Rewarded video - Make your brand the hero! | MMA Global

Rewarded video - Make your brand the hero!

Thursday, May 17, 2018 - 2:00pm to 3:00pm EDT

Watch the Webinar:

Eight Takeaways From the Webinar “Rewarded Video –
Make Your Brand the Hero”

During this MMA webinar on May 17, 2018, King’s Global VP/Ad Product Melissa Stein, and Head of Measurement and Insights Jonathan Stringfield, laid out the case for advertisers to embrace rewarded video as a way to achieve high engagement and valuable interactions from mobile gamers and other mobile consumers. (Rewarded video gives the consumer some form of value in exchange for watching an ad.) Here are eight takeaways:

  1. The gaming audience numbers about 2.2 billion, or roughly a third of the world. Not only is mobile gaming driving this trend, but it is expected to grow over the next five years, encompassing people from all walks of life.
     
  2. Gaming is second only to social media in terms of app reach, and has other compelling usage statistics. Because it is such a focused experience, there is less “second screening” than when people are enjoying music, video, messaging, and reading -- and longer session durations than other types of apps. It’s an immersive, distraction-free environment for advertisers.
     
  3. One key to success in rewarded video – particularly in games – is to not disrupt the experience. With rewarded video, it’s possible to create an experience with which consumers will want to engage with timing that works for them. As one example, an ad for a coffee advertiser within a King game had ad recall of 86 percent.
     
  4. Marketers need to be careful where they place ads in games. Most games follow a core loop, with key moments within that loop that are good placement opportunities for advertisers. These include the launch and pre-game periods, or when a player has run out of moves or lives.
     
  5. The reward a marketer offers has to be linked to a player’s objectives, such as completing a goal, landing on a leaderboard or allowing them to spend more time in a game. This is true of the quality of the reward, and the quantity. Offering a player one gold bar for viewing when it takes 100 to buy a “life” is not a meaningful exchange.
     
  6. To be successful, rewarded ads need particular components. King recommends maximizing vertical video, making the ad experience short, adding text boxes to increase brand messaging, an end card with a clear call to action, and branding elements within horizontal placements.
     
  7. Different types of gamers value different ad experiences.
    • Experimenters are highly involved gamers who can be receptive to a higher ad load and rewarded ads that lay outside the game loop.
    • Passive gamers are more receptive to ads served early in game play.
    • Routine consumers play daily and respond to core placements in alignment with their gaming habits.
    • Ad lovers use rewarded ads strategically to get the value they need for their game. They are also the biggest in-app purchasers, so it’s important to create balance between in-app buying and ads.
       
  8. Advertisers need to balance consumer ad preferences with their own needs. For optimal brand impact, marketers should use a variety of buying channels, maximizing yield. King recommends a combination of direct sales (if possible), programmatic guaranteed, private marketplaces and open auctions.


Rewarded video is proving to have great results in ad recall, brand association and purchase intent among billions of gamers. For marketers, the key is to bring the value of their messaging forward in ways that respect the time and experience of consumers.

To view the archive of past MMA Webinars, click here.

Speakers: 
Global VP Ad Product
King
VP Marketing, Insights
Activision Blizzard
Moderator: 
VP of Industry Programs
Mobile Marketing Association
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