What are mobile gaming ads ?
How many times have you started using an app and then have you been interrupted by an ad promoting mobile games ? Well, that’s because mobile games are the app category with the highest advertising spend in mobile user acquisition. This means there’s a high likelihood of being shown mobile gaming ads while using apps, and especially while playing mobile games.
Mobile gaming ads are specific ads, such as videos, banners, interstitials, etc., designed to encourage users to download and play the promoted mobile game. They can be displayed in mobile apps and websites and even in other mobile games. Indeed, mobile gaming ads play also a crucial role in mobile games’ monetization strategies, together with in-app purchases (IAPs).
How mobile gaming ads work
Mobile game developers can enlist different user acquisition partners to promote their games, such as influencers, social media platforms, affiliate networks, ad networks and DSPs. Once targeting criteria and user acquisition goals have been defined, mobile gaming ads are the bridge between mobile games and their new potential users.
There are different ad formats which can be used to promote mobile games, and here are the most popular ones:
- Banners;
- Videos;
- Interstitial ads;
- Playable ads;
- Rewarded ads;
- Native ads.
It’s up to the advertisers and their UA partners to decide which ads to test and how to rotate them. Ad rotation, both in terms of formats and creative, is always effective in grabbing users’ attention and driving installs. Also, creative A/B testing is a common technique employed by app marketers to measure the performance of different mobile ads.
When dealing with mobile gaming ads, it’s worth remembering that some ad formats usually perform better than others, in terms of CTR, installs and even LTV. For instance, videos and playable ads show higher CTRs than banners. Also, such formats balance their high cost, when bidding for the ad placement, with high LTV. That’s because videos and playables usually drive installs from players who are more likely to generate in-app revenues, increasing the overall user acquisition ROI.
What mobile gaming ads are important
In this day and age, game developers can’t aim at growth and scalability without mobile gaming ads. They grant a wide reach, combined with sophisticated targeting capabilities. Tech UA companies like DSPs leverage advanced ML algorithms in order to optimize their advertising activity towards profitability, maximizing the advertiser’s ROI from mobile gaming ads.
Furthermore, as briefly mentioned in the intro, mobile gaming ads serve also as a monetization channel. Mobile games usually monetize either through in-app purchases or through in-app ads. Game categories like hyper-casual actually heavily rely on the latter in order to generate revenue.
To conclude, mobile gaming ads represent a must have in your mobile game user acquisition strategy, beyond other app marketing channels like TV and social media.
