Russian in-game advertising company EnterMedia has raised an estimated $1 million-plus from Mangrove and Russian financier ABRT. EnterMedia’s EgoSet technology places ads in both online and offline games in Russia, with advertising clients including Intel (NSDQ: INTC) and mobile carrier Megafon, Yakov reports, claiming click-throughs of 11 percent and CPMs of $5 to $30.
This space was hot up until the last couple of years, with Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) buying Massive, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) buying Adscape and WPP taking a stake in Scotland’s Realtime World. As well as hosting last night’s Champions League final, Russia, too, is showing a lot of online activity. Luxembourg-based Mangrove says it will invest in several more Russian internet firms in 2008/09. Leading portal Mail.ru is reportedly considering a $2 billion IPO in London, and competitor Yandex is looking to float, too. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer visits Russia on Friday.