity Index.

Livewire did not name its clients, but said they numbered in the dozens and spanned sectors including FMCG, entertainment, retail, sports and finance.

Khabra and Manuel said: “The opportunity and timing to launch Livewire EMEA with our first office in London allows us to bring our approach to clients in the region. Globally, gaming and esports is now a priority on the marketer’s agenda and brands are looking to form a holistic gaming strategy to connect with the next generation of consumers who are getting harder to reach through the typical media mix, requiring expertise. 

“Gaming and esports are growing exponentially across EMEA, and brands at the forefront of this trend will win in the attention economy.”    

Jacobs added: “We are now seeing some of the biggest brands in the world take advantage of the many opportunities gaming presents to engage audiences in unique and immersive ways. It is a complex and fascinating world – massive audiences, unparalleled engagement, and full of subcultures.”