It makes sense for Facebook to be paying close attention to mobile gaming, as this industry reportedly generated 40.6 billion dollars in 2017 worldwide. Last year, 42 percent of the industry’s global revenue came from smartphone and tablet games. According to some 2016 reports, U.S. gamers played an average of 3.6 mobile games per month, and 1.3 games on a daily basis. True value for game developers, however, does not usually come from game install volume, but from game usage (time and money users spend on it), especially for those games with ad-based revenue models.
With the recent launch of playable ads, Facebook seems to be focusing on driving real long-term value for gaming companies, rather than promoting mere app installs. With this new ad format, users can experience a preview of the game from within the ad. Giving users a chance to interact with the game in the feed before they install it creates higher intent, according to Facebook, and I agree.
At first, ad format will look like a simple video ad, but it becomes a rich experience once the user taps on it thanks to the capabilities of HTML5. Hopefully we will see Facebook releasing new immersive ad formats to use with other campaign types, or the highly anticipated capability to use 360 videos in ads.
After more than a year in Beta, game developer companies like Rovio have seen favorable results. Rovio, owner of the popular Angry Birds game franchise, claimed that it saw a 40 per cent lower cost per paying user when using playable ads, along with a 70 per cent lift in day seven ROAS. Similarly, Bagelcode, creator of Club Vegas virtual slot machine game, saw 3 times higher ROAS on Android as well as 1.4 times higher ROAS on iOS.
Furthermore, the new retention optimization will increase the chances of a game to be downloaded by a more engaged user. According to Facebook, gaming marketers will now be able to deliver their ads to those users who are most likely to play their game. Its official rollout is planned for later this year on Facebook, Instagram and the Audience Network.
Retention optimization is not the only refreshment Facebook has given to its app marketing toolbox. Its latest update to the value optimization tools include minimum ROAS bidding, which will enable advertisers to “set a minimum spend to find the players most likely to make in-app purchases, and eliminate spend on connecting with players less likely to engage.”
It would be interesting to test this minimum ROAS bidding in conversion campaigns and compare results with the currently available Target CPA bidding. I believe there is much more yet to come, and that we will soon see new, more interactive ad formats like the recently released collection/canvas ads.
I encourage brands to monitor these new features and test them in conversion campaigns. For insight into how to maximize the value of Facebook advertising products, contact True Interactive. We’re here to help.
Image source: https://marketingland.com/facebook-launches-playable-ads-tests-retention-optimization-for-app-advertising-245312
