If you’re still looking to get on those last-minute holiday shopping lists, video ads in mobile games can be the stocking stuffer you’re looking for.
This holiday season, consumers' concerns over inflation have made them judicious and price-conscious. With time running short, your campaigns need to capture audience attention and transform that engagement into purchases quickly. While brands know the power of social media and linear TV, the holidays are the perfect time to complement your strategy with mobile game video advertising.
Data shows that video ads in mobile games successfully capture and maintain attention and rank high in brand recall. In addition, mobile games have the advantage of engaging consumers with their eyes AND hands, which is much more common than other platforms like social media. This allows brands to engage consumers in a different way and quickly turn brand engagement into conversions.
Engaging the price-conscious consumer
To engage cost-conscious consumers, brands need to pay extra attention to how they can activate 3 phases of the consumer journey: brand awareness, brand connection/engagement, and brand conversion.
Building a brand narrative for these discerning shoppers typically requires a meticulous blend of time, nuanced campaigns, and multiple touch points during the holiday season. But with the holidays quickly approaching, the focus should ultimately be on how quickly you can get them to conversion.
This begins with crafting an engaging narrative that not only tells a great story but also prompts action. Video advertising is a versatile present capable of navigating all three phases seamlessly and quickly.
First, consumers acquaint themselves with the brand, gaining awareness and understanding. Subsequently, engagement occurs, marking the middle stage, where advertisers can forge relationships with them. Finally, the aim is to spur action, encouraging consumers to convert through app usage or purchase and tailoring efforts towards the brand's desired goal.
While it may sound difficult to do all this quickly, it can be done. But the key to all of it is to keep and maintain attention. And that’s where mobile game formats can make a difference.
Optimizing video advertising formats for attention maximization
The challenge in creating a 30-second spot that accomplishes all your brand goals lies in securing a format that encourages attention. Statistics indicate that 65% of individuals generally opt to skip an ad when given the choice, while only 20% will watch it if it's relevant. Thus, the key is to create an environment that reduces a consumer's desire to skip, and, perhaps, even encourages them to watch.
What brands should look for are formats that create cooperative moments - where there is cooperation with the publisher to maximize the attentive seconds for the consumer. These formats will ensure that the consumer is not being interrupted by ad spots. For example, TV maintains viewer attention by setting expectations for ad breaks, creating an anticipated moment for commercials, resulting in sustained attention from consumers. This becomes an accepted pause for viewers, which leads to higher attention.
Compare this to platforms like Facebook feed banner ads, Instagram stories, and YouTube present formats with in-read banners and videos, which consumers are often susceptible to skipping.
How mobile video takes attention to the next level
Meanwhile in-game video ad spots not only vastly outperform these social media platforms, they even outperform traditional TV spots. They are successful because they align with consumer expectations: after completing a level or opting in, viewers understand they're entering a 30-second ad spot to watch. These in-game ads capture around 22 seconds of focused attention despite potential distractions. For consumers, this format ensures longer attention spans due to set expectations, enhancing the potential for brand awareness, storytelling, engagement, and eventual conversion.
According to Amplified Intelligence's data, one reason advertisers achieve 20-second intervals in video ads is the engagement of eyeball and hand movements in gaming. Unlike social platforms, where consumers seek more content and prompt skipping, gaming involves interactive engagement.
When players encounter interactive content within a game, they are more inclined to engage. This data illustrates the link between interactive elements and attention span.
When advertisers integrate interactive components, attention span extends to an average of 22 seconds, doubling the typical 10-second span seen in TV ads. This interactivity not only captures eyeball attention but also leverages thumb and finger engagement, significantly enhancing attention and potentially driving conversions during the holiday season.
By weaving a festive touch into the strategies outlined for mobile game video advertising, consumers will notice your brand during the holiday rush, and you will find a lasting place in the hearts of consumers' wish lists.
