Tomas Piktozis says he was particularly excited to host a panel at Casual Connect Europe on best practices in Asia, with speakers from Tap4Fun, DeNA, and Animoca.
Piktozis, Director of Developer Relations EMEA for SponsorPay, says what he and his team care most about is making their partners happy. Throughout his career, he has been mainly involved in customer-facing roles, creating value for clients. His satisfaction with his work builds each time his advice helps customers overcome their challenges and achieve their goals. Piktozis came to SponsorPay with more than ten years of international experience in B2B and B2C sales, business development, marketing, and product and project management. All of this gave him the strong background he needs to tackle mobile monetization and the challenges of the game industry.
First to Think Mobile First
The general rise of mobile has brought incredible opportunities and reaffirmed SponsorPay’s positioning as a mobile first company, according to Piktozis. He points out that 2013 was the year when the number of mobile devices was greater than the number of people on this planet. Consumer trends, including the popularity of mobile videos and mobile gaming, reveal the incredible potential for mobile advertising. SponsorPay responds to this situation by focusing on what they do best: solving key issues for developers and providing them with the highest quality tools on mobile. They offer the world’s first fully integrated rewarded video mediated solution, which enables publishers to seamlessly integrate, manage and optimize video ads from popular providers for better fill rates and eCPMs.
Non-Distruptive Advertising as a Goal
Piktozis’ appreciation of mobile extends to his personal gaming; he finds it particularly convenient to use his tablet and smartphone because he is constantly traveling. He admits there are many games he enjoys; QuizUp is educative and addictive, Where’s My Water II is off-beat and fun, and he also enjoys the classic Clash of Clans. He enjoys the opportunities free-to-play offers to play and try new concepts without big barriers to starting a game. He claims free-to-play models are intuitive, creative, and geared toward the best features of each platform. But the industry still has to find innovative ways to prevent advertising from becoming disruptive to the gaming experience. He reminds us, “This is what SponsorPay is working toward.”
Consolidation and Growth
Piktozis sees two key directions the game industry will take during the next few years: consolidation and continued growth. While 2013 was the year of freemium in mobile gaming, he believes mobile gaming is now becoming a hit driven business, dominated by fewer but bigger companies. He expects, “This smaller number of companies will spend higher budgets on user acquisition in 2014, with greater emphasis on profitability.” SponsorPay will respond by innovating with these stakeholders in mind and maximizing the collective potential of the ad tech ecosystem.
In his time away from work, Piktozis enjoys watching several TV series. He has a degree in audiovisual media and is a big fan of visual story-telling. Right now he is preparing for the second season of House of Cards by re-watching the first season. He also enjoys traveling and connecting with new people.
Piktozis especially appreciates being involved in the game industry. He tells us, “Working in the game industry allows me to have fun and to witness the amazing developments in this creative industry.”
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