Smaato analyzed its data from its real-time advertising platform, and it came up with the top advertisers who spend the most money on ads for mobile games.
The study found that media accounted for 26 percent of ads, retailers accounted for 21 percent, and automotive accounted for 17 percent. Food and beverage was 9 percent, and telecom was 8 percent. Research firm eMarketer reports that the world currently has over two billion mobile gamers, which means that people of all demographics can be found playing games.
San Francisco-based Smaato did the study from January 1 to May 31, and it found that in-game clickthrough rates were 3.4 times above the average. That means that rewarded video ads in games can generate high engagement from gamers.
“In the past, high clickthrough rates would cause concern among brands, but with in-game mobile advertising, this metric is a very clear indicator that consumers are willingly participating with advertising even if it interrupts game play, which is a very positive sign for brands,” said Gareth Noonan, general manager Americas at Smaato, in a statement.
In a new white paper, Smaato also said that in-game advertising is now evenly spread across brand verticals, showing that acceptance of novel ad types like rewarded video is becoming mainstream.
“Mobile gaming offers some of the most high-growth, high-engagement inventory for brands with the added ability to deliver interactivity and innovative creative,” said Noonan. “We believe that more brands will start to view in-app game inventory as premium as any long-form video with similar levels of engagement.”
Moreover, the average smartphone user spends 55 minutes per day playing mobile games. This gap between consumer engagement and ad spending represents a huge opportunity for brands to get noticed, and advertisers can no longer underestimate the power and importance of this engrossing medium. Smaato has more than 10,000 advertisers for its mobile ad platform.