Archie Comics Teams With Tapjoy To Become First Comic Book Publisher To Offer Advertising Sponsored Digital Comics

SAN FRANCISCO, July 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Archie Comics, one of the leading mass-market comic book publishers, iVerse, a leading digital content distributor, and Tapjoy, a leading mobile advertising and monetization platform, today announced a partnership that will offer fans a new way to acquire their favorite digital comics for free.  Beginning July 18, the Archie Comics App, available in both iTunes and Google Play stores, will integrate the Tapjoy Mobile Value Exchange® model where consumers engage with advertisements to earn virtual rewards to spend on more than 2,000 Archie Comics. 

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120731/LA49747LOGO)

The new digital offering from Archie Comics and iVerse marks a significant shift in how publishers are making their premium content more widely available to consumers. Archie Comics will be the world's first digital comic publisher to utilize virtual rewards and the mobile value exchange model to enable consumers to buy their digital comics.

"The teams at Archie Comics and iVerse are pioneers when it comes to digital distribution of some of the most beloved comics ever created," said Steve Wadsworth, President and CEO, Tapjoy.  "Enabling consumers to simply watch a video or engage with an ad to obtain their favorite comics is an industry-first, and makes Archie and the town of Riverdale more accessible to consumers across the globe."

"We're thrilled to partner with Tapjoy and embrace a new way for our consumers to get the comics they love," said Jon Goldwater, Archie Comics Publisher and co-CEO.  "Making our great content catalog available through a new free-to-own model establishes a new opportunity for how people read comics and will bring even more fans to the Archie universe."

By simply watching a video, taking a survey or engaging with an ad, users will be able to earn credits to unlock Archie Comics via the Archie Comics app.  This will give fans an opportunity to add to their digital comics library without going over budget.  Archie previously broke new ground by becoming the first comic book publisher to release digital comics the same day as the print edition and continues to blaze trails in unique and innovative steps towards maintaining its status as a leader in the digital marketplace.

Tapjoy is a global leader in helping app developers and publishers monetize many different types of mobile apps including games, movies, books, videos, and text messaging apps.  This partnership further expands Tapjoy's developer network in the publishing space and opens the door for all types of premium content publishers to offer their content to more fans globally. 

About Tapjoy
Tapjoy is a mobile advertising and monetization platform whose Mobile Value Exchange model allows users to select personalized advertisements with which to engage for virtual rewards or premium content. Tapjoy helps unlock mobile joy by empowering users on more than 1 billion devices to watch videos, subscribe to services, install applications and participate in other types of advertisements in exchange for virtual rewards they can use in their favorite apps. Tapjoy's turnkey in-app advertising platform helps developers to cost-effectively acquire high-value new users and monetize their applications, while its powerful advertising marketplace lets brand advertisers reach a global mobile audience spanning more than 97,000 applications. Tapjoy is backed by top-tier investors, including J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Rho Ventures, North Bridge Venture Partners, InterWest Partners and D.E. Shaw Ventures. Headquartered in San Francisco, the company also has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Santa Barbara, Atlanta, Boston, Paris, Dusseldorf, London, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo. For more information, please visit www.tapjoy.com.

© 2013 Tapjoy, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Tapjoy and the Tapjoy logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Tapjoy, Inc. All third party logos and trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

About Archie Comics
Archie Comics is one of the leading mass market comic book publishers in the world and the home to a wide array of the most popular humor, action-adventure and superhero characters in entertainment, including Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica, Reggie, Kevin Keller, Josie and the Pussycats, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The New Crusaders, The Shield, Li'l Jinx and many more. Archie Comics have sold 2 billion comics worldwide and are published around the world in a number of languages. In addition to comics, Archie characters have been featured prominently in animation, television, film and music in various popular incarnations.

About iVerse Media
iVerse Media (http://www.iversemedia.com) is a leading digital content distributor focused on the world of comics and popular culture. Founded in 2008, the company was one of the first to launch digital comics on mobile devices.  With millions of iVerse powered products having been downloaded, the "iVerse Engine" continues to be one of the most popular and widely used platforms for reading digital comics in the world. In 2012, iVerse expanded its digital presence by launching ComicsPlus for iOS, Android and the web at www.comicsplusapp.com. 

Media Contact:
Patrick Seybold
Tapjoy, Inc.
(650) 766-6776
[email protected]

Steven Scott
Director of Publicity and Marketing
Archie Comics Publications, Inc.
[email protected]
914-381-5155, ext. 241

SOURCE Tapjoy