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James Draper

Founder and CEO of Virtual Sport Technology I Virtual Billboard Replacement in sports video games I Geo-targeted sponsorship activation platform for sports leagues, teams and athletes in video games I

James Draper is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Virtual Sport Technology (VST), a sports marketing agency he established in 2023.13 Prior to founding VST, Draper was the founder and CEO of Bidstack Group plc, an in-game advertising platform.1

Career Highlights

Bidstack Group plc: Draper founded Bidstack and served as its CEO, developing the company's technology for delivering in-game advertising.5 Under his leadership, Bidstack partnered with major sports entities, including the Washington Commanders and the NFL's VR game "NFL Pro Era".1

Virtual Sport Technology: In 2023, facing challenges in the public markets, Draper made the decision to set up VST as a private company.1 This move was aimed at preserving shareholder value and capitalizing on the growing interest in Bidstack's technology from sports leagues and teams.1

Role at VST

As CEO and Co-Founder of VST, Draper continues to lead the company's strategic direction.2 VST has entered into a commercial partnership with Bidstack, gaining exclusive rights to provide access to Bidstack's proprietary video game content management platform to sports leagues, teams, and publishers.1

Personal Details

  • Based in London, UK3
  • Born in January 19824
  • LinkedIn username: jamesdraperlinkedin2

Draper's experience in the gaming and advertising industries, combined with his entrepreneurial spirit, positions him well to lead VST in its mission to leverage gaming technology for sports marketing purposes.

Highlights

Aug 28 · linkedin

The announcement that the NFL is opening it’s doors to Private Equity, will usher in a new wave of initiatives and technologies that unlock trapped value in these huge sporting franchises.

The ever improving off-field infrastructures supporting each of these businesses, will lead to an increased focus on regional monetisation of their global fan bases.

We are excited we have already helped the Washington Commanders monetise their video game audience and run campaigns for Northwest Federal Credit Union on the in-game jumbotron in NFL Madden Mobile and NFL Pro Era, before they took the full naming rights for the Commanders’ stadium in real life.

Fascinated to see what further innovations are adopted in this PE era.

Aug 14 · linkedin

Before we announce the next phase of our journey (in-game sports sponsorship activation), I found an old video of a presentation of the Bidstack company vision / offering, from 2017 - 11 days after we'd signed a deal with Football Manager.

https://lnkd.in/e_7UB5UM

Interesting to see how much the in-game advertising industry has evolved and how much we've followed the initial mission - congratulations to everyone who has worked within Bidstack and as we focus on the future as Virtual Sport Technology, we look forward to sharing developments shortly...

Related Questions

What inspired James Draper to start Virtual Sport Technology?
How did James Draper's experience at Bidstack influence his new venture?
What are the main goals of Virtual Sport Technology?
How does Virtual Sport Technology differ from other sports marketing agencies?
What challenges has James Draper faced in his career?
James Draper
James Draper, photo 1
James Draper, photo 2
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Location

London, England, United Kingdom