The search for the highest CTR and install rates has led many gambling advertisers to the star of today’s article – playable ads. Playables are a stripped-down version of an app that aims to show its main features engagingly. Epom, a family of ad tech products, explain how playables work, why they are so effective, and how to serve them independently.
Incredible Effectiveness Behind Playable Ads
How playables work
The main goal of a playable ad is to give users a taste of what your app plays like and immediately hook them up. From a tech standpoint, it’s a piece of HTML5 code that launches an interactive game demo.
For instance, here’s Blackout Bingo – a mobile casino-type game that uses playables for its advertisement. It spawns in an ad slot, shows the game’s basic mechanics, and engages the user with an opportunity to win.
The case studies
Playable ads work perfectly with casual game genres like puzzles, Match 3, and casinos.
The results speak for themselves. One of the brightest examples is the partnership between Kellog and Activision Blizzard to drive awareness and purchasing intent for Pringles in Germany.
Promoting snacks and casino games may seem different in theory, but a Match 3 playable campaign would work for both.
In the case of Pringles, the results were the following:
- 99.4% ad viewability;
- +80% ad recall;
- +21% top-of-mind awareness;
- +15% brand awareness.
How to Apply Playable Ads in the Gaming Industry
As Epom’s Sales Executive Sergey Shchelkow mentions, playable ads bring significant performance boosts. However, implementing them into your campaign is a bit more complicated, requiring longer iteration and testing time.
The playables come in the form of:
- HTML5 game
These playables recreate certain gameplay mechanics using game assets and HTML5 code. They are developed from scratch, weigh several megabytes and show what the game is about in basic concepts.
This is the best choice for 2D hyper-casual experiences, which you should use for your gambling app.
- Interactive video
These playables use pre-rendered video footage of the game with some interactive mechanics. Since interactive videos use 3D and cinematics, they are more visually appealing, but this comes with drawbacks.
Due to the complexity, they are less engaging for casual audiences, + they require heavier files, which may cause a higher network load.
According to Epom’s Sales Executive Sergey Shchelkow, “No matter what you choose, developing a micro-game within an ad costs more than a simple banner. Yeah, the CPI is the lowest among other ad formats ($1.31 on average), but the cost of actual development varies from $1000 to $1500 for the 2D projects (outsource market prices).”
How to Serve Playables on any Website Independently
Like any ad format, you’ll require an ad server to configure your playables. Epom ad server can support a playable ad format, so it’s a convenient way to implement them into your campaign.
All you need once the ad is made is to upload MRAID-compatible creative as a ZIP archive for the template to work correctly. Also, check the essential elements that make an effective playable ad below:
- Easy-to-comprehend tutorial & gameplay
Remember, playable ads should be really simple in terms of user experience. A clear tutorial, appealing gameplay, and a minimum of side buttons – is the way to go.
Important: DON’T create fake “Close” icons that will kill user engagement in an instant.
- Distinguished CTA
Engaging CTA is a basis for digital advertisements. You can embed it into an ad or make it appear in the end. Either way, it’s for you to decide whether it should be a minimalistic “Download”, or a more complex “Get 50 Free Spins Now.”
- Proper testing
How do you know if your tutorial and CTA work? Epom ad server supports A/B testing, meaning you can analyze user engagement with any page element and see if it works.
This quick tutorial combined with the Epom ad server’s functionality might help win new customers.
