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2025 Mobile gaming trends: Unity perspectives

Sari Berkovich — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 09:25:53 +0000

Amir Shaked, VP Revenue, Ads at Unity The mobile gaming industry experienced yet another transformative year in 2024, with the continuation of key trends and the emergence of new opportunities for growth in 2025. As Sensor Tower highlights in the industry perspectives part of this blog series, the mobile gaming industry is on the rise.

According to Sensor Tower data, consumer revenue from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store exceeded 80 billion USD, representing a 4% increase from 2023. In 2024, apps surpassed games in install numbers, prompting developers to adopt monetization and user acquisition strategies similar to those used in mobile gaming while exploring new ad formats. Building on the success of past years, 2024 also saw exponential growth in the rewarded space, with even more growth anticipated in the year ahead. Ad quality was another big focus this past year, and we expect it to continue to be a key area in 2025 as developers implement new strategies for improving user experience.
What else is in store for 2025? From strategic shifts in ad monetization to a resurgence of midmarket titles and the APAC market’s projected growth trajectory, Unity experts weigh in with predictions for the mobile gaming industry in 2025.

Rewarded marketplaces will expand beyond games and mobile

Eyal Hendelman, Senior Director, Head of Business and Strategy, Offerwall at Unity In the last couple of years, the rewarded space has seen significant yet fragmented growth. More apps and networks are providing a rewards experience to developers and the users they serve. On the other side of this marketplace, more advertisers are recognizing the value of this channel and allocating more of their budget to this growing trend, creating a win-win for all stakeholders.

As the market continues to mature in the year ahead, major players will solidify their positions and improve their offerings. Will this accelerated growth continue? As with most maturing markets, continued growth is likely, though it may be at a slower pace than before. As we approach 2025, expansion of the rewards space could shift further, with rewarded channels making a stronger move into non-gaming app segments. Additionally, while most opportunities today are largely app-based, we see growing interest around extending these opportunities to the web. As a result, the growth trajectory of rewarded marketplaces may extend into web assets in the coming year.

More subscription apps will adopt ad-supported models

Sandra Amir, Senior Director, Growth Partnerships at Unity In 2025, several key factors will drive more subscription apps to incorporate ads as an additional revenue stream. Last year, market saturation and consumer price sensitivity contributed to diminishing returns on subscription models. At the same time, the potential for diverse and scalable income from ad monetization attracted more subscription-apps to integrate ads.

Advances in ad personalization and better ad visibility make ad monetization even more appealing. Consumer preferences are also evolving. We’re seeing more consumers interact with ads in exchange for reduced subscription costs or extra features. Additionally, we expect to see more subscription apps adopt hybrid and freemium business models, both of which present greater opportunities for sustainable growth. As more apps integrate ads in the year ahead, consideration should be given to how best to preserve a positive user experience, ensure non-disruptive ads, and implement strong data protection.

The resurgence of midmarket titles will bring an abundance of high-quality content

Stuart Knox, Senior Director, Partner Success, Games at Unity In 2024, we’ve witnessed a notable resurgence in the development of “midmarket” PC and console titles, bridging the gap between prominent AAA blockbusters and minimalist indie releases. These mid-tier games often emerge from smaller studios who focus on delivering shorter, more streamlined experiences.

Within a market that features both expansive franchises and retro-inspired indie hits, we’ve seen that this midmarket space encourages greater experimentation by focusing on niche genres or franchises. Many of these developers are prioritizing quality over sheer scale, knowing that gamers respond strongly to thoughtfully designed worlds and well-crafted content. I’m genuinely excited for 2025, when many of these titles are set to mature and release.

Hybrid-casual game growth will reshape ad strategies

Samantha Benjamin, Director, Growth & LiveOps, Supersonic from Unity In 2025, hybrid-casual games are expected to dominate the mobile gaming ad landscape with their unique mix of scale, quality, and diversity. Because of their ability to balance volume with attracting high-quality audiences, we’ll see hybrid-casual games solidify their position as a core advertising channel in the coming year.

Continued hybrid-casual growth will reshape ad strategies. Advertisers will lean more heavily on rewarded video (RV) ads, which allow for longer, more engaging creative stories that perform better. Additionally, the variety of hybrid sub-genres, like puzzles, simulation, and action, will encourage advertisers to diversify their creative approaches, tailoring campaigns to the preferences of these high-value user bases. Looking ahead, hybrid-casual’s rise signals scalable, sustainable user acquisition opportunities for 2025 and beyond, driving innovation across the industry.

Game developers in the APAC region will expand their global reach

Eric Qi, General Manager, APAC, Grow Developers in the APAC mobile gaming market are poised for remarkable growth and global influence in 2025. Currently, developers from China, Japan, and Korea are not only dominating their local markets, but they’re also capturing a significant share of the global mobile gaming landscape – a trend that will continue to gain momentum throughout the year ahead.

Their innovative approaches, including cutting-edge game mechanics, immersive storytelling, and advancements in AI-driven gameplay, will continue to set new industry standards. We truly believe more and more developers will succeed in the global market in 2025.

Implementing long-format playables to scale

Svitlana Matlay, Design Team Lead and Creative Consultant at Unity In 2025, long-format creatives could hold the secret to scaling, particularly in puzzle games. Videos of up to 60 seconds, or up to 120 seconds in some networks, are known to boost engagement. Standalone playables with more than 20 interactions, or 1-2 minutes of playtime, are also effective at increasing engagement.

These long formats give users sufficient time to interact with the ads and become emotionally invested. Additionally, long standalone playables provide users with a clear goal, challenging gameplay, and enough time to experience core mechanics. Unlike shorter formats where users are directed to the store after a few clicks, long playables send users to download mid-game, after they’re fully immersed in gameplay and are on the verge of completing a challenge or level. Re-engagement via level progression, a combination of mechanics, or a display of diverse game features is key to sustaining user interaction with these creatives. AI’s capability to generate a wide range of concepts can help ensure the experience remains engaging throughout the long format’s full timeline.

Interested in more 2025 insights? Check out what industry leaders have to say in the first part of our blog series here:
2025 Mobile gaming trends: Industry perspectives

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2025 Mobile gaming trends: Industry perspectives

Sari Berkovich — Sun, 05 Jan 2025 14:38:22 +0000

Chirag Ambwani, SVP, Gaming & Entertainment at Sensor Tower 2024 was a year of stability and back-to-basics for the mobile gaming industry. We saw more developers and publishers prioritize successful live titles within their genres of expertise, instead of launching new titles in different categories.

This focus transformed the 2024 landscape, driving record-breaking growth for evergreen titles and making reliance on established IP and strong branding essential for capturing growth. In 2024, the Apple App Store & Google Play store topped 80 billion USD in consumer revenue, representing 4% YoY growth. We also saw double digit global growth in the 3 core genres of casual, casino, and strategy games, signaling healthy consumer demand for mobile games. This hyper focus on live titles led to fewer publishers taking the lion’s share of revenue in a given category. In casual games, the top 5 publishers generated 62% of total revenue, while in casino games, the top 5 publishers accounted for 72% of total revenue. What’s in store for the year ahead? We project a continuation of 2024 trends, with steady growth led by evergreen and pre-established brands. We expect that better market conditions and more title releases in the coming year will continue to boost publishers’ confidence. Below, industry leaders dive into their 2025 predictions, from advances in user-level customization, and AI’s growing role in game development, to which genres are positioned to gain traction, and more.

Hybrid-casual monetization will drive a shift toward user-level customization

Gaëtan Fajon, Senior Team Lead, Monetization at Voodoo Traditionally, monetization strategies have been designed based on game genres. For example, idle games often leverage rewarded videos (RV), hyper-casual games focus on interstitials, and 4X games emphasize in-app purchases (IAP). However, with the maturity of hybrid monetization systems, the next evolution will drive a shift towards user-level customization.

By leveraging contextual data gathered early in a user’s journey, publishers can dynamically adapt and balance the monetization experience for each individual. This approach utilizes the full spectrum of monetization options available, including RV, interstitials, IAP, subscriptions, offerwalls, audio ads, in-game advertising, and more. This user-specific strategy will ensure a more personalized experience, enhancing engagement while optimizing revenue potential across diverse user segments.

IP games are set to surge

John Wright, VP of Mobile Games at Kwalee Intellectual Property (IP) games will witness heightened success in the charts for 2025, exemplified by the continued dominance of Monopoly Go!. Hasbro and Mattel in particular have experienced significant success in 2024, showcasing the convergence of games and other entertainment forms in transmedia.

This provides studios with even more strategic opportunities, leaning on brand recognition and large existing audiences to reduce CAC (increase in organics + reductions in CPI’s). Equally the rise in “integrations,” or limited timed IP events, have been big wins for the likes of Supercell (Godzilla) and Voodoo (Transformers), creating spikes in re-engagement, short term retention and percentage of paying users for unique event driven IAP’s.

Puzzle games will be an unstoppable force in Vietnam

Linh Nguyen, CMO at Falcon Game Studio Puzzle games have risen to dominate Vietnam’s gaming market, which saw a 17% YoY increase in IAP generated revenue, fueled by the shift to merge mechanics and genre blending. This evolution has broadened their appeal, attracting a wider audience.

In 2025, puzzle games are set to continue their profitable trajectory, with developers fine-tuning monetization strategies and user acquisition approaches. Thanks to solid retention rates and strong ad revenue potential, puzzle games are positioned not just to maintain their dominance but to experience even greater growth in 2025, further solidifying their place as a powerhouse in the gaming industry.

Growing maturity in Programmatic TV streaming will lead to greater accountability

Miles Fisher, Head of Advertising Partnerships at Roku Programmatic CTV is nearing maturity, with steady advances in available inventory, bid density, and measurement. AdExchanger notes that according to the IAB, about three-quarters of all CTV transactions have been programmatic in 2024, as advertisers sought greater scale, optimization, and ROI.

Advertisers want to use their preferred demand-side platforms to find their customers on TV streaming platforms. In turn, these content distributors have responded by bringing more premium inventory to the biddable marketplace, along with the data and insights needed to enhance targeting and deliver more transparent and performant results. Waves of technology innovation—like clean rooms and data partnerships—have elevated reach and transparency in the TV streaming ecosystem, supporting programmatic growth. Advertisers now routinely require that data be applicable and akin across platforms. With this progression, the programmatic benefits marketers have yielded in digital and online video are now easily accessible on the TV screen. Broad availability and access to these benefits will put pressure on the major walled gardens in TV to become more transparent. A growing maturity means growing accountability. In 2025, we predict advertisers will demand to understand their streaming campaigns’ real contribution to marketing KPIs—and plan future investments accordingly.

AI will redefine game design, offering personalized gameplay experiences

Jason Wang, VP of Brand Marketing at Hungry Studio In 2025, AI will revolutionize gaming, unlocking real-time, player-driven experiences such as dynamic content, adaptive levels, and storylines that evolve to match each player’s unique playstyle. At Block Blast!, we’re fully embracing AI to push the boundaries of game design and A/B testing, delivering more engaging and personalized experiences for our players.

As AI continues to evolve, it will become an increasingly powerful tool for enhancing efficiency and unlocking groundbreaking development capabilities in the gaming industry. By combining creativity with cutting-edge technology, we’re not just envisioning the future of gaming—we’re actively creating it.

Interested in more 2025 insights? Check out what Unity experts have to say in the second part of this blog series here:
2025 Mobile gaming trends: Unity perspectives

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Spotlight on mobile game growth: 2024 customer successes and insights

Savannah Cookson — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 15:56:40 +0000

2024 was a monumental year for studios of all sizes in the gaming and app industry. Our customer stories highlight the achievements of these studios, while our industry reports and trend pieces provide data-driven insights to help studios of all sizes inform their growth strategies. Let’s dive into the customer success stories, reports, and articles that helped shape the state of game growth throughout this past year. Reports and trends: We tapped into a wealth of data to compile 2024’s reports, trends, tips, and thought leadership from Unity experts, to help inform game or app growth strategies. The 2024 Mobile Growth and Monetization Report Adapting to market and industry changes is challenging, but understanding trends and benchmarks for user acquisition (UA), in-app purchases (IAPs), and in-app advertising (IAA) can help teams optimize and grow their games. In 2024, we found that global ad engagement increased 3.2% year-over-year. Since economic challenges make it difficult for some users to pay for IAPs, ads offer a great alternative to access in-game content, making them valuable to both the player and the studio alike. The report also shows that users who engage with offerwalls have 2–7x higher retention than non-offerwall users. Mobile gaming trends in 2024 In January, we published our top trends for mobile gaming in 2024 and had Unity experts weigh in on what they thought would be the biggest opportunities this year. We discussed everything from how AI can improve creativity, the rise of hybrid-casual games, puzzle genre’s year of continued success, and more. Even if they are 2024 predictions – many of these trends we’ll see well into 2025. Advertisers playbook to win the 2024 holiday season Unity surveyed 4,094 U.S. adults aged 18+ to uncover insights that can help your brand land on the nice list this year. With many having more downtime over the holiday season, 37% of Gen Z expect to increase their playtime during the holidays, while 29% of Millennials feel the same way – with 13% of respondents saying they’ll likely play for 5 or more hours a day, making the holidays a prime season to engage with players. Helpful tips for sustained app growth: Implementing ads without cannibalizing subscription conversions As premium subscription service apps expand their business models to include ad-based tiers, they must implement ads strategically to avoid cannibalizing subscription conversions. We dove into how a subscription based app might go about this, by strategically using various ad formats, and segmenting users based on factors like region, mobile device model, and more. Addressing addressability: How brand marketers can adapt their mobile programmatic strategy ATT and cookie deprecation signifies more than just a technological shift – it challenges mobile advertising marketers to adapt their strategies to reach consumers in-app. By leveraging first-party data, exploring alternative ID solutions, and segmenting non-addressable users based on contextual information, marketers can be successful in this new environment. How Nexters increase ad engagement by 73% with Unity’s ad consultancy team Nexters partnered with Unity’s ad consultancy team to optimize their rewarded video placement strategy for their hit game, Hero Wars. By implementing their recommendations, Nexters saw a 73% increase in engagement rate, and 59% increase in daily engaged users. See how the teams collaborated on strategy to get these winning results. Customer success stories: Discover the studios that soared to new heights over the last year, and explore the reports and insights that shaped the industry in 2024: User Acquisition success stories: Kwalee improves D0 Ad Revenue ROAS by 22% with Unity Ads Kwalee’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in gaming and their team of skilled professionals, like Head of Growth Alexey Gusev, are key to bringing great players to fun games. Gusev shares how his team used D0 Ad Revenue ROAS campaigns from Unity Ads to boost profits and expand to new markets. How Lihuhu increased average install CVR by 15% (and ARPDAU by 10%!) In a competitive mobile genre like match-three, how can a studio rise to the top? By identifying the right type of user acquisition (UA) campaign optimization, providing rewarded ads to help player progression, and leaning into in-app bidding, Lihuhu created a continuous cycle of game growth in order to reach the top of the match-three genre. How Audiomack uses Unity LevelPlay to scale up globally We sat down with Dave Edwards, Chief Revenue Officer at Audiomack, to learn how working with the team at Unity LevelPlay helped them scale efficiently in global markets with tools like the Unity Ads bidder and A/B testing tool. Monetization success stories: How Pocket FM boosted revenue 20% Pocket FM Corp., a studio known for its popular audiobook app Pocket FM, wanted to monetize their non-paying users and decided to implement a hybrid monetization strategy. We met with Sujit Jha, their Senior Product Manager to understand how incorporating ad formats and the offerwall (a rewarded marketplace) into their app successfully boosted both their revenue and retention by 20%. How LBC Studios boosted ARPDAU 37% LBC Studios sought to boost revenue for their hit game, Hempire, and partnered with the Unity LevelPlay team to optimize their rewarded video strategy and A/B test video capping rates. Gene Park, Director of Marketing at LBC Studios shares how they boosted ARPDAU by 37%. Qcplay increased ad ARPDAU 29% Qcplay’s idle-RPG game, Super Snail, needed further ad monetization optimization and user engagement in order to grow efficiently. We met with Yifei Wang, Operation Manager, at Qcplay to understand how the Unity Ads bidder helped increase ad ARPDAU by 29%. How OK Cashbag boosted revenue with Unity LevelPlay and the Tapjoy offerwall OK Cashbag had two goals for their app: build a more comprehensive monetization strategy while maintaining, and even improving, their users’ experience. Implementing rewarded video ads and the Tapjoy offerwall helped the studio boost quarterly revenue by a staggering 288%, and eCPM by 270%. How CashWalk increased revenue by 225% and engagement rate by 5x CashWalk, an app based out of Korea, lets you earn rewards for walking or running, which can be exchanged for gift cards from leading brands and products. Looking to increase revenue and engagement, the team turned to the experts to scale their business. Learn how Jungsin Park, CEO of CashWalk, increased revenue by 225% and engagement rate by 5x for the app working with Unity LevelPlay and Unity’s app design consultancy. Tapjoy from Unity’s offerwall success stories: Crazy Maple Studio exceeded their D7 ROAS goal by 150% and drove 120% higher LTV We met with Yana Kong, UA lead at Crazy Maple Studio to understand how implementing a Daily Reward CPE campaign on the Tapjoy from Unity’s offerwall drove incremental scale, with 50% growth in installs, and a 120% lift in user LTV compared to users acquired from video UA channels. How Appynation multiplied iOS revenue 9x and increased Android revenue 2x – without cannibalizing IAP Appynation, a UK-based mobile game developer and publisher, aimed to increase revenue and boost conversions for their puzzle game Picture Cross. By implementing the Message to Earn feature on the offerwall, iOS revenue increased by 9x, and Android by 2x. How King drove incremental scale with Daily Rewards, exceeding their D7 ROAS goal by 1.5x Long time offerwall users, King was seeking to further optimize the channel to drive incremental scale and ROAS. The team turned to Tapjoy’s Daily Rewards CPE campaigns to help drive user engagement, and in turn, boosting their D7 ROAS goal. How Lotte Members boosted ad revenue and increased eCPM 10x Hyohun Jung, Team Leader, Digital Marketing Business Team at Lotte Members, explains how implementing the offerwall maximized their monetization strategy, boosting ad revenue 20x and increasing eCPM 10x. Programmatic success stories: In the competitive world of advertising, making your brand stand out and drive engagement can be challenging. Over the past year, we collaborated with brands to realize their campaign visions through programmatic solutions, resulting in being shortlisted for five prestigious award nominations from Digiday, MediaPost’s OMMA, and AdExchanger, as we helped clients engage new users globally. Maniko Nails programmatic: The easiest manicure in the world meets mobile gaming audiences A finalist in both Adexchanger Awards and OMMA Awards, the Maniko Nails case study is a prime example of standing out in a crowded market by leveraging innovative programmatic mobile marketing strategies. By collaborating with Kayzen and Unity, Maniko was able to tap into the highly engaged mobile gaming audience and implement a full-funnel attribution solution. This approach allowed them to effectively reach and retarget potential customers, showcasing their unique product benefits through memorable ad experiences. The results generated 13.6M impressions and sent 1.9M unique users to Maniko’s e-commerce site. It’s been a whirlwind of a year, and we’re honored to share these success stories and insights that can encourage your game growth for years to come.

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State of Play: a Q&A with Samantha Benjamin on the shift from hyper to hybrid-casual

Samantha Benjamin — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 11:07:50 +0000

In the State of Play series, we share in-depth interviews with featured industry experts at Unity events. In our first interview, we sat down with Samantha Benjamin, Director of Growth and LiveOps at Supersonic from Unity. At Appfest 2024, Samantha analyzed mobile gaming’s industry-wide shift from hyper-casual to hybrid-casual games. Here, she shares her insights into the trends that brought about the transition, what the shift means for both publishers and advertisers, and Supersonic’s approach to both defining and publishing hybrid-casual games. 1. What is the current state of the hyper-casual market and how did we get here? The hyper-casual market has seen significant growth since its emergence around 2016. It was once a fast-growing genre, bringing in a huge number of new players and offering advertisers massive volumes of ad inventory. However, as of 2022-2023, it faces a decline in installs and market interest. This slowdown is attributed to factors such as post-COVID economic adjustments, rising user acquisition (UA) costs, and diminishing eCPMs. As advertisers face more competitive markets and declining returns, hyper-casual’s once-dominant position has been challenged. Despite these challenges, it still accounts for around a third of mobile gaming ad impressions, which shows its lasting importance as a supply source. 2. How has hyper-casual contributed to the current state of the mobile gaming and app ecosystem? The hyper-casual genre played a pivotal role in bringing new players into the mobile gaming ecosystem. By offering easy-to-understand gameplay and high marketability, it effectively acted as a “funnel” for converting non-gamers into mobile gamers. Furthermore, hyper-casual helped expand the ad ecosystem by generating a massive volume of impressions that advertisers could buy. This expanded supply helped major gaming studios diversify their UA strategies, reaching users more effectively through ad-supported apps.

“The key takeaway is that while UA costs are higher, we now have the tools and models to maximize revenue potential by making better use of the available inventory and targeting the right user segments more efficiently.”

3. As you mentioned, UA is highly competitive today. But eCPMs are still rising. What has contributed to this and what can we take from this trend? The rise in eCPMs is largely due to the maturing ad networks and improvements in their data science and optimization algorithms. As the mobile gaming industry faced challenges such as privacy restrictions and rising costs, networks focused on improving targeting precision, ad placements, and data analytics. This optimization has allowed for better monetization, even in a more competitive environment. For us, the key takeaway is that while UA costs are higher, we now have the tools and models to maximize revenue potential by making better use of the available inventory and targeting the right user segments more efficiently. 4. How have the changes in CPI rates affected game publishers and studios? As CPI rates have risen, publishers and studios have been forced to adapt by increasing their focus on lifetime value (LTV) and retention. With higher UA costs, studios now need to ensure they can generate sufficient revenue from users over a longer period. This has led to greater adoption of hybrid monetization models and a focus on optimizing the user experience to improve engagement and monetization. And as a result a new mobile game genre has emerged, hybrid-casual.

“At Supersonic, we see hybrid-casual games as a combination of the mass appeal and marketability of hyper-casual games with the deeper, more engaging gameplay and content usually affiliated with casual games.”

5. How does Supersonic define a hybrid-casual game? At Supersonic, we see hybrid-casual games as a combination of the mass appeal and marketability of hyper-casual games with the deeper, more engaging gameplay and content usually affiliated with casual games. Hybrid-casual games usually offer a balance between ad-based monetization (IAA) and in-app purchases (IAP), with IAP becoming a significant revenue stream. For us, a hybrid-casual game must appeal to a broad audience while also providing enough complexity to retain and monetize users long-term. It integrates mechanics and monetization strategies from both the hyper-casual and casual game genres. 6. How does Supersonic evaluate the success of a hybrid-casual prototype in terms of both its UA and monetization? When evaluating a hybrid-casual game prototype, we focus on several key metrics:

User Acquisition: Strong marketability and a good CPI-to-LTV ratio are critical. The game should have a broad appeal and show potential for scale.
Monetization: We assess both IAP and IAA performance. The game should show healthy IAP conversion rates and a mix of monetization strategies (e.g., rewarded ads, interstitials, and in-app purchases).
Engagement: Retention metrics (especially Day 7) and user engagement (e.g. session length, playtime) are key to assessing long-term potential.
Balance: A successful prototype will offer a balanced monetization strategy, where ads and in-app purchases co-exist without cannibalizing each other.

7. How long does it typically take to create a hybrid-casual game and what kind of resources are required? Typically, the development time for a hybrid-casual game is longer than a hyper-casual game – taking around 12-18 months from initial concept to launch, as the game requires more complex mechanics and content. Additionally, you also have to balance the game economy to effectively create pressure points to monetize users through IAP and ad offers. So, a strong development team is required to handle the core gameplay and complex monetization mechanics as well as balance the game’s economy. 8. How does Supersonic optimize and iterate on hybrid-casual games? We apply a rigorous testing and iteration process for hybrid-casual games that includes constant A/B testing and retention and engagement optimization, particularly for Day 7 and beyond. We also employ creative iterations for UA and data-driven adjustments to improve monetization models. 9. How do creative strategies differ for hybrid-casual games compared to hyper-casual? Creative strategies for hybrid-casual games are more complex and targeted than for hyper-casual games. For hybrid-casual games, we focus on deeper, more engaging gameplay in the ad creatives, that highlight both IAP and ad monetization opportunities and segment ads based on user behavior.

“Hybrid-casual games represent the future of mobile gaming, providing publishers and studios with the ability to scale their games more sustainably.”

10. What will be the long-term impact of the hybrid-casual genre for publishers and studios? Hybrid-casual games represent the future of mobile gaming, providing publishers and studios with the ability to scale their games more sustainably. Over the long term, we expect more stable revenue generation due to a balanced monetization model, a lower volatility in user acquisition costs compared to hyper-casual games, and a higher quality of user. Hybrid-casual games will also encourage greater innovation in game development and monetization strategies. 11. From an advertiser’s perspective, what does the continued rise and dominance of hybrid-casual games mean? For advertisers, the rise of hybrid-casual games is a positive development. It offers high-volume impressions from games with a broad appeal, while creating new avenues to reach higher-quality users who are more likely to make in-app purchases and engage with ads. Hybrid-casual games also provide longer engagement and more playable ad opportunities, especially with rewarded videos. These represent better monetization opportunities for advertisers and the ability to target a more diverse inventory which can help scale campaigns in a more sustainable way.

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Extend Your Holiday Success: Q5 Strategies for Mobile User Acquisition

Savannah Cookson — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 20:01:51 +0000

While the holiday season remains a busy time of year with consumers being inundated with sales, deals, and general holiday rush, an often-overlooked time period for advertisers is between the day after Christmas and mid-January. This is otherwise known as Q5, where the rush of the holidays are over, but many are still gearing up for the new year. In this post, we’ll explore:

How Q5 offers a unique opportunity for mobile advertisers due to increased user activity and cost-effective advertising
Strategies to optimize ad creatives by generating topical content, using interactive ad formats, and updating custom store pages
Ways to diversify user acquisition campaigns with ROAS or event optimizers, offerwall campaigns, Connected TV, and adjusted bidding based on holiday user patterns
The importance of capitalizing on the influx of new devices during the holidays to reach users early in their device setup journey

Advertisers might overlook this time period due to the post-holiday lull, however data shows us that this time period is a recipe for opportunity. Q5 also allows advertisers to close out end of year KPIs, and leverage learnings well into Q1 and beyond. The Q5 opportunity Data shows us that user behavior on mobile apps during the holidays can set the stage for an opportunistic Q5, with increased play time for mobile games, increased app sessions, and cost-effective advertising.

Unity recently surveyed 4,094 U.S. adults aged 18+ mobile users and found that more than a third (36%) of respondents expect to increase their mobile gaming activity during the holidays.*
In the same survey, 37% of all respondents said that on average, they’d be playing mobile games around 1-2 hours a day during the holidays**
App sessions experience an uptick during Q5 across both iOS and Android, according to AppsFlyer and Meta survey data
In Q5 specifically, post-holiday CPM rates were on average -15% below Oct 1, levels, average CPAs were down -4%, and average CVR was down -8%, according to Meta’s data.

The mobile gaming surge from the holidays doesn’t stop there – the demand is still high from users, and advertising costs are typically lower, making Q5 an interesting opportunity for advertisers to seize ahead of rolling into Q1. Creative best practices for Q5 Optimizing your ad creatives is one of the easiest and most impactful ways to enhance your mobile UA strategy. In this section, we’ll explore tips and techniques to help you craft compelling ads that resonate during Q5. Generate creatives based on topical insights Holiday-themed creatives can help spike IPM and boost eCPM, while providing players with a fresh, fun update to your game’s look and feel. But how can you carry themed creatives into Q5, when the holiday season is dwindling down? Try tapping into the mindset of where your users might be at by leveraging the new year and new beginnings mindset – new year, new challenges in your game! Layering in nods to the new year; resolutions, new beginnings, and celebration of achievements, can all provide a distinct post-holiday/new year distinction in your game. You can also look back at how your creatives were performing in Q4 and throughout the holidays to inform certain ad formats, length of creative, or type of creative to see what drove higher conversion rates. Focus on interactive ad formats Data from our Unity survey showed that 38% of all respondents said that rewarded ads and playable ads were ad formats they’d most likely engage with over the holidays. Leaning into engaging ad formats that give potential players a solid understanding of your game’s core mechanics is a great way to showcase your game and drive installs. Playable ads in particular offer people a chance at test-driving your game before committing, so ensure that you are giving enough time for players to get a good understanding of the game’s progression. We typically recommend making playable ads 20+ seconds long. To get started creating interactive ads, use the free Unity Playworks plugin for the Editor. This plugin allows you to leverage existing projects to easily create, customize, test, publish and analyze playable ads and interactive end cards, without needing additional code or resources. Developers can also seek guidance from creative professionals who specialize in game advertising, by working with Unity’s creative studio. Unity’s experts can provide a valuable look into competitive insights, creative concepts, and tailored recommendations to help optimize ad creatives for long-term success. Leveraging the studio’s knowledge and experience, developers can create compelling ads that showcase their game’s unique features and attract high-quality users. Update your custom store page Custom store pages allow advertisers to create a seamless user experience from first ad exposure all the way through to the App Store, by creatively customizing your app store page to match the ad your potential player may have seen. If you’re updating your ad creative to be Q5-themed, mirror your custom store page as well to provide consistency. Studios that leverage custom store pages see improved conversion and IPM. When running various creative formats and versions, you’ll want to ensure you’re A/B testing to see what’s resonating with your audience, and more importantly, what’s not. User acquisition best practices for Q5 Equally important as optimizing your creative for Q5, is testing various UA campaign strategies. Let’s take a look at some ways to optimize UA campaigns for Q5. Diversify your UA campaign types With the rollover of engaged players during the holiday season into Q5, it could be beneficial to include campaign optimizers in your UA strategy to find high-quality players who will continually take action in your game. If you’re not already using ROAS (return on ad spend) or event optimizers, Q5 could be the perfect time to test them out. ROAS-based optimization ROAS campaigns that optimize for Ad Revenue, IAP revenue, or both, can be an efficient way to acquire players at scale, and at an optimal price. With increased app sessions in Q5, introducing event optimization, such as tCPE (target cost per event), or tCPA (target cost per action), could be a great way to reach players who might be more inclined to take specific actions that you set within your game, like watching a certain amount of rewarded videos, or purchasing a set amount of currency. Event-based optimization How do you choose an event to target? We recommend choosing an action that your top 5–20% of users with the highest LTV complete within the first seven days of gameplay. It might help to look at what your high-value players have been doing over the holidays to inform your Q5 event optimization. Our data shows that over the last two years, advertisers across both Unity Ads and ironSource Ads networks have shifted their budget allocations to further diversify their campaigns by leveraging these optimizers. Offerwall campaigns Another way to diversify could be acquiring players through the offerwall. As a rewarded marketplace, the offerwall enables advertisers to run event-based campaigns that cater to specific player engagement behaviors. Users acquired through the offerwall tend to have higher retention rates – users who find and convert on offerwall have 2-7x higher retention compared to non-offerwall users, as they are rewarded with high-value items like in-game currency for completing certain tasks. This approach is particularly effective in the post-holiday period when players might spend more cautiously, as it provides an alternative avenue to access premium in-game content by investing time rather than money. Additionally, you can wrap the offerwall with holiday themed creatives, and create time-sensitive offers that can help drive urgency. Connected TV As the post-holiday lull sets in, people often find themselves with more downtime to watch their favorite shows. According to a Comcast report, over 60% of U.S. households who have connected TVs are turning to free ad-supported streaming services to watch their favorite shows***. This presents a unique opportunity for advertisers to reach audiences throughout Q5. By introducing Connected TV into your user acquisition mobile strategy, you can take advantage of this increased viewership. Adjust budget and bidding strategies Take advantage of the holiday uptick in mobile gamers and expand your budget allocation. Adjust your bidding strategies to capitalize on the influx of new players and their increased time spent playing games. Try looking at user patterns throughout the holiday season to identify any trends in session lengths, retention rates, ad engagement, or IAP activity, which could help you further optimize your budget and bidding strategies going into Q5. One strategy to consider is adjusting bids and offering promotions on the offerwall during Q5. Our recent Tap4Fun case study, showed that by increasing bids and providing bonus rewards to users who completed offerwall events within a specific time frame, they were able to significantly increase their monthly spending and improve their return on ad spend. Developers can explore similar tactics to engage users and optimize their ad spend during this period when user activity is at its peak. Leverage the influx of new devices from the holidays New or upgraded mobile devices are a popular holiday gift. Not only do people love them, but telco companies tend to launch deals and promotions during the holiday season to incentivize people to buy. This surge in new devices presents a unique opportunity for advertisers, as our data shows that 95% of users install over 60% of their apps within the first 48 hours of unboxing a new device****. The period right after a user gets a new phone presents a valuable opportunity for advertisers to get their apps in front of new users. By leveraging innovative advertising solutions, such as Aura from Unity, apps and games can reach users from the moment they unbox their new phones and throughout the device lifecycle, delivering high-quality users, long-term engagement, and return on investment. With the influx of new devices during the holidays, running a campaign that positions your app right in front of users at one of the earliest touchpoints in their device setup journey can be a game-changer for your UA strategy. Seize the Q5 opportunity By implementing a diversified UA strategy that includes optimizing ad creatives, capitalizing on increased user activity, and exploring innovative channels like offerwall and on-device advertising, advertisers can maximize their return on investment and set themselves up for long-term success. Don’t miss out on the Q5 advantage – reach out to your dedicated account manager to start planning your UA strategy now. There’s no better time to hit the ground running and scale your mobile growth in the new year. * Source: Unity survey of 4,094 U.S. adults aged 18+, statement: “I will be playing mobile games more than usual.” 36% of total respondents. ** Source: Unity survey of 4,094 U.S. adults aged 18+, statement: “On average, how long do you play mobile games per day during the holiday season?” *** Source: 2022 Comcast FAST Report **** Source: Aura from Unity, Android, from June 2023 to June 2024

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Advertiser’s Playbook to Win the 2024 Holiday Season

Unity — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 19:47:44 +0000

As the holiday magic unfolds, savvy marketers are ready to connect with consumers like never before. Unity surveyed 4,094 U.S. adults aged 18+ to uncover insights that can help your brand land on the nice list. Ready to maximize your impact? Let’s dive in! Be proactive and precise with your holiday advertising With the holiday season quickly approaching, preparation and timing are crucial, and as our data shows – it’s never too early to think about your holiday advertising strategy, since holiday shopping for most is a year-long activity. 24% of shoppers plan to buy the majority of their holiday gifts during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, while 21% do their shopping throughout the year. Most notably, only 12% of respondents plan to do their shopping in December, highlighting the need for brands to engage consumers early.

When do you plan on buying the majority of your holiday gifts this year?

🎄 DEEP DIVE Gen Z shoppers are most proactive, with 25% planning to buy their holiday gifts throughout the year and 21% starting their shopping even earlier—kicking off in October rather than waiting for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. When it comes to holiday spending, consumers are ready to invest in gifts this year. 32% of Gen Z shoppers plan to spend between $101 and $250, while 31% will spend less than $100. As the generations get older, there’s an increased willingness to spend more: 35% of Millennials, 43% of Gen X, and 47% of Boomers plan to spend between $251 and $500+ on gifts, highlighting a strong commitment to holiday shopping across all age groups. Overall, Millennials are planning to spend the most, albeit by a small margin.

In total, how much do you plan to spend on holiday gifts this year?

And here’s how they plan to purchase these gifts: Across all generations, 48% of respondents intend to use their mobile devices for holiday purchases. → 50% of Gen Zs plan to use their mobile phones for shopping → 47% of Millennials plan to use their mobile phones for shopping → 48% of Gen X plan to use their mobile phones for shopping → 39% of Baby Boomers+ plan to use their mobile phones for shopping TAKEAWAY: As shoppers begin their holiday shopping earlier and increasingly rely on mobile devices, brands must start engaging audiences now. Tailor your holiday campaigns to align with these early shopping behaviors and leverage mobile to connect with consumers at the right time and place ahead of this festive season. Leverage the power of mobile gaming this holiday season The holiday season invites moments of togetherness and offers a chance to unwind at the end of the year, but it can also bring its share of stress. Mobile gaming can help offset any holiday stress – in fact, 44% of respondents identified mobile gaming as the ultimate stress reliever over the holidays, with Gen Z (47%) and Millennials (44%) leading the way. Additionally, about 35% of all respondents say they turn to mobile games to combat holiday boredom.

Which of the following statements do you associate with mobile gaming in the holiday season? (Check all that apply)

Turning to mobile games as a source of comfort and entertainment, audiences anticipate spending a considerable time gaming. 37% of Gen Z expect to increase their playtime during the holidays, while 29% of Millennials feel the same way. Don’t overlook Gen X and Baby Boomers+ though, as the holiday season won’t deter them from enjoying their gaming experiences either.

Do you expect to spend more or less time playing mobile games during the holiday season?

A significant 33% of Gen Z, 44% of Millennials, 46% of Gen X, and 37% of Baby Boomers+ say they’ll play over 3 hours of mobile games per day during the holidays. This dedication to mobile gaming underscores its role as a key source of relief amidst the holiday hustle and bustle.

On average, how long do you play mobile games per day during the holidays?

🎄 DEEP DIVE 13% of respondents say they’ll likely play for 5 or more hours a day, of which 59+ year olds were the most likely to at 14%. (That’s almost 30% of their entire day! – if they’re sleeping 8 hours~) With so much time spent gaming, it’s no surprise that players are eager to embrace the holiday spirit through their favorite games. In fact, 23% of respondents say they are more likely to engage with holiday-themed in-game content, while 18% plan to spend more on in-game purchases this season. TAKEAWAY: The holiday season offers a prime opportunity for brands to connect with audiences, as 44% identify mobile gaming as a key stress reliever. With many players eager to engage with holiday-themed content and increase their gaming time, capitalize on this trend to drive both engagement and leave a strong impression. Gamify your ad strategy for the holidays Mobile ads play a significant role in shaping holiday shopping decisions, especially among younger audiences. 45% of Gen Z report that ads in mobile games influence their holiday gift purchases. As the audience ages, the influence of ads decreases, with 32% of Millennials, 27% of Gen X, and 16% of Baby Boomers+ saying they are influenced by ads.

During the holiday season, which ad categories are you most likely to engage with?(Check all that apply)

🎄 DEEP DIVE Audiences are most likely to interact with ads for electronics (41%), followed by food and beverage (29%). Rewarded video ads and playable ads are the most popular formats, with 38% indicating they would most likely engage with them. Offerwall ads come in close behind at 33%.

During the holiday season, what types of mobile ads are you most likely to engage with? (Check all that apply)

🎄 DEEP DIVE Gen Zs show a preference for interactive ad formats, with 42% favoring playable ads and 40% preferring offerwall ads that provide rewards. In contrast, Gen X and Baby Boomers+ lean towards rewarded ads. To maximize engagement, brands should focus on delivering creative and interactive ad experiences. TAKEAWAY: The preference for engaging ad formats indicates that brands should invest in creative, gamified advertising strategies to effectively reach and resonate with audiences during the holidays. Leverage rewarded or interactive ad units to reach new audiences and ensure audiences are open to seeing your ads. As the holiday season sparkles with cheer and connection, may your brand sleigh the competition and spread joy to audiences far and wide! *Of those surveyed, 54% identified as female, 30% as male, 11% as gender fluid, nonbinary or genderqueer, and 5% preferred not to answer

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4 key strategies to drive scale and revenue for your app during the shopping season

Daniel Godley — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 08:46:11 +0000

As most app marketers know, time spent on device peaks during the holiday season. Between November and December, households across the globe are on their devices, shopping for holiday deals, ordering takeout for family gatherings, booking their vacations, or just spending some downtime with their favorite mobile game. The key to making this seasonal uplift in new users, engagement, and intent work for your app is tackling it from all angles – from optimizing existing channels to expanding into new ones.

1. Build holiday-themed and urgent creatives that spike conversions

The challenges app marketers face during the holiday season are the same as those throughout the rest of the year – only amplified due to the high competition for users’ attention. To drive growth, you need to optimize your channels, generate strong content and creatives, reach your target audience, look for real-time marketing opportunities, and collect and analyze data to improve performance. The key difference between this season and the rest of the year is the opportunities available to maximize your app’s growth through creatives. And there’s a lot of data to back up this claim*:

Conversions are significantly higher throughout the holiday season due to more engagement in apps and on phones (2021, US, iOS)
Game installs surge 3x during the week of Christmas (2021, US, Facebook)
Advertisers test 2x the amount of creatives during the holidays, which means you don’t want to be left behind

*Data from the Unity Playworks platform, 2021-2022 This makes the holiday and shopping season prime opportunities to use your creatives to drive growth. It’s also the time when consumers are most likely to be engaged by emotional triggers, like nostalgia – since it’s a time traditionally affiliated with friends and family. These triggers are a useful tool for building high conversion creatives. Your creatives can use users’ emotional responses to these triggers to connect your app with the mood of the season. By playing to these emotional responses you’ll stand a better chance of encouraging users to download your app. Another effective emotional trigger to motivate users is urgency. Time-limited promotions and time-sensitive messaging are two great ways to insert urgency into your creatives. Urgency is an effective tool as it motivates users to engage as soon as possible or risk losing out – whether that’s on a special promotion or just the chance to get ahead of the shopping crowds, availability issues, or lengthy delivery times. Some tips to help you ideate creatives that spark the holiday feeling include:

Use real footage of real people that show emotional, heartwarming scenarios
Test holiday symbols in your creatives – think snowflakes, witches, pumpkins, and turkeys
Leverage narratives that center on family and community

2. Set up an offerwall campaign to exceed your ROAS goals

The offerwall is a user-initiated, rewarded in-app marketplace with three main constituents: developers use the offerwall to drive revenue, retain users, and motivate app engagement. Advertisers use the offerwall to reach unique, high-quality audiences that are looking to exchange engagement for rewards. Users engage with the offerwall for rewards, app discovery, and brand discovery, all while getting more of the app they’re already using. Here are 3 best practices for mastering this ad unit during the holidays: First, the most important thing to keep in mind is timing. You want to ensure that you have enough time before the shopping rush to reach a large audience, while also making sure that you’re not leveraging shopping season themes before the season is top of mind for users. Second, like with your creatives, it’s important to create a sense of urgency with your offerwall campaigns to drive engagement. With holiday shopping starting earlier and earlier each year, it’s important to remind users that the holidays are coming and that right now is the time to shop. You can provide this sense of urgency in your messaging – by labeling deals as time-limited or tying them into specific holidays. Third, use special promotions like double rewards on key shopping days, like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Double rewards typically look like doubling the amount of in-app currency that users receive for completing a task – for example, offering users 40 gold coins instead of the 20 they would usually receive for the same task. Consumers will be inclined to engage with an offer that gives them extra rewards. As an advertiser, you can double down on your bid – the reward is higher, the traffic is higher. In fact, we’ve seen around a 35% lift in conversions during special promotions. Overall, the offerwall is an effective placement to engage high-intent users and drive high ROAS – particularly if implemented correctly in your growth strategy.

3. Use device set-up placements as new phones enter the market

The holiday season has tons of new devices entering the market – with all the major players releasing the latest versions of their best-selling devices, many shoppers buy new devices as gifts to themselves and others. As such, device sales traditionally increase heavily in this period. And new models entering the market mean many users will be setting up their new devices. New device activation is when users are most likely to install – the first 48 hours of unboxing their new device is when they’ll install over 50% of their apps. That makes this window the most impactful for app marketers looking to drive scale. Aura from Unity partners with top device manufacturers and mobile carriers, like Vodafone, Samsung, and Orange, to deliver app discovery experiences directly to users on their devices, starting with device activation. This gives Aura the ability to get your app recommended during this pivotal moment of app discovery. On top of that, Aura uses opt-in data to personalize recommendations – helping to ensure that the users discovering your app will be those most likely to download it. To make the most of this unique channel during the holiday season, there are three things to keep in mind. First, like with traditional channels, holiday-ify your creatives. Second, like with offerwalls, timing and creating urgency is vital. Third, prepare for a longer LTV curve. On-device campaigns typically have a slower LTV return than traditional channels, but make up for it by showing greater ROAS in the long run. Running an on-device campaign, you should begin to see user engagement increase on D14 or D30. This is because, when users download an app during device set-up, it’s usually not because they plan to use that app right away. They might download a recommended travel app, for example, during device set-up, but then only first login to the app when they’re starting to plan their trip a month later. The upside of using a channel like this is that you’re already there when users are looking to book that trip, instead of competing for the install when users are searching for their next travel app in the Google Play Store.

4. Reach users at moments when they’re already looking to spend

On-device channels are not only confined to new device set-up placements. The ability to reach users directly on their devices to drive app discovery extends to throughout the device lifecycle. Another impactful on-device placement is native touchpoints. Because on-device channels are directly integrated into the operating systems of users’ devices, they enable advertisers to reach users with display ads that appear as native notifications. This represents a key opportunity for advertisers to engage users with messaging related to contextual triggers. You can send users a notification that appears like a notification from their carrier or device manufacturer, letting them know that a holiday sale is currently running on your app. This is a great way to leverage urgency and tie your app into the holiday season. An example of this could be a banner that appears on users home screen, letting them know that Black Friday is around the corner and that your app is currently running a related time-sensitive sale. These native display ads enable your app to reach users as they’re already looking to spend – and help you get a head start on the competition. Having a multi-channel approach to your holiday advertising strategy and knowing how to optimize all of those components is critical. If you’ve made it this far, you should have all of the best practices you need to drive growth this holiday season.

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Implementing ads without cannibalizing subscription conversions: A brief guide by ad format

Daniel Godley — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 07:35:09 +0000

2024 has seen many premium subscription service apps expanding their business models to incorporate an ad-tier into their offerings. At first glance, this shift makes sense – traditionally only 3-4% of users are likely to subscribe to a premium subscription-based app. Ads offer premium apps and streaming services a way to monetize the remaining 96% of users who would otherwise not generate revenue. While converting users to subscribers still offers the highest ROI for these apps, they would leave significant revenue on the table without ads. Still, some apps are hesitant to incorporate ads into their monetization strategy. Beyond more general concerns about ads causing churn due to a negative experience, there is also a concern that an ad-based tier would cannibalize subscription conversions. The reasoning is that if a user can access an app’s services through an ad-tier, they won’t be incentivized to purchase a subscription. But with the savvy implementation of an ad-based tier, subscription cannibalization can be avoided, as well as exposing an even greater cohort of users to the benefits of your app’s premium content or services, perhaps leading to more subscription conversions down the line. Below, we go over what you need to know about implementing ads without cannibalizing subscription conversions, broken down by ad format.

How to implement ads, by format:

1. Display ads Display ads are one of the most widely used types of ad formats, including formats like banner, MREC, native, and splash ads (splash ads are pop-up ads that trigger when users open their app). Their popularity is often attributed to their ease of use and unobtrusiveness – display ads require minimal development work from publishers and do not overtly disrupt app usage. Users experience display ads as digital ‘posters’ and are still able to use the app normally when display ads are on screen. As minimally disruptive as display ads are, they’re system-initiated, so users can’t opt out. As a result, there is still some risk of users bouncing. To prevent this, users should be primed to expect ads with messaging related to the tiers – the ad tier where they’ll receive some premium features for free with ads, and the premium tier where they can access all the features of the app without ads. Priming users that ads are present can help to avoid churn since users are less likely to see the ads as intrusive as they’ll be expecting them. Notifying users that they’re on an ad-tier can also work to incentivize subscription conversions – ad-tier users get a taste of premium content, which may make them want to subscribe to unlock the full experience and receive all premium features. Another option for an ad-tier is to give users full premium features but with ads with an option to access an ad-free experience by subscribing. Preferably, users should be primed with a notification from the start of their app experience. A good place is in the sign-up flow since this is when they’ll have the option between using a subscription or ad-based tier for the first time. Moreover, a sticky notification in their account settings is another great place for the notification. There should be a CTA alongside the notification to become a subscriber, which can work to convert users who initially chose the ad-tier of your app. 2. Interstitials Interstitials offer even better revenue generation potential than display ads but can be more intrusive. Like display ads, interstitials are system-initiated, but unlike display ads, users can’t keep using the app until they have either completed or dismissed the ad. So, implementing them correctly is even more important. Like with display ads, priming users is essential. And since interstitials can interrupt the user experience of the app, it’s doubly vital to prime them that ads are present. 3. Rewarded videos Rewarded videos (RVs) are one of the best ways to monetize users, since, like some interstitial ads, they are a more engaging 15-30 second video, but unlike interstitial ads, RVs are user-initiated. In other words, users opt-in to watch the ad until completion in return for access to in-app currency or content. This makes rewarded videos premium placements with high revenue generation potential – RVs incentivize higher engagement and so advertisers are willing to bid more for them. Thanks to this, RVs can actually positively impact your conversion and retention rates. They enable you to give users a taste of premium content in exchange for watching ads. Some users will want more of the premium content and subscribe, while others, who may have otherwise churned, will stay for the premium content they received from the rewarded video. The primary difficulty with RVs is that they come with some development needs. To implement them, you need a way to categorize content so that it can be exchanged for ads watched. With the right resources and expertise this is entirely possible (Unity has an in-house dedicated consulting team to help publishers accomplish this), but it does take some work. 4. Offerwall Offerwalls take the value exchange-driven engagement of RVs one step further, offering users in-app currency or unlockable features for not just watching ads, but also completing tasks in other apps. Users can be tasked using a range of offers, like downloading another app, making an in-app purchase there, or progressing far enough in terms of levels or engagement in that advertised app. Like RVs, offerwalls are also an opt-in, user-initiated monetization strategy, meaning that they are less likely to cause users to churn because users are actively choosing to engage with them. However, just like RVs, there is some development work required. To implement an offerwall you would also need to categorize your features and content. But, on top of that, offerwall implementation also requires you to have some form of in-app currency that users can receive in exchange for completing tasks. Users also then need a storefront in your app where they can spend the in-app currency they earn. Though the requirements of offerwalls can be steep, if you can implement one properly, it can offer a key way to diversify your monetization strategy, giving you a way to monetize highly engaged users who are committed enough to engage with outside offers to access premium content in your app, but still might be on the fence when it comes to purchasing a subscription. Ultimately, all ad formats have a lot to offer in terms of revenue generation and diversifying your monetization strategies. The right one, or the combination of ads, will depend on your app and audience. But, regardless of which ad format is right for your app, all ad format implementations share one commonality – the importance of using segmentation to prevent cannibalization.

Segment users to prevent cannibalization

For a subscription app diversifying into ads, it’s critical to use a monetization platform that allows you to segment users, ideally by region, device model, OS, and more. These segmentation options enable you to tailor your ad implementation to ensure that high-potential users get an app experience that drives them to convert, whereas users who are less likely to convert to a subscription package are routed to an ad-based tier. For example, users from a tier-1 region, like the US, are more likely to convert than those from tier-2 regions like LATAM, so segmenting tier-1 users out of the ad-based tier will help to prevent losing high-quality users who might have otherwise become subscribers. With a monetization platform that enables you to segment users in this way, you stand the best chance of reaping the rewards of implementing an ad monetization strategy without the cost of cannibalization – especially when used in conjunction with priming.

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Beyond 50: An untapped audience

Ziva Shapiro — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 12:41:14 +0000

While many marketers heavily concentrate on reaching Gen Z and Millennial audiences, an often-overlooked yet rapidly-expanding demographic has emerged within the mobile gaming sphere: adults over 50. There are over 52 million people over the age of 50 playing mobile games in the US, according to a 2023 AARP Research study. These numbers suggest that mobile gaming isn’t exclusive to Gen Z and Millennials – games are a prime place to reach the 50+ demographic. To dive deeper, we surveyed 1,533 U.S. adults* aged 50+ to uncover insights into their current mobile gaming habits, advertising preferences, and health considerations. Here’s what we learned:

1. 42% of respondents play for more than an hour each day and of this group, 7.7% dedicate over 5 hours daily to mobile gaming

Takeaway: For brand marketers and advertisers, regardless of industry, it’s important to recognize that audiences over 50 are engaging with mobile games throughout their day. If you’re looking to reach these audiences, make sure your programmatic partners can offer you the flexibility, scale, and reach to connect with them during their mobile gaming sessions. You might even want to double down later in the day, which seems to be a particularly great window for engagement.

2. 46% of respondents play mobile games for fun or to relax

Respondents report playing mobile games for various reasons: 46% for fun, 45% to relax or take a break, 40% to pass the time, 39% to keep their brain sharp, 20% for mastery, and 9% to connect with friends and family. The preferred game genres were card, board, casino, and match-3, perhaps indicating some nostalgia for real-world gaming experiences. Takeaway: Reach the over 50 audience on their favorite mobile game genres and use custom playable or interactive end cards in your in-app mobile strategy to offer fun and immersive experiences. Try a word search or match-3 interactive playable to encourage an enjoyable interaction with your brand.

3. 72% of respondents indicated some level of interest in improving their physical health

A significant portion of respondents over 50 recognize the importance of maintaining or improving their health as they age. 3 out of 5 respondents (60%) reported that they’re currently taking vitamins or supplements, which suggests a proactive attitude towards health maintenance. Takeaway: For health and wellness brands, mobile gaming might just uncover an untapped audience. Reach health-conscious audiences playing mobile games with products aimed at maintaining and improving health and well-being.

4. 55% of respondents currently shop for over-the-counter health/wellness products online

Over half of the respondents (56%) expressed openness to shopping for over-the-counter health and wellness products online within the next 12 months. Factors motivating purchases of over-the-counter health-related products include price (51%), product effectiveness (48%), brand reputation (39%), recommendations from healthcare professionals (32%), positive customer reviews (25%), and personalized promotions or discounts (17%). We also found out how much this group is spending: Takeaway: Leverage programmatic solutions that offer a variety of ad experiences to facilitate an easy transition from ad viewing to product purchasing- especially for those products within the <$100 range.

5. More than half of respondents express some level of likelihood to engage with in-game rewards

Advertisements have an influence on what health-related items this group chooses to buy, with 13% saying they’re influenced to a great extent and 41% stating some influence of advertisements. 52% of respondents expressed some likelihood to engage with in-game rewards, with 24% indicating they’re very likely and 28% saying they’re likely to do so. We took it a step further and asked respondents what types of rewards or incentives would encourage them to engage with health and wellness advertisements. Takeaway: Tailoring the messaging in your creatives is essential for every audience. Consider incorporating incentives like discounts, free samples, and loyalty points in your health and wellness product ads to effectively engage with adults over 50. Advertising on mobile games presents a unique opportunity to reach audiences over 50, especially those who are actively seeking ways to improve their health and wellness. By understanding their mobile gaming habits, health considerations, and advertisement preferences, advertisers can tailor their strategies to effectively capture attention, drive engagement, and ultimately, influence purchase decisions within this growing market segment. *The survey encompassed 45% female participants, 46% male participants, 5% who identified as genderfluid, nonbinary, or genderqueer, and 4% who preferred not to disclose their gender identity.

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