SuperAwesome partners with Bee7 for a kid-safe, legal mobile games ad network

SuperAwesome has partnered with Bee7 to create a kid-safe mobile game ad network. The companies say that the partnership will make it easier for brands and publishers to advertise Android mobile games to children without running into thorny legal problems.

Mobile games are one of the most popular playtime activities for children under the age of 12, representing a significant opportunity for brands to engage with a younger audience. But those brands have been blocked because of the interactive nature of online games, which gives publishers the ability to come directly into contact with users. The partnership combines London-based SuperAwesome’s ad platform for kids with Bee7’s user acquisition platform for Android games.

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The two companies say their network complies with the largest kid-safe, Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, the U.S. law which sets guidelines for how children may be contacted online.

The partnership enables game developers and brands to engage with parents and children through kid-safe ads across mobile games on a global scale. SuperAwesome said it has a reach of 200 million monthly active users and 160 brands. Bee7 has a loyalty-based mobile game discovery platform, where it rewards kids with a virtual currency in a game if they fulfill the requirements of an advertisement, such as downloading a kid-safe app.

London-based Bee7’s platform is a way for kids and parents can discover and play new games, while SuperAwesome’s technology ensures the game and advertising content meets strict kid-safe standards. John Rankin, managing director of Bee7, said in a statement, “The advertising influence of mobile games is growing rapidly as brands continue to produce and license games as promotional content. This partnership gives parents the peace of mind that their children can play and discover new mobile games without being exposed to inappropriate content.”

The kids under 12 group plays more mobile titles than any other demographic group, according to market researcher NPD Group. And given changes to COPPA in the U.S. in 2013 and pending action in the European Union, complying with the law is getting harder.

Dylan Collins, CEO of SuperAwesome said in a statement, “This is a huge step forward for the kids mobile industry. Our partnership takes the mobile expertise of Bee7 and combines it with our kid-safe advertising technology to advance the market enormously. For brands, this creates the largest kid-safe, mobile gaming (CPI) ad channel in the world. For developers of kids content, it offers another great COPPA-compliant, content-appropriate revenue stream on top of our premium campaigns.”

SuperAwesome will integrate Bee7’s Game Wall and loyalty mechanic into the AwesomeAds platform. Kid-specific and age-appropriate mobile game advertising campaigns will be delivered by Bee7 through SuperAwesome’s AwesomeAds platform on a cost-per-install (CPI) basis. Developers can access the Bee7 CPI optin through SuperAwesome’s software development kit (SDK).

Bee7 developed its technology while part of Talking Tom creator Outfit7. It worked so well that Bee7 spun out to serve more clients. SuperAwesome has 35 employees and it was founded in 2013. Bee7 was founded last year. SuperAwesome’s competitors include Disney and Nickelodeon, while Bee7’s include any mobile ad network.