Rovio Entertainment expanded its push into the digital advertising space, in order to capitalise on the cross-platform success of its Angry Birds franchise.

The company has made appointments for North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, with the intention of being “a direct media partner to the largest brands in the world”.

Rovio said it has “amassed an enormous, electrified fan base” from its apps across mobile and online platforms, as well as “merchandise, activity parks, beverages and books”.

The games have 263 million monthly active users as of December 2012, and its YouTube channel which “houses dozens of custom animations”, has received more than one billion views.

“The model of simply placing standard display ads in online and mobile properties is not necessarily strategic for the majority of tier one brands, and that model was in need of disruption. Rovio´s fan-first approach and engaged audience creates more native, integrated advertising experiences that more closely align to brands’ overall marketing goals,” said Michele Tobin, head of North American brand advertising partnerships.

In the US, Rovio has recruited Betsy Flounders Novak as director of West and Midwest, having previously held roles with “premium media companies” including MTV, ESPN and People.com. It has also appointed Matt Pfeffer as director, East Coast, joining from mobile ad agency Millennial Media.

Leading its new EMEA and APAC brand partnership ad team, Rovio has appointed Todd Tran from Apple. Joining in February will be Raphaelle Tripet, from ad network inMobi.