A decade after the launch of Apple’s app store, apps have become the default way for consumers across the globe to access mobile content. For brands, this makes in-app a key marketing channel thus creating a huge opportunity for publishers to bolster revenue. While there are many factors that make in-app advertising challenging, the opportunity outweighs the challenges.
Challenges
Broadly speaking, the app market can be divided into gaming and non-gaming and each sector comes with its own challenges. Gaming apps come in and out of
In order to
All app publishers also need to keep in mind that consumers are resistant to in-app ads because they typically disrupt the user experience. It can be easy to saturate apps with ads in the quest for revenue, but ultimately, this will have a negative impact on user retention and revenue. In our experience, non-intrusive ads e.g. static ads in the footer of the screen, are easily ignored and publishers should think carefully about using these despite the fact that they are easy to implement
Another big issue that affects all app publishers is that because there are no cookies in mobile, each app is essentially a walled garden. This makes it hard for marketers to create an effective cross-app experience in the way you can in web advertising. App publishers can help soothe this by providing buyers with highly engaging ad formats that
This is especially important as in-app campaigns will be evaluated against all other channels, most of which report post-view conversion rates and revenue meaning marketers can show ROI and justify an ongoing budget.
Recently, there has been a rise in video advertising on mobile in order to provide a more engaging advertising experience for consumers. Whilst this is good in principle, both app publishers and marketers need to keep in mind that it’s much easier to switch off when using a mobile device compared to a laptop. To combat this issue videos should be tailored to mobile devices, short, and offer a value exchange that benefits the user such as a free trial, discounts, or special offers.
Opportunities
While in-app presents many challenges for both publishers and marketers, it’s important to weigh these up against the benefits and potential. In our experience, in app advertising can be a powerful and effective channel for both brand awareness and performance campaigns.
One of the biggest advantages of in-app advertising is the ability to use location targeting. Firstly, knowing where a consumer is located gives marketers vital information that can be used to make a real-time decision whether or not to consider showing them an ad. For example, targeting can be set up to only show ads to consumers who are within 100m of one of your shops. This significantly reduces wasted spend and, therefore, improves ROI. When a consumer is identified within the desired range, traditional demographic data can be layered on top to make a final yes/no decision and set a bid price.
Another advantage of in-app is that marketers can create an instant value benefit through offering additional lives or other incentives in return for the user watching a video ad. This also helps reduce the chance of users switching off as they are engaged with the outcome offered.
Vertical video is also an enormous opportunity for brands to
Best practices
In order to avoid the pitfalls of in-app and
Sam Fenton-Elstone, CEO, Anything is Possible
Photo by Pathum Danthanarayana on Unsplash
By WNIP
