Ed Bartlett
Encyclopedia
Ed Bartlett, is a British entrepreneur
best known for pioneering the in-game advertising
industry and the Freemium
game model. He lives and works in London
where his company, The Future Tense works with emerging contemporary artists such as Katrin Fridriks
, Lee Baker
, Mark Webber, Jamie Shaw, Elizabeth Eamer, Tom Oldham and Joseph Loughborough.
Having trained initially in graphic design and printing at Plymouth College of Art, he began working as a games tester in 1994 for NMS Software, where he is credited on games including Mass Destruction
, Risk and Battleships.
Bartlett came to prominence in the games industry during his time at The Bitmap Brothers speaking regularly at conferences, contributing to books such as and, and working closely with the IGDA, including being part of a print advertising campaign to drive membership, and writing an article on how to become a game designer as part of their ‘Breaking In’ series. He is credited with involvement in the development of a number of titles for The Bitmap Brothers including the Palm Pilot and Game Boy Advance
versions of Speedball 2, as well as Real Time Strategy titles, Z Steel Soldiers
and World War II: Frontline Command
. He went on to become Business Development Director for the company.
In 2002 Bartlett attempted to capitalise on the burgeoning E-sports market with the ambitious Speedball Arena, utilising the Unreal Engine
technology.
Whilst designing the game, Bartlett conceived the idea of integrating brands into the gameplay in the form of interactive product placement
to help combat the rising costs of game development. He went on to found his first company, Hive Partners to focus entirely on this idea. The companies first work, an interactive Red Bull
power-up in Worms 3D
, brought them significant attention, including a BBC article and is generally seen as the first credible example of paid-for in-game advertising.
In 2005 Bartlett co-founded IGA worldwide, which was the first company to offer a full service approach to in-game advertising, including their own proprietary dynamic advertising network. Bartlett was instrumental in raising IGA’s $17m Series A round
of venture capital
funding in 2005 with Intel Capital, Morgenthaler
, Easton Capital and DN Capital.
Bartlett was the key spokesperson for the company alongside the CEO Justin Townsend, and has been featured in dozens of publications on its behalf as well as speaking at many of the leading conferences covering subjects such as videogames, investment and media such as the Financial Times Digital Media conference. This led to Bartlett being featured in 2005 as one of Growing Business Magazine’s ‘Young Guns’.
In 2006 Bartlett was runner up in the Business Entrepreneur category of the Enterprising Young Brit Awards, backed by Enterprise UK and part of Global Entrepreneurship Week
, which was presented by ex British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
. In the same year he worked with French game developer Nadeo
to release Trackmania Nations as the first Freemium
videogame, with revenues generated solely from IGA's in-game advertising revenue. The launch was a huge success, with the sequel entering the 2008 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition as the most popular online racing game. The company was subsequently bought by French game publisher Ubisoft
.
In 2007 Bartlett joined the advisory board for the Game Horizon Conference, which bills itself as the leading conference for executives in the interactive entertainment business, backed by Codeworks.
In 2008 Bartlett was signed up as a judge of The Future 500, an innovative new network fostering entrepreneurial talent in the UK run by cognac brand, Courvoisier
. He was also runner-up in the Best New Thinking category of the MRS Research awards with a whitepaper outlining the effectiveness of in-game advertising in the game Battlefield 2142
.
In 2010 Bartlett left IGA to focus on his contemporary art
business, The Future Tense, where he represents a range of artists including Katrin Fridriks
as well creating and producing shows and projects such as Be Here Now.
Bartlett is also an ambassador for children’s charity, War Child
.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
best known for pioneering the in-game advertising
In-game advertising
In-game advertising refers to advertising in computer and video games. IGA differs from advergaming, which refers to a game specifically made to advertise a product.The IGA industry is large and growing...
industry and the Freemium
Freemium
Freemium is a business model that works by offering a product or service free of charge while charging a premium for advanced features, functionality, or related products and services...
game model. He lives and works in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where his company, The Future Tense works with emerging contemporary artists such as Katrin Fridriks
Katrin Fridriks
Katrin Fridriks, born in 1974, Reykjavík , is a conceptual painter.-Biography:Katrin grew up in Luxembourg and Germany. After a couple of years spent in Paris where she exhibited her first paintings at the age of 20, KF moved to the United States...
, Lee Baker
Lee Muddy Baker
Lee "Muddy" Baker is a UK-based singer-songwriter, producer, performer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist.-Early years:...
, Mark Webber, Jamie Shaw, Elizabeth Eamer, Tom Oldham and Joseph Loughborough.
Having trained initially in graphic design and printing at Plymouth College of Art, he began working as a games tester in 1994 for NMS Software, where he is credited on games including Mass Destruction
Mass Destruction (video game)
Mass Destruction is a 1997 third-person action game developed by NMS Software Ltd. and published by ASC Games and BMG Interactive Entertainment. Released for MS-DOS, the Sega Saturn, and the PlayStation, the game puts players in control of a tank, and tasks them with destroying enemy forces...
, Risk and Battleships.
Bartlett came to prominence in the games industry during his time at The Bitmap Brothers speaking regularly at conferences, contributing to books such as and, and working closely with the IGDA, including being part of a print advertising campaign to drive membership, and writing an article on how to become a game designer as part of their ‘Breaking In’ series. He is credited with involvement in the development of a number of titles for The Bitmap Brothers including the Palm Pilot and Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
versions of Speedball 2, as well as Real Time Strategy titles, Z Steel Soldiers
Z: Steel Soldiers
Z: Steel Soldiers is a real-time strategy game released by the Bitmap Brothers on 15 June, 2001 for the Windows platform. It is the sequel of their earlier game Z, and follows the same futuristic military science fiction storyline and battlefield gameplay...
and World War II: Frontline Command
World War II: Frontline Command
World War II Frontline Command is a real-time strategy, 3D, tactical war game for the PC that was developed by long standing developers, the Bitmap Brothers. It was originally released in Europe during September 2002 by Deep Silver and subsequently released in June 2003 by Focus Multimedia.-Plot:As...
. He went on to become Business Development Director for the company.
In 2002 Bartlett attempted to capitalise on the burgeoning E-sports market with the ambitious Speedball Arena, utilising the Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine
The Unreal Engine is a game engine developed by Epic Games, first illustrated in the 1998 first-person shooter game Unreal. Although primarily developed for first-person shooters, it has been successfully used in a variety of other genres, including stealth, MMORPGs and RPGs...
technology.
Whilst designing the game, Bartlett conceived the idea of integrating brands into the gameplay in the form of interactive product placement
Product placement
Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...
to help combat the rising costs of game development. He went on to found his first company, Hive Partners to focus entirely on this idea. The companies first work, an interactive Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
power-up in Worms 3D
Worms 3D
The game has received generally good reviews. A negative point by most reviewers was the 3D camera system, that often places behind the objects in landscape with the worm being hidden in front of those.-External links:* * ]]...
, brought them significant attention, including a BBC article and is generally seen as the first credible example of paid-for in-game advertising.
In 2005 Bartlett co-founded IGA worldwide, which was the first company to offer a full service approach to in-game advertising, including their own proprietary dynamic advertising network. Bartlett was instrumental in raising IGA’s $17m Series A round
Series A round
A Series A round is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture funding in the Silicon Valley model of startup company formation....
of venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
funding in 2005 with Intel Capital, Morgenthaler
Morgenthaler
- People :* Walter Morgenthaler , Swiss psychiatry* Otto Morgenthaler * Ernst Morgenthaler , a Swiss painter* Wendelin Morgenthaler , German politician * Hans Morgenthaler , Swiss poet...
, Easton Capital and DN Capital.
Bartlett was the key spokesperson for the company alongside the CEO Justin Townsend, and has been featured in dozens of publications on its behalf as well as speaking at many of the leading conferences covering subjects such as videogames, investment and media such as the Financial Times Digital Media conference. This led to Bartlett being featured in 2005 as one of Growing Business Magazine’s ‘Young Guns’.
In 2006 Bartlett was runner up in the Business Entrepreneur category of the Enterprising Young Brit Awards, backed by Enterprise UK and part of Global Entrepreneurship Week
Global Entrepreneurship Week
Global Entrepreneurship Week is the world’s largest celebration of the innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare....
, which was presented by ex British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
. In the same year he worked with French game developer Nadeo
Nadeo
Nadeo is a French video game developer, based in Issy-les-Moulineaux, Paris. They are the developers of the TrackMania, QuestMania, ShootMania and Virtual Skipper series of video games....
to release Trackmania Nations as the first Freemium
Freemium
Freemium is a business model that works by offering a product or service free of charge while charging a premium for advanced features, functionality, or related products and services...
videogame, with revenues generated solely from IGA's in-game advertising revenue. The launch was a huge success, with the sequel entering the 2008 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition as the most popular online racing game. The company was subsequently bought by French game publisher Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
.
In 2007 Bartlett joined the advisory board for the Game Horizon Conference, which bills itself as the leading conference for executives in the interactive entertainment business, backed by Codeworks.
In 2008 Bartlett was signed up as a judge of The Future 500, an innovative new network fostering entrepreneurial talent in the UK run by cognac brand, Courvoisier
Courvoisier
Courvoisier is a brand of cognac owned by Beam Inc.. The production is now based in the town of Jarnac in the Charente department of France...
. He was also runner-up in the Best New Thinking category of the MRS Research awards with a whitepaper outlining the effectiveness of in-game advertising in the game Battlefield 2142
Battlefield 2142
Battlefield 2142 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Digital Illusions CE and produced by Electronic Arts . It is the fourth game in the Battlefield series...
.
In 2010 Bartlett left IGA to focus on his contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
business, The Future Tense, where he represents a range of artists including Katrin Fridriks
Katrin Fridriks
Katrin Fridriks, born in 1974, Reykjavík , is a conceptual painter.-Biography:Katrin grew up in Luxembourg and Germany. After a couple of years spent in Paris where she exhibited her first paintings at the age of 20, KF moved to the United States...
as well creating and producing shows and projects such as Be Here Now.
Bartlett is also an ambassador for children’s charity, War Child
War Child (charity)
War Child is a non-governmental organisation founded in the UK 1993, which focuses on providing assistance to children in areas of conflict and post-conflict. They use their film and entertainment background to raise money for aid agencies operating in former Yugoslavia...
.