You never know what the gaming industry will present next time. The only thing that remains constant is the continuous growth of the mobile games industry, which has not stopped for half a century. So it’s very important to stay “ahead of the game” in this ever-evolving area, regardless of whether you’re a developer, publisher, marketer, or investor. Awareness of the latest trends and anticipating the industry’s movements is the key to making well-informed decisions.
2022 and 2023 were challenging years for the mobile gaming industry because the mobile gaming market sagged a bit after a sudden upsurge during the quarantine and COVID-19 pandemic. But now, things are starting to come to a head. The global recession, alterations in IDFA (advertiser ID), and instability in the Chinese gaming market have all played a role in the overall downturn of the global gaming industry.
Despite this anticipated post-quarantine contraction, the gaming market is showing signs of stabilization, instilling optimism for the future of mobile gaming. It’s crucial to recognize that mobile devices will remain the most lucrative and successful segment within gaming in 2024. For instance, out of the $187 billion generated in 2023 across all game formats, mobile gaming accounted for 49%, equivalent to $92 billion of the market share.
Looking ahead, Statista projects substantial growth for the mobile gaming market, with estimates reaching $118 billion by the year 2027.
Major advertising trends in mobile video games
In this article segment, we’ll explore the advertising opportunities and mobile gaming trends available within mobile video games and their potential for promoting your business.
Interstitial Ads
Interstitial ads are interactive advertisements that occupy the entire screen. They strategically appear during natural breaks in the user’s gaming session, such as between levels, seamlessly integrating with the gaming experience. They do not interfere with the user experience and, therefore, usually yield high numbers of impressions and conversions. The main success factors of a cross-page ad are creativity and timing.
In-Game Native Advertising
Native advertising seamlessly incorporates promotional content into the game environment, aligning with the style, format, and context of the game itself. The presentation of native banners on-screen resembles the display of ad banners on web pages, seamlessly blending into the surrounding background to ensure minimal disruption. Unlike video banners, native ads are integrated into the content, becoming an inherent part of the overall experience.
Playable Ads
Playable ads enable users to engage with a mini-game or demonstration highlighting a brand’s product or service. These interactive advertisements provide a hands-on experience, enabling players to interact directly with the promoted content. Widely acknowledged as the most effective in-app advertising format, playable ads have demonstrated the ability to substantially boost the number of mobile game installations. Rewarded ads allow customers to play your game for a while. This “try before you buy” approach is likely to reduce churn rates because those who download your app will know exactly what they are downloading before they install it.
Rewarded Video Ads
This advertising format offers incentives to users who view the ad in full-screen mode. Upon watching a 15-30-second video advertisement, users receive rewards such as in-game currency, extra lives, additional levels, and more. Users particularly appreciate watching video ads that offer rewards in the form of in-app benefits. 62% of developers reported that their user retention rates increased after video ads with rewards were introduced.
In-Game Events and Sponsorships
Companies partner with game developers to sponsor in-game events, tournaments, or challenges, offering promotional backing and branding prospects within the game environment. These sponsorships afford brands the chance to connect with a deeply engaged audience during pivotal gaming moments, cultivating favorable associations and brand familiarity among players. In-game events additionally generate excitement and spur community involvement, thereby enhancing the brand’s exposure.
Augmented Reality (AR) Advertising
Although augmented reality has existed in the general infospace for several years, it still remains a rather unexplored and interesting platform for both marketers and users. By overlaying digital content onto the real-world environment captured through the user’s device camera, AR enables brands to create interactive and captivating advertisements. In mobile games, AR ads seamlessly blend virtual elements with the player’s surroundings, delivering captivating experiences that capture the user’s interest. Utilizing the interactive potential of AR technology, these ads drive engagement and allow brands to establish deeper connections with their customers.
Cross-Promotion and Collaborations
Game developers frequently engage in collaborations with other games or brands to broaden their audience and boost user acquisition. Cross-promotion, a prevalent tactic, involves promoting one game within another game owned by the same developer or publisher. If you’re looking for hands-on guidance to maximize your efforts, partnering with Matej Lancaric, a mobile game user acquisition consultant known for helping developers identify perfect cross-promotion partners and craft strategies that resonate with target audiences could affect the results positively, ensuring your campaigns are not only effective but also tailored to your game’s unique needs. Conversely, collaborations involve partnerships between mobile games or brands to mutually promote each other’s products or services. These strategic alliances enable games to access established fan bases and reach new audiences, fostering opportunities for growth and advertising monetization.
Successful Case Studies
Although the idea of in-game advertising holds promise, it’s imperative to examine real-world examples to gauge its effectiveness. Fortunately, numerous successful campaigns have demonstrated the value of in-game advertising for brands. Let’s delve into some of these campaigns to gain a deeper understanding of their impact.
L’Oréal and Candy Crush Saga
L’Oréal initiated a strategic collaboration to seamlessly incorporate Prada Candy into the realm of Candy Crush Saga, aiming to resonate with the 18-34 demographic and bolster brand awareness.
The collaboration resulted in a custom mini-game within Candy Crush, where players engaged in a memory match featuring Prada Candy products alongside familiar game elements. This playful yet challenging experience provided players with an immersive ad encounter, boosting brand affinity and gameplay enjoyment.
The ad experience, a first-of-its-kind Playable, seamlessly blended the essence of Prada Candy with the iconic Candy Crush design. Players could redeem fragrance samples upon completing the game, fostering a direct connection with the product.
24 hours was enough time for the campaign to demonstrate its effectiveness; players eagerly requested an astounding 40,000 fragrance samples, highlighting the immediate impact of the campaign. The fragrance redemption site experienced a remarkable surge, with weekly traffic skyrocketing by an impressive 1,800%, showcasing the unparalleled success of the campaign in generating interest and engagement.
Ben & Jerry’s
In a bid to elevate Ben & Jerry’s delivery service, Unilever joined forces with a mobile platform for an impactful campaign. Their strategy? Deploying captivating Rewarded Video ads, ensuring Ben & Jerry’s reached an eager audience within a premium digital space.
Their goal was clear: to enhance awareness and consideration for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream delivery service, targeting the German market in December 2021. Crafting concise 6 and 10-second videos, they strategically showcased Ben & Jerry’s products and logo, accompanied by compelling calls-to-action seamlessly integrated into the visuals. To cater to all viewers, even those with muted devices, they employed text callouts, ensuring the message resonated loud and clear.
The results spoke volumes: an impressive 98.5% viewability rate, far surpassing the industry standard, coupled with a remarkable 97.3% video completion rate, dwarfing typical benchmarks. The campaign proved highly effective, with substantial growth in ad recall impact, signaling a resounding success in achieving its objectives.
Pringles’
Kellogg’s took a strategic step to boost the brand presence of Pringles by creating a captivating campaign that revolved around engaging and rewarding ad experiences. The primary goal was to connect with a premium audience and reinforce top-of-mind awareness and purchase intent for Pringles.
The campaign, which ran from April to May 2022, featured interactive Match-3 Playables and captivating Brand Integrations that led to remarkable growth in both Awareness and Purchase Intent. The results were phenomenal as the Playables and Brand Integrations outperformed the industry standards in Viewability and Completion Rates, proving to be a remarkable achievement in enhancing the brand impact of Pringles.
Andrej Fedek is the creator and the one-person owner of two blogs: InterCool Studio and CareersMomentum. As an experienced marketer, he is driven by turning leads into customers with White Hat SEO techniques. Besides being a boss, he is a real team player with a great sense of equality.
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