19 April 2022 — HONG KONG and PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA — Animoca Brands, the company advancing digital property rights for gaming and the metaverse, today announced it will acquire Australian digital marketing agency Be Media to focus on key opportunities in Australia centered around blockchain development.
Be Media was founded in 2013 and established itself as a premium player in the Web 2.0 space focusing on digital strategy, search, and social advertising. The company has offices across Perth, Sydney, and Melbourne, and high-profile clients including Audi, Harley Davidson, and Finbar.
Following the acquisition, in its new capacity as an Animoca Brands company, Be Media will spearhead partnerships with major Australian brands as its parent company pursues the goals of advancing the emergence of the open metaverse and delivering digital property rights to online users via blockchain and NFTs.
In line with its expanded scope after the acquisition, Be Media has begun an aggressive hiring process in the fields of blockchain development and project management to support the expanding pipeline of opportunities that the company will handle.
Australian entrepreneur Jordan Fogarty, the founder and CEO of Be Media, will retain a significant minority ownership and continue his role as CEO of the acquired entity with responsibility for all business operations. Mr Fogarty, an early investor and supporter of Animoca Brands, has previously served on the board of OliveX Holdings Limited (NSX:OLX), the fitness metaverse company created and spun out by Animoca Brands.
Yat Siu, the co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, commented: “The acquisition of Be Media will allow Animoca Brands to extend its core capabilities to support the Australian market and beyond. There are tremendous opportunities in Australia and Be Media will enhance our ability to work with companies that wish to participate in the exciting opportunities presented by the emerging open metaverse.”
Mr Fogarty, the founder and CEO of Be Media, said: “I couldn’t be more excited to join Yat and Animoca Brands, the dominant frontrunner in Web3 with a bold vision to help to build a truly open and decentralised metaverse. I’m honoured to have the opportunity to support cherished Australian brands who want to explore opportunities in this space and introduce their customers to the metaverse, NFTs, and the power of digital property rights.”
Mr Fogarty continued: “When I started Be Media in 2013, I did so based on the power of digital to create massive and scalable impact. The ways in which we create that impact have evolved and been refined over the last eight years, and now by becoming a part of the Animoca Brands family we will be able to make that impact global and lasting.”
About Be Media
Be Media is a Top 100 Most Innovative Companies in Australia and a 2018 AFR Fast Starter. Be Media is a leading digital performance agency based in Perth, Australia, with offices in Sydney and Melbourne. It was founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Jordan Fogarty, an Anthill 30under30 winner and Business News 40-under-40 Entrepreneur of the Year winner. Be Media is a Google Premier Partner, and a partner of Facebook, Shopify, and Klaviyo. Its clients include Audi, Harley Davidson, and Finbar. For more information visit www.bemedia.com.au or follow on LinkedIn or Facebook.
About Animoca Brands
Animoca Brands, a Deloitte Tech Fast winner and ranked in the Financial Times list of High Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2021, is a leader in digital entertainment, blockchain, and gamification that is working to advance digital property rights. It develops and publishes a broad portfolio of products including the REVV token and SAND token; original games including The Sandbox, Crazy Kings, and Crazy Defense Heroes; and products utilizing popular intellectual properties including Disney, WWE, Snoop Dogg, The Walking Dead, Power Rangers, MotoGP™, and Formula E. The company has multiple subsidiaries, including The Sandbox, Blowfish Studios, Quidd, GAMEE, nWay, Pixowl, Bondly, Lympo, and Grease Monkey Games. Animoca Brands has a growing portfolio of more than 170 investments in NFT-related companies and decentralized projects that are contributing to building the open metaverse, including Axie Infinity, OpenSea, Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), Yield Guild Games, Harmony, Alien Worlds, Star Atlas, and others. For more information visit www.animocabrands.com or follow on Twitter or Facebook.
Media Contacts
Animoca Brands global contact: press@animocabrands.com
Be Media contact: The PR Hub, Samantha Dybac
E: samantha@theprhub.com.au
p: +61 (0) 411 251 373