Gamers playing (Photo: ShutterStock)
Gaming has become a universal cross-sector pastime.
Advertising on gaming platforms makes it possible to reach a very broad demographic with eclectic and diverse tastes, and effectively promote almost any product or service imaginable.
According to an international report conducted by Limelight Networks, in 2021 there were more than three billion gamers in the world, who spent an average of eight and a half hours a week playing games, a 14% increase compared to 2020. 44% of players played more than seven hours a week, and 25% more than 12 hours a week .
Some teams spend more than six hours playing at a time.
This is a very mixed audience.
In the US alone, 227 million people played video games in 2022, of which approximately 46% were women. With the gaming market revenue expected to reach $285 billion by 2027, it is no surprise that this is a huge opportunity for advertisers.
In the past, game ads were intrusive and interrupted the game experience.
Self-respecting brands stayed away from gaming platforms and the industry was flooded with clickbait ads of the worst kind.
Over time, mobile, PC, console and web game developers who wanted to make money found a way to make ads original and make them an organic part of the experience.
Today, ads are integrated into the game in a more natural way and more and more brands are starting to take advantage of this unique advertising space and everyone benefits: the users can play for free, the app developers make money from the premium users, and the advertisers have the opportunity to show ads to their target audience.
Currently, advertising on gaming platforms is most common on mobile devices, but consoles and big screen games are also about to enter the game, which should increase the market value by 11% annually and reach almost $18 billion in 2030.
Those who are early adopters of advertising on these platforms will receive enormous value from an uncluttered advertising landscape, on an unprecedented scale.
What types of ads are available on the gaming platforms
If you've ever played a video game on your mobile phone, computer, or consoles like Xbox and Playstation, you've probably seen several types of ads.
It can be a short video that plays in the transitions, a banner at the bottom of the screen, or one of the game characters, who wears a branded shirt or drives a model of a popular car.
All of these examples are types of gaming ads.
Thus, brands can reach new audiences, increase brand exposure, and sell related products or services.
This is of course profitable for the game developers, because it allows them to offer a freemium experience where the game itself is free, but the advertising space is rented for a fee.
Platforms like Meta and Google Ads offer ads in the following formats:
Interstitial Ads
Interstitial ads are full-screen ads placed above the app interface that appear during breaks or natural transitions in the game, without interrupting the user experience.
These types of ads are ideal for games that have natural pauses or transition loops, during which users take a break from the game.
Interstitials generate fewer impressions than banners, but generally generate higher revenue.
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Interstitial ads on full screen. (Photo: screenshot, Apptica Blog)
Native ads
Native ads are one of the most popular formats and one of the least intrusive.
They are similar to regular banner ads but their look and feel is similar to that of the game environment.
They do not interfere with the game but are displayed on the screen during the game and are therefore suitable when you want to create exposure and brand awareness among the players, without them having to click or take any action.
Matching the look and feel of these ads to the game's visuals can reduce churn and increase long-term value.
The advertisement that is placed in the background of the screen does not interfere with the course of the game but remains present throughout. (Photo: screenshot, Motorola)
Reward ads
Advertising within gaming apps can also appear in the form of reward ads, the viewing of which gives players new abilities or additional points in the game, which would otherwise cost them money.
This format has the highest view rate and is the most accepted by players as they are rewarded for the interaction.
This ad format gives users control over the ad experience: they decide whether or not to view the ad in exchange for a reward.
Rewarded ads have become an increasingly popular format in games because they encourage user engagement and give a huge boost to developers' revenue.
These types of ads usually have higher success rates than others and are therefore more expensive.
Viewing ads in exchange for benefits in the game. (Photo: screenshot, Trivia Star)
Less recommended ad types include:
Expandable pop-ups and ads Tap-expandable
pop-up ads can, when implemented correctly, offer an immersive experience, but statistically, 89% of players find these types of ads very annoying, which can ruin the user experience and even drive the user away from the game.
Moreover, many times they are clicked by mistake, so when most advertising programs are paid per click, this means that a lot of the advertising budget is wasted on frustrated users who had no intention of doing it.
Even ads that have an incentive for viewers disrupt the flow of the game experience when they appear in this way, so it is recommended to think carefully about whether and where to place them, if at all.
Videos stuck in the middle of the game
In this ad type, 15-30 second videos are placed at various transition points in the game.
They may or may not include a reward for those who watch the ad to the end.
Either way, they are unskippable and interrupt the gameplay, so you have to place them carefully.
Brands should carefully consider what type of gaming ads best suits their audience, goals and budget.
Since there can be variation in performance and cost, it is highly recommended to perform a split test (A/b testing or Multivariant testing) and examine the effect of parameters such as location, device type and platform on the results.
Why mobile gaming?
Although advertisers can certainly set ads within game consoles like Xbox or Playstation, this market share today only represents about 32% of gamers, who are overwhelmingly male.
In comparison, on other platforms in the US, the percentage of female gamers is 46% - almost half of the market. In contrast, gamers of all ages, countries and genders play on their mobile phones, and this platform represents the widest possible audience. Mobile app campaigns are also
easy and the fastest to set up. Once you know who your audience is and what games they play, you can create campaigns and deploy them in minutes in the relevant locations. Then, you can track campaign performance using the metrics you're used to: exposure, engagement, and video watch time. On the other hand , the ability to measure campaigns on consoles is limited at this stage in relation to mobile advertising metrics, and includes new metrics that have not yet been seen in the advertising market.
In light of all this, it can be said that mobile games are the ripest fruit that can be harvested today from advertising in gaming.
Marketing and digital
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