Developers of mobile games, which demonstrate advertising for projects of the same genre, receive 166% more from their colleagues from promotion, PlayHaven found out.
The revenue maximization platform PlayHaven stated that one of the company’s partners increased net income from 1 thousand impressions (eCPM) by 85% on the iPhone and by 174% on the iPad, simply by starting advertising those games whose genre coincided with the genre of the “distributor”. At the same time, the user’s retention level remained at the same level. Brian Doxtator, vice president of PlayHaven, refused to name the company, but noted that it was a game in the “casino” genre.
For top platform games, the advertising effect of promoting games of the same genre was 166%. The retention level also remained at the same positions. In general, such advertising increases advertising revenue to $ 1.05, while advertising games of other genres – only $ 0.39.
In an interview with Inside Mobile Apps, Dokstator noted that mobile developers do not like to advertise similar projects for two reasons: they do not want to share their users with competitors, and they are also afraid of competition.
“This report refutes the fears of developers,” he says. – “There will always be advantages and disadvantages in promoting competitive products, but the presented data demonstrate that there is nothing to be afraid of.”
PlayHaven also shared information about when it is best to advertise other applications of the same genre, keeping the retention level at a high level.
The best time for advertising is when the user is most immersed in the game, and in each game it can be some time of its own. The main thing is not to place it immediately after the launch or at the training stage.
For comparison, one of the platform’s games showed ads immediately after launch, the level of user retention in such a project was 36% less than that of similar projects showing ads in engagement moments.
On average, according to the report, the retention rate of disinterested users when displaying ads is 58%, while the retention rate of those who are already interested in the project reaches 91%.
“At the beginning of the game, it is difficult to say whether the user is involved in the project or not, but at some points in the game itself, you can already talk about it with some confidence,” adds Dokstator.
PlayHaven received data from 50 advertised games, including 10 from top publishers. In total, the platform covers 70 million active users playing 4,000 projects published by teams such as Pocket Gems, Glu Mobile and Digital Chocolate.