5 strategies to enhance user ad experience: A guide for gaming publishers
Reality check: gamers prefer minimal interruptions from ads while playing. There’s good news for gaming publishers: advancements in ad tech can address monetization challenges and enhance the overall user experience for players — all while running ads. Understanding user demographics, preferences, and behavior means that we can better tailor ad strategies to enhance engagement while ensuring ads remain effective. Let’s review key strategies to improve the ad experience for users while maintaining performance for publishers. Know your user: understanding demographics and preferences To craft effective ad experiences, it’s crucial to know your audience and understand what influences their behavior. Factors such as age, gender, location, and economic climate play significant roles in shaping user attitudes towards ads. The latest data from eMarketer shows that the age and gender composition of gamers is shifting significantly. More diverse age of users as well as parsed residence is pushing developers to be more sophisticated in the choice of ad creatives, ad placement, and ad frequency to match their preferences. 74% of non-paying users from younger generations and Tier 2/Tier 3 countries mainly enjoy ads with reasonable frequency capping — and even tend to make more purchases from the brands advertised. However, engagement and retention of older generations in the same scenario could decrease dramatically; this demographic group tends not to tolerate too many ads. Another notable demographic shift is geography, with Tier 2 and Tier 3 countries emerging as significant players. Mobile gamers are booming across MENA (Turkey, Saudi Arabia), APAC (India, Thailand, China), and EMEA (Nigeria, South Africa), with 92% of them gaming every day. Tailor your ad formats and placements Different game types demand tailored ad approaches. Hyper-casual and casual mobile games thrive on a mix of ad formats, including banners, interstitials, and rewarded videos. Mid-core and hard-core PC/console and mobile games tend to focus more on less intrusive ad options like rewarded or in-game ads that appear less frequently. Gaming publishers can consider testing banners, but they should be less represented than other formats. Issues with clickability of in-game ads can be balanced there by ad revenues coming from rewarded and banner ads. According to an IAS report, today more than 60% of users are open to non-disruptive ads that are related to the content of the game. Enhance engagement across channels: the omnichannel approach Big opportunities lay ahead for ad monetization activities, including: Preferred deals can bring higher eCPMs and better fill as well as secure ad quality. As games begin to reach bigger screen sizes such as smart TVs, preferred deals could have a significant impact on facilitating this transition. With users engaging across multiple devices, adopting an omnichannel approach can significantly boost engagement and ad performance. 72% of console or PC gamers play on more than one platform. Diversifying ad formats based on device usage can further enhance user engagement. Use what you have: first-party data for behavioral and contextual targeting Publishers can deliver more relevant ads to their audiences by using first-party data for behavioral and contextual targeting. For addressing the ID-less and cookieless world, leveraging first-party data is one of the essential strategies for marketers and publishers alike. In-gaming publishers can use behavioral information — such as in-app actions, time of day, purchase history — to tailor ad experiences within the app. According to eMarketer, 61% of gamers in the US mentioned that they prefer to see ads that are related to the content of the game the are playing. Advanced targeting options such as geo-fencing and contextual ad technology can also enhance ad relevance and effectiveness. Apple’s ATT and the end of device fingerprinting challenge user identification and advertising/monetization in general. Users have become more sensitive and demanding when it comes to ad content. For the foreseeable future, exploring contextual solutions and UIs, as well as education about more effective use of first-party data, will likely be inevitable. Embrace flexibility and testing Maintaining open communication and transparency among publishers, ad networks, and demand partners is essential for optimizing ad strategies. From the SSP perspective, we’re really honing in on empowering our publishers and demand partners with greater control, all the while prioritizing user experience. Here’s the breakdown: developers and publishers get to manage the general settings, while demand partners and advertisers focus on bidding for inventory that aligns best with their campaign objectives. And you know what? It never hurts to explore new ad units, integrations, and buying models for publishers and developers. We’re all about sharing insights and best practices, paving the way for improved revenues without sacrificing user retention and engagement. Embracing a culture of testing allows for continuous refinement of ad formats, placements, and buying models to adapt to evolving user behaviors. 85% of gamers confirm that the most user-engaging formats remain interstitial and rewarded video. Putting it all together If you’re a gaming publisher, you’re probably already using one of the strategies (at least) we’ve just discussed. But more is more, and it’s worth exploring how to implement all five of these strategies holistically. With all five working together, publishers can create ad experiences that are not only engaging but also respectful of user preferences. It’s a win-win that ultimately leads to improved performance and user satisfaction.
What’s next for the mobile in-app marketplace: Verve’s 2024 outlook
As we step into 2024, we’re reflecting on our key product achievements from 2023. Last year was a period of significant growth for our in-app marketplace, PubNative. This has set the stage for a stronger path to value for our demand and supply partners in 2024 and beyond. Highlights from 2023 Topping the charts for mobile scale and quality The Pixalate SSP Market Share Report ranked Verve as North America’s top mobile SSP for both Apple App Store and Google Play. Verve maintains this lead for the third and second consecutive quarters for Google and Apple, respectively. Notably, Verve’s market share in Apple’s platform rose from 17% to 28% between the second and third quarters. Globally, Verve now ranks first in APAC on Google Play, second in LATAM, third in APAC on the Apple App Store, and fifth in EMEA. In 2023, Jounce Media released a benchmarking report that ranked Verve as the leader in providing premium mobile app supply, ensuring quality ad experiences at a lower cost. Verve delivers 79% of premium mobile app supply — more than any other SSP. Jounce Media is one of ad tech’s most authoritative voices in programmatic supply chain management. Performance powered by interstitial units The interstitial ad inventory on PubNative (our in-app marketplace) increased by 115% in ad request volume. This growth is thanks to our expanding footprint of SDK publishers from a wide range of mediation and bidding platforms. This surge is also due to an increasing demand for high-impact performance ad units (especially interstitial video) on the marketplace. Advertisers prefer these ad formats because they help drive better conversions. Our revamped interstitial suite now supports multiple performance-first features including SKOverlay and Storekit Auto Open. You’ll also find a completely refreshed ad template that balances user retention and conversion goals. Verve’s in-app marketplace, now on Ironsource Verve is a key demand partner for top monetization platforms, including Applovin Max, Google Ad Manager, Google AdMob, DT Fairbid, Amazon Transparent Ad Marketplace, Prebid, and Nimbus, to name a few. This year, we broadened our publisher footprint by partnering with Ironsource, a significant expansion that lets publishers (especially in the gaming vertical) access diverse demand sources from PubNative’s exchange. Thanks to the integration, publishers connected to Ironsource can now efficiently monetize their interstitial inventories through both waterfall and bidding demand. More transparency and easier optimization with bid stream enhancements As an ad marketplace, we strive to improve our bid streams continuously to help buyers optimize towards their goals efficiently. In 2023, we introduced a few significant updates, including “minimum bid to win” and “bid loss notifications” to drive better transparency for your bid decisions. These additions also give DSPs crucial insights into the competitive landscape of ad auctions and detailed reasons for lost bids. What’s ahead in 2024 The year ahead will pack some significant updates relevant to our publishers and demand partners, beginning from Q1 2024. Below are some of the highlights to keep an eye on in our in-app marketplace. Powerful SDK Updates: In the upcoming SDK updates in Q1, we will continue to make improvements that are performance-focused, while introducing new SDK modules that are critical for privacy-first monetization. More ID-less scale with ATOM: We are making significant upgrades to ATOM to help publishers and demand partners make use of the on-device cohorts at scale to recapture unaddressable users. A new powerful version of ATOM (or Anonymized Targeting on Mobile), with updated cohorts, will be available to our publisher partners to integrate, very soon. Privacy Manifests: Privacy manifests are essentially files (created in Xcode) that every SDK and app developer will need to fill and add to their app. These files describe which user data the app is accessing and how the app developer is intending to use it. Moving forward, whenever an app developer prepares to upload an app to the App Store, Xcode will combine Privacy Manifests from all third-party SDKs used by the app into one comprehensive privacy report. PubNative, an in-app marketplace, is addressing this change by preparing our SDK to support Privacy Manifests. Our upcoming iOS SDK will be completely compliant to the Privacy Manifest requirements, well ahead of Apple’s enforcement. More tests with Google Privacy Sandbox: Google is finally phasing out third-party cookies for 1% of the world’s Chrome users. Verve will build on our 2023 momentum and continue to work closely with Google and other ad tech partners to test the Sandbox APIs and share results as we make progress towards a more privacy-conscious approach to targeting users on mobile. Advertising is on the brink of a privacy-first era filled with potential and promising opportunities. 2024 could not be more exciting, and we are confident that the foundation we built in 2023 has positioned us to support and drive our client objectives and growth.
User acquisition on CTV for games and apps: What marketers need to know in 2023
Game and app marketers are looking at connected TV now for performance, but there is a lot of confusion in the market about CTV’s role. How can apps and games tap into this high-attention, high-viewability channel? How will it fit into their marketing mix? What are the challenges and potential solutions? Verve’s CTV performance team experts share our latest discoveries about this exciting new approach to user acquisition. Definitions: Linear TV vs. CTV vs. OTT Because CTV is a new performance channel for mobile apps and games, some marketers need help understanding the terminology. Let’s set the context from the start: Linear TV is traditional broadcast television with scheduled programming. Ads are served during predefined commercial breaks and sold in advance, usually as part of a bigger campaign. CTV (Connected TV) refers to internet-connected devices used for streaming video content, such as smart TVs, streaming boxes (e.g., Roku, Apple TV) or gaming consoles. CTV provides personalized, on-demand viewing without traditional commercial breaks. CTV allows for programmatic ad buys. OTT (Over-The-Top) is internet-based video content delivery, bypassing traditional TV providers. It includes services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video, accessible on CTV devices, smartphones, and more. OTT provides on-demand content with subscription or ad-supported models, revolutionizing TV consumption. CTV is a subcategory of OTT. Why use CTV for performance marketing now? For a marketer looking to drive installs, turning to CTV for performance just makes sense: buyers’ attention is shifting from traditional linear TV toward connected TV. As of last year, 92% of US households are reachable on CTV. Data from 2023 shows that 42% of game discovery can be attributed to streaming ads. Marketers should always follow the consumers. Consumer attention is shifting more and more from traditional TV to connected TV and on-demand streaming. The rapid growth of FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV), SVOD (subscription video on demand), and AVOD (ad-supported video on demand) makes this transition much easier, even eating up some attention from the UGC (user-generated content) on social media. Alexei MoltchanDirector of Product Management and Innovation, Verve While TV has been primarily a brand channel for publishers, CTV’s advantages make it a compelling option in the mobile marketing mix as a performance channel. Leveraging CTV in campaigns isn’t restricted to big brands with hefty marketing budgets like is often true for linear TV. Although CPMs from CTV are comparable to those of traditional TV, the impression quality often exceeds that of traditional TV CPMs. How does CTV fit into the mobile or gaming marketing mix? There are strong signals in the market of CTV being a channel for driving incrementality and working as an amplifier for other channels. Rather than driving direct installs, connected TV has proven as a powerful tool to move users down the funnel where they convert via other channels, as evidenced by the MMP Adjust. Big screens with no skip option are expected to eventually lead to high impact. Now that it can be measured, we have a chance to evaluate CTV’s efficiency within the full funnel. Clara MarkovichEntrepreneur in Residence, Verve Isolating CTV from other channels and relying on last-touch attribution would be misleading because (so far) the ads are not clickable, and the advertiser has limited control over which channel is the last one to contribute to that install. Measurement and attribution Major MMPs are recognizing the market’s need to measure CTV performance for gaming and app user acquisition, and are moving forward with a solid roadmap of CTV measurement features, although at a different pace. User journeys come in so many shapes and sizes. Here are just a few common examples: An easy scenario with a QR code in a CTV ad, which works as a direct link to app store CTV ad seen, user searches on app store, which results in an install which according to last touch gets attributed to organic CTV ad followed up with a banner ad on mobile, which becomes the last touch This all brings us back to the fact that the only correct approach to measuring CTV performance is looking at it from the full-funnel perspective. Advertisers and vendors turn to look at custom signals and report on assisted installs, measuring incrementality and even MMM (media mix modeling). We recommend that advertisers analyze their existing install data attributed to specific channels — before launching a CTV campaign. This lets them compare and measure the uplift caused by CTV-driven assists and installs later. It is particularly important to note that not all MMPs have the capability to present assists from a full-funnel perspective. Brayan van BronckhorstSenior Solutions Consultant, Verve Simply ignoring the channel due to the measurement complexity might be a choice for new apps and games that haven’t seen enough growth via other channels yet. However, other channels gain traction and establish benchmarks, boosting the media mix with CTV can lead to more performance. How are measurement platforms supporting CTV measurement? Verve has tested most CTV-supporting MMPs while running campaigns for our partners. At this point we are able to advise on the best MMP options for CTV and are working closely with advertisers and MMPs of their choice to ensure the best possible quality of measurement. AppsFlyer, Adjust, Singular, Kochava, and Branch are all offering certain functionality to support their publisher partners in exploring the new channel, even though not all MMPs are created equal. In terms of features and pricing, Adjust now offers a CTV-specific dashboard as an add-on solution. Other notable measurement tools are the ones providing incrementality measurement (ex. INCRMNTAL) and media mix modeling (ex. MetricWorks). Creative is key: best practices for CTV ad creative The ad needs to be next-level compelling in order for the user to take action. Best practices: Unsure whether to invest more in CTV? Start by with adjusting existing creatives but keep in mind it may happen that web creatives will not perform the same way on CTV. Make the ad entertaining – after all, this is what…
The games people play create opportunities
When I was growing up, I wanted to always play video games. I didn’t care where I played, when I was able to play them. I didn’t care if it was on a mobile phone or a game console. I didn’t care if the game was about sports, cars, words or me being able to channel my inner action hero. I loved the thrill and action of games. Now, I am a few years older. I still love my games, but I love them for a lot more reasons. Sure, I have the tendency to kick my imaginary sports car into fourth gear and drive throughout busy streets, but I am also more cognizant and aware of the data that comes with me playing games. Within the ad-tech community, gaming studios are hot commodities. Not only do they possess strong technical developers and compelling content, they are the newest treasure troves of data that ad-tech loves to connect with. Verve and its parent company, MGI, are no exceptions. MGI recently announced it acquired AxesInMotion, a fast-growing and leading free-to-play mobile games developer (here is the news release that MGI shared announcing the acquisition). The Verve team is excited about the opportunities to work with and learn from the AxesInMotion team for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is learning from them how they use data acquired by customers to create better gaming experiences. But this means so much more to us than just data, and importantly, we want to help AxesInMotion benefit from this new association. The AxesInMotion team will benefit from having the ability to broaden its tech stack. Verve and MGI are in an ideal marketplace position to help empower smaller media companies to build up their tech stack. We encourage you to learn more about AxesInMotion. We also encourage you to take some time away from work and to download a game or two. I can’t wait to hear stories from people sharing their inner action hero stories like mine.
