RESOURCES

Mobile Monday: It’s Time to Advertise in Games

Apr 10, 2023
By: Jean Ortiz-Luis

What’s the buzz in mobile this week? Jumpstart your week here:

Mobile games are our most popular form of kill-time entertainment. With billions (yes, with a b) of people playing, it should be a no-brainer for brands to advertise in them. 

But for some reason, gaming revenue is growing at a slower pace than CTV or social media – with brands and agencies spending less than 5% of their budgets on the platform.

While marketers may believe they don’t think the channel has value, most of the common reasons don’t even come close to passing the sniff test. In fact, in-game ads might be the best way to reach your audience.  

So let’s debunk these myths and get brands and agencies to give in-game advertising a try:

Myth #1: My audience doesn’t play games.

Of course they do! Everyone does! In the U.S. alone, there are 203 million mobile gamers of all ages and genders. It’s not just young men. According to GWI, females account for more than half (55%) of smartphone gamers. And 56% of Americans aged 45 to 64 play mobile games.

No matter what you’re selling, there’s an audience.

Myth #2: My audience doesn’t spend a lot of time playing games.

False. There is a significant amount of time the audience spends on the platform. In the UK, the average time spent on mobile games over a week is 10 hours and 37 minutes. For women, the average jumps up to 11 hours and 50 minutes. And these numbers are on the rise!

No matter your audience, they are spending nearly half a day in games. 

Myth #3: Games aren’t the right place to engage my audience.

There is no place where audiences are more ready to engage THAN games. Unlike CTV, social media feeds, or podcasts, people go to games ready for action! Their senses are on and they are poised to react – unlike the passive engagement they have in other channels.

No matter the game, audiences are there to engage. 

A recent study by Amplified Intelligence revealed that active attention drives better brand recall. And there is no better place to grab that active attention than in-game ads. Users actively pay attention to Digital Turbine ads for a combined 22 seconds, compared to just 1.6 seconds for mobile web video ads and 2.5 seconds for social video ads.

If you’re looking for a captive audience, bring your creative and innovative ads to mobile games so they don’t just get skipped.

Stay tuned for more on how in-game ads can grab your audience’s attention.

By Jean Ortiz-Luis
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