Developers want ads that don’t piss players off!

Our CTO Chris Wright recently took part in a fireside chat at Pocket Gamer Connects to discuss the potential of InGamePlay brand advertising. He was joined by Hannes Hultgren, CSO at Impact Unified and the discussion was moderated by Dave Bradley from Steel Media.

Part of Pocket Gamer’s Growth Track the session (available on demand here) took a deep dive into this new native ad format where ads are dynamically integrated into actual gameplay. Chris and Hannes chatted about the basics of in-game advertising, how it compares with other monetization channels as well as implementation tactics including A/B testing. They explored how the non-interruptive ad formats can actually add to the authenticity of the game and create branded experiences.

Impact Unified is using AdInMo’s SDK to feature ad placements in their cricket title Umpire’s Call and Hannes hit the nail on the head describing in-game advertising as “an ad format that can be truly non-invasive and doesn’t piss people off!”

Here we take a look at some other developer insights and design ideas from the session to help those considering monetizing with in-game advertising. 

1. The [in-game advertising] opportunity makes it “a dream for a game designer or developer to put this ad format in your game compared to an interstitial that requires a click and then your player is lost.”

2. In Umpire’s Call, the ads on billboards within the game actually help the game come to life, adding to the atmosphere and increasing player immersion which in turn will increase the playtime and therefore monetization 

3. Setting up the SDK was super smooth and the time that it takes to integrate is insignificant. Finding nice spots in your game for ad placements is what takes time, but this is a creative job that is fun and not a burden.

4. The future potential of immersive ad formats would be to implement interactive ads, such as choosing the brand for a branded tournament or players being able to customise the brands shown on clothing or within the stadium.

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