AdColony: Advertising Opportunities for the Mobile Gaming Audience

Surprisingly, there is no age limit to playing games; statistics show that all generations enjoy spending time-solving puzzles and beating high scores in their favourite digital games. Free-to-play games are the most popular choice among players and in-app advertising has become an important aspect of marketing.

Expert marketers will look for commercial opportunities within any trends, and it is clear that mobile games present an extraordinary opportunity to reach broader audiences across varying age groups. Additionally, in-app advertising has been already proven as a successful marketing strategy. Apps are generating significant profits for the publishers, in 2020 the total revenue from mobile apps reached $582 billion. Furthermore, advertising within the apps is critical for developers. Since the majority of mobile games and smartphone applications are downloadable for free, publishers need to leverage advertisements to produce . On the other hand, marketers rely on the vast demographic and enormous audience opportunity within the gaming and digital community.

With all that being said, mobile phone games have an unparalleled potential to reach audiences of all age groups, from various demographics. Thus, advertising on mobile platforms has the prospect of reaching millions of users and developing a solid clientele. The popularity of mobile games is climbing to new heights. This creates an opportunity for marketers to promote brands, events, and products on a global scale.

Advertising with AdColony

AdColony provides advertisers with innovative instant-playing HD videos, guaranteed to grab consumers’ attention. The implication of ads in mobile games is a great marketing strategy, raising brand awareness and providing informative commercials. Additionally, AdColony presents a variety of advertisement formats for the marketer to choose from. Full-screen videos that operate on mobile devices are by far the most popular advertising choice for brands. Moreover, the additional feature ‘dynamic end card’ adds an innovative layer at the end of the video, in which the user’s interaction with advertisements increases significantly. Other opportunities of AdColony include Aurora HD, Aurora HD Playable’s, Interstitial displays, and banners. AdColony’s advertising system can benefit your campaign tremendously.

High quality interactive and engaging videos will grasp the attention of most users. However, studies show that any video longer than 10 seconds loses the attention of the viewer. These are difficult obstacles to get over from the advertiser’s point of view. Although, the implication of interactive play-able ads has been proven to be successful in driving revenue. Furthermore, play-able advertising technology has positive effects on many aspects of the industry. Return on investment, conversion and number of downloads are just a few that deeply benefit.

The most popular form of marketing is the use of full-screen videos. Due to the developed technology for measuring video engagement and interactions, advertisers can access data from various groups such as gamers, technology enthusiasts, and mobile consumers. This is a pivotal aspect of digital marketing, information is essential to creating engaging content. AdColony’s advertising system, together with insightful data, gives marketers an advantage in reaching worldwide audiences through gaming channels.

Innovative ads help brands to engage with users which ultimately assists advertisers in their goals. On the other hand, in-app commercials drive revenue for publishers. Spending on mobile apps and video advertising has reached over $18 billion in 2021, which is a growth of 11% compared to the previous year. This has influenced the industry so much that social media giants, and popular streaming platforms, are starting to advertise with short videos. Snapchat has heavily invested in its discovery page creating the perfect home for interactive video ads, and YouTube decided to push commercial content on even non-partner channels. The business has realised that the future of advertising is in short and engaging videos.
Notably, marketers can take advantage of the ‘exclude list’ to ensure brand safety policy on the platform. AdColony is a respectful system, guaranteeing that any brands associated with adult content won’t be presented to minors. AdColony delivers original solutions to advertisements such as interactive content, in which consumers can connect emotionally with products or services. Using a high-tech operating system, AdColony maximises the potential reach of your advertising campaign with mesmerising videos and immersive commercials.

There is no Limit to the Popularity of Mobile Gaming

The mobile gaming industry is continually rising in popularity, especially among younger generations. According to the research, 77% of Gen Z are playing video games on their mobile devices. This is not limited to Gen Z, with data revealing that others share this interest, with over 70% of millennials also game enthusiasts. Furthermore, more than 50% of Gen X are entertained by playing games on their devices, and 30% of baby boomers have similar attentiveness too.

Moreover, the gender myth associated with gaming is now debunked with results demonstrating that over 50% of women, and 49% dabble in the pastime.

Mobile games ads open doors to a world of new possibilities, for reaching global audiences, across varying age groups, and providing essential data about users.

In the last year alone, players downloaded over 82.98 billion mobile games! That generates more than half of the revenue for Google Play and Apple Store. Without a question, mobile games have an enormous reach, and marketers can use this vital aspect to leverage their target audience.

Utilise Mobile Games for Advertising Purposes

Two years ago companies like AdColony placed over 2.4 million video ads, after nearly a year that number skyrocketed to 6 million. Undisputedly, the 73% growth of mobile game advertising proves that commercialisation on smartphones works wonders for marketers.
With the AdColony system, users are able to decide whether to view high-quality and full-length commercials. These advertising videos further offer in-game extras, thus it’s a win-win situation respectively for advertisers and gamers. Moreover, the advertising videos are pre-buffered, which means the consumers have to view at least a small part of the ad before being able to close it. Like most mobile ads, the start of the video is the most important to ensure viewers are engaged, and keen to interact.

Monetization of mobile games is the most desirable option for advertisers. AdColony research showed evidence of marketers preferring in-app videos and IAPs, compared with monetize. Another, astonishing concept for advertising in mobile games is introducing a reward programme. When a user watches a video till the end they will receive the in-game prize, depending on the app it can be an item, or equipment, built to enhance their playing experience.

Previously many users were against in-app advertisements, but by introducing the concept of ‘watch this and get quality content’, consumers are learning to love integrated commercials. Gathered data by Google Ad has shown a 400% increase in interaction with advertisements, and demand for more rewarding videos. Curiously, many players are fond of advertising content if they can receive in-game rewards for watching the commercial videos. More than 70% of users in the USA openly admitted that they do not mind watching full-length videos in exchange for prizes.

Advertising firms have spent enormous amounts of capital on all types of ads on mobile devices. In 2020, companies spent around $240 billion and that investment has risen to $298 billion last year. Future forecasts predict annual growth of 22% in mobile ad spending by the end of 2022. In short, this is a sector where marketers can shine with their content. The mobile games industry represents all the desirable aspects for advertisers, holding vast potential for growth, established audience and financial security. Moreover, mobile games make up 50% of all the players around the world. That is undoubtedly a lucrative market for advertisers, and statistical data proves that it should be heavily invested in.

Games of the Public’s Choice

The most popular genre for mobile games is puzzles (21.18%), followed by casinos (18.9%) and strategy (17.17%). These categories offer the main opportunity for advertisers to accumulate their commercial content. Mobile games are becoming an increasingly prominent module of the gaming industry, having previously been dominated by PC and console games, we are currently experiencing a shift in revenue patterns. Mobile games now account for over 52% of the global games retail. Moreover, video games designed for smartphones have generated profits of over $90 billion in 2021. The forecast predicts that by the end of 2022 that revenue will increase to $120 billion.

Intriguingly, mobile games are more popular among women than men, 65% of females between the ages of 10 and 65 play games on their smartphones. A further 45% of them choose such entertainment more than 5 times per week, in comparison to 38% of men. From a marketing perspective this presents a reliable investment for advertisements geared towards women’s interests.

Engaging commercial videos and interactive ads, in theory, should bring more impressions on women. Targeting this specific audience should thus return increased profit, as women make up a large percentage of players. However, many of them feel that publishers overlook their demands. Over 60% of female gamers feel that most games are strictly designed for men. And yet, the titles such as Animal Crossing or Candy Crush Saga are extremely successful projects. This proves that investing in women’s content has unprecedented potential and should be investigated.

Concluding Benefits of Advertising in Mobile Games

Marketers are always searching for new innovative ways to reach broader audiences across the globe, and advertising in mobile games might just be that golden ticket. It’s an effective and efficient way of communicating a brand’s message to the consumers. Advertising in-app provides companies with valuable data and insights to help establish campaign results.

Studies have already proven the capabilities and productivity of advertising in mobile games. With the implementation of reward programs, users are opening up to pop-up ads, in the anticipation of game performance benefits. Research and data make compelling arguments for why brands should focus their advertising content on mobile games. Unmistakably, the gaming market will only continue to grow, and the already competitive advertising industry is eager to generate more revenue with commercial content. Due to this fact, it is essential that marketers acknowledge and understand the lucrative opportunities of in-app advertising.

Since the advertising industry is incredibly crowded, brands will need to demonstrate exceptional creativity and innovation to grab the attention of all consumers. With the AdColony systems and mesmerising high-quality video content, rest assured that your brand will break through. Finally, advertising on mobile games presents profitable opportunities for brands. Marketers should however remain cautious of the vast competition, and ensure they are creating both engaging and innovative content, to leverage the growing opportunities, and gain solid investment returns.