The ads served on mobile phones, either through games or productivity software, are rarely thought of fondly by users. Sure, if an algorithm’s stars align, they can be a means to find relevant content, but they’re usually guided by hands inexperienced in marketing, making them intrusive, irrelevant, and immersion-breaking.
Microtransactions
The difficulty with mobile advertising is that there are countless ways to do it. Ads that play in the middle of gameplay are just as common as marketing that targets a game’s microtransactions. Then, there are optional ads that offer rewards like hints, ones to get rid of further marketing – and so forth.
Premium software that dispenses with ads altogether muddies the waters. For instance, plenty of game ports from PC or console offer a single-purchase model that forever ties a game to an account. You’ll never need to see an advert again.
Similarly, casino operators, some of the newest developers on Google and Apple’s respective storefronts, rarely advertise within the confines of their mobile software – except for internal promotions, which tend to greet the player on arrival.
This practice mirrors that of browser-based casino gaming. The NJ mobile casino from Playstar offers all the same bonuses and promotions as its desktop site to keep the experience consistent. This includes a welcome offer, a popular marketing tool in the industry.
Word Gamers
Digital Turbine published a recent study that revealed mobile ads are great at catching eyes, and they might be better at this than marketing on social media platforms.
As a headline, the paper revealed that almost three-quarters (70%) of shoppers are also gamers but that only 21% of adverts on social media target this demographic. This means that Google Play might be a better way to reach customers than Facebook.
The obvious question to ask is, why? Mobile gamers include “everyone at any age”, to quote the Business of Apps’ advice to boost your sales.
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Digital Turbine claims that word gamers aren’t just word gamers. They’re also fans of fitness, news, and adventure. In turn, this trio of interests boils down to a fondness for Urban Outfitters, Delta Airlines, and Panera Bread.
Genre-based
It’s not easy to see how all this information comes from a single, innocuous place, i.e. word and puzzle games (or even how it translates to a world outside of Digital Turbine’s survey), but it does reveal that marketing around a single mobile genre can create connections with people normally outside a brand’s reach.
Of course, there is a risk of fielding irrelevant advertising by targeting users in this way, as not every puzzle gamer likes Lululemon’s yoga pants, but companies don’t get many chances to reinvent customer acquisition, making mobile game ads a viable alternative to social ones.
Genre-based marketing may well be in its infancy. Could it help players and developers finally come together on mobile advertising?
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