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In-Game Advertising: One of the Newest, Most Beneficial Means of Advertisement
The world of video games is constantly changing, and it seems to never stand still. Over the past several decades, the strides taken in the video game industry have been astronomical. Among the many changes and innovations made in the field, one of the most significant has been gaming applications for mobile devices. The concept of having games readily available at your fingertips is not only convenient for gamers, but for buyers and sellers of mobile ad space as well who take advantage of in-game advertisements.
When using an application, every now and then a video ad will appear on your screen, or native advertisements are already present throughout the application. These are both very popular forms of in-game advertisements. These advertisements provide several key benefits to brands looking to make a name for themselves. Firstly, in-game advertisements help brands become more visible to their own target audiences. In-game advertisements allow brands to precisely target specific demographics and optimal audiences. Additionally, this platform for advertisement leaves a lot of room for brands to differentiate themselves from their competitors by making their ads creative and original. One final, and arguably the most important benefit in-game advertising provides is the ability for advertisers to collect crucial data on the app users. Advertisers are given information on the time users spend on mobile games, time spent interacting with advertisements, and even the time of day certain users are more likely to be online. Advertisers utilize all of this data as feedback to determine who the target audience is, what the most effective ads are, and when to publish their advertisements.
When it comes to different ad formats, data has allowed us to determine which are more effective than others for in-game advertising. Out of the three main ad formats: banners, video, and native; video ads have proven to be the most effective for viewers by far. This can be partly due to the fact that in many cases, users are required to watch these ads if they want to continue with the game. Additionally, surveys have shown that video ads are thought of as more interesting and captivating than other ad formats.
In-game advertising doesn’t also provide an opportunity for apps and publishers to sell valuable ad space, but it also provides an opportunity for apps to further monetize themselves through a form of in-app purchasing. In most cases, apps give users an option to pay a fee to get rid of advertisements altogether. Although this may not be ideal for advertisers looking to spread their content, it ends up making games a significant amount of money as many gamers would rather play their games ad-free.
As games become more advanced and complex, so do the advertisements that come with them. Programmatic advertisements in video games have adapted and evolved into a smarter, more efficient way of reaching an audience and the results truly speak for themselves.