Mobile games have been increasing in popularity for years as devices have become more powerful, with greater processing power and graphic capabilities. Today, about half of Americans play mobile games and, according to Statista, that number is rising fast. This data points to a compelling opportunity for marketers.
With so many people playing mobile games, you can tap into a vast audience, and with video reward ads, you can reach them while they’re actively engaged. You might be surprised at how effective this advertising technique can be.
The Arrival of Video Reward Ads
Video reward ads hit the scene several years ago. Soon, data began to emerge, showing impressive results. These ads had higher engagement, retention, and click-through rates than many other video ads across the online ecosystem.
The data showed that when you’re already involved in a game on your phone and want the reward for watching ads, you’re more likely to pay attention to the ad itself. This increased awareness of what’s happening on the screen equated to improvements in all metrics – especially sales.
3 Scenarios Where Reward Ads Might Make Sense for You
Reward ads have plenty of benefits, but there’s also one big drawback. Publishers and advertising networks know that these ads are likely to be far more effective than traditional static or video ads. As a result, costs are a bit higher.
Nonetheless, higher rates of engagement can help offset that cost, and video reward ads are typically more effective on a cost basis when they’re used in the right scenarios. Here are three instances in which you should consider using reward ads.
1. Increase Video Interaction With Your Ads
Increasing consumer interaction with your video ads is likely on the top of the list of things you want to accomplish in your marketing campaign. When consumers interact more with your advertisements, those interactions directly relate to increasing your revenue.
If you’re interested in increasing user engagement and interaction, you should strongly consider video reward ads.
When you take advantage of this type of marketing campaign, your ads pop up when consumers are already deeply engaged with their phones. That gives you 30 to 45 seconds to get your message across to a captive audience that’s typically more interested in what you have to say than any other audience online.
You can take interaction to the next level with dynamic video reward ads by giving your audience a branded mini-game to play as they await their rewards.
2. Target a Specified Audience
Audience insights are crucial in business. They allow you to target the specific groups of consumers that are most likely to use your products and services.
If you’re interested in capturing the attention of specific audiences, you should strongly consider bringing video reward ads into your marketing mix.
Each game, network, and application has a defined audience that’s easy to target with the right ad provider.
For example, if your customers are typically intellectual, data shows that you should advertise on games like crossword puzzles, logic games, and word games. On the other hand, if your product is designed for a young audience, you may reach a relevant demographic by advertising in games geared more toward teens.
3. Provide a Better User Experience
Advertising can be seen as a necessary nuisance to most consumers. Nobody likes their television show being stopped for sponsors or a website they’re reading to go black with a short video message.
Video reward ads offer up a better experience for the end user.
Members of your audience know that when they finish watching your video advertisement, they will be rewarded for taking the time to do so. That reward incentivizes the end user rather than annoys them with an unwanted interruption.
When users have a better experience interacting with your ads, they’re more likely to give your products the consideration they deserve, leading to increased revenues.
How To Create Video Ads That Result in Better Conversion Rates
Video reward ads are on the higher end of the video advertising cost per thousand views (CPM) spectrum. You don’t want to spend your money on the blind hope that it works for you. It’s essential that your ads result in high conversion rates, sales, and, ultimately, revenue.
When you create your ads, you want to take active steps to ensure high conversion rates. There are four things you can do that will result in just that.
1. Encourage User Behavior by Making Your Incentive or Reward Item Clear
Most people don’t like surprises; they just tolerate them at certain levels. That’s hardwired in us.
Moreover, people are analytical, especially in this-for-that situations. When a trade is proposed, you’re likely to weigh the value, pros, and cons of your side of the trade against the other side’s value, pros, and cons.
That’s why, when you create your video reward ads, you must clearly outline the rewards the customer receives before they decide to watch the video. When the rewards are outlined, your audience can analyze the trade and decide if the reward is worth their time when they click the ad.
This kind of transparency will increase engagement because if the audience knows they’re getting something of value for paying attention – something they’ve analyzed and decided was worth their time – they’re more likely to give your advertisement their full attention. Of course, this is typically up to the app to determine, so it’s important to be aware of where your ad is being seen to ensure it’s in the context of a good user experience.
2. Don’t Forget About the Importance of User Engagement
User engagement is crucial to any advertising campaign. If you can get a user to take action as a result of your ad, you’ve done something right – something that has significant potential to lead to sales in the future.
As you create your ad, think about what you can do to get users involved with your message.
For example, if you’re selling a robotic vacuum cleaner, consider starting the ad with a short game that requires the audience to push a digital vacuum across the screen. Then, use the second half of the ad to show a robot doing the same task and show the audience your brand with a message about how automation makes life easier.
An ad like this has the potential to grab the entire focus of the audience because you have encouraged them to take physical action to engage with the ad.
3. Make Sure Your Content in the Ad Is Valuable
You don’t want to pay for ad views only to find that the people you target don’t find the content in your ad interesting. You don’t want your audience to start to gaze into the abyss as they await the moment they can close your ad. You want your audience fully engaged with what you have to offer.
There are two key factors in making sure your ad is entertaining enough to grab your audience’s attention in the first few seconds:
- Know Your Audience. Audience intelligence is crucial. You can’t provide something of value if you don’t know what your audience values. Consider using an audience intelligence solution to find out what will keep your audience’s eyes on the screen. Moreover, advertise your product to the right segment of users by targeting advertising in apps they use.
- Solve a Problem. People look for solutions to problems as soon as they arise. Your ad could start by showing a typical, relatable problem among your audience and portray your product as the hero offering a solution.
4. Adjust and Adapt as You Go
While you can leverage predictive data and analytics to get the best possible start for your campaign, it’s important to keep an eye on performance and leverage insights to evolve and continually optimize.
One simple but important factor to consider is the amount of time users spend on your ads. User retention is a great indicator of user experience.
For example, say you dive into the time spent watching a video reward ad and find that most people who don’t stick it out to claim their rewards exit the advertisement at the nine-second mark. Review your advertisement and see what happens between seconds seven and nine and ask yourself these questions:
- Is this the point where the message pivots, perhaps from problem to solution?
- Are there any glitches in the ad at this point?
- What could cause users to lose interest in this time frame?
Though this a very basic example, the answers to even these questions may lead to adjustments in your ad creative that could improve its results. With advanced data and insights, you can refine your targeting, effectively expand into relevant new audiences, and successfully scale your results.
What Types of Rewards Can You Offer?
There are thousands of different in-app rewards users can earn in real time as they use mobile apps, but many tend to fall into one of two categories – game currency and additional lives. Here’s how it works:
Game Currency
Mobile apps make money in two ways – in-app purchases and advertising revenue. Typically, these apps have an in-app currency that runs their application’s economy. This currency lets users buy better tools and perks for their mobile games.
Users typically choose one of two ways to get their hands on the currency they need for in-app purchases:
- Cash. Users can convert their real-life cash into in-app currency by purchasing the currency in the app directly.
- Ads. This is where you come in. If players don’t want to pay real money for in-app currency, they can typically watch video advertisements to receive game currency as a reward.
Additional Lives
Many mobile apps increase their revenue by limiting the number of times users can attempt a level or task by providing a limited number of lives or energy. By offering additional lives with a video reward ad, you can extend them the opportunity to continue playing.
Mobile gamers usually have two options when it comes to accessing additional lives:
- Pay for Them. Gamers can typically purchase additional lives using in-app currency. Of course, if they don’t have enough in-app currency, they must buy it or watch video ads to earn it.
- Watch Ads. Users can also typically watch video ads and earn additional lives as rewards for watching. That’s where your ads come in.
By placing an ad that serves the user’s goals and saves them from having to spend their own money on in-game premiums, you can even foster some goodwill with consumers, particularly if your ad was well targeted and they’re among the right audience that’s likely to be interested in your product or service.
Don’t Miss Out on Different Advertising Opportunities
Video reward ads are a great way to increase user engagement and improve user experience for your audience. Still, they’re just one of many tools to be leveraged as you create a well-rounded marketing campaign.
Ad placements come in all shapes and sizes, and each type has its place in a quality marketing strategy. The key to advertising effectively is knowing your audience and what makes them tick – and convert. That’s why, regardless of the type of advertising opportunity you take advantage of, you should use a digital advertising partner that has access to extensive data, technology, media access, and the expertise required to leverage these tools effectively.
AUDIENCEX is built to help you achieve success in all your campaigns throughout the digital ecosystem. Our expert teams can help you develop impactful creative, leverage AI-enabled data science to analyze and build targeted audiences, and strategically launch omnichannel campaigns to reach the right audiences anywhere they are with fully scalable, custom acquisition strategies. To learn more about how we can support your agency or brand, reach out for a free consultation today.