Author: Lian

June 2022 Mobile App UA and Creative Roundup

Posted on by Lian

Read our June 2022 roundup of platform updates and creative trends for mobile app marketers. An algorithm update from Instagram gives more exposure to original posts, rather than recycled content from TikTok. Facebook offers creative fatigue guidance to recover ad performance sooner. And millennial consumers are willingly watching explainer ads with absurd humor.

To beat the 95% failure rate of ad creative, INK Games partnered with us to develop and test creative over a year before the global launch of their mobile game Prize Kingdoms. Our newest case study shares how we created 130 new video ad concepts, the official 1-minute game trailer, a 1-minute narrative CG commercial, and a 30-sec live action commercial.

June 2022 Mobile App UA and Creative Roundup

Here’s a sneak peek into the world of Prize Kingdoms!

UA and Creative Trends in June 2022

Instagram Updates and Hot Tips June 2022
Instagram Hot Tips and Updates June 2022

Reels will be ranked above recycled TikTok content, Subscriptions attract monetizing viewers, and Product Tags drive native purchases.

 TikTok Marketing Partner Program
Consumer Acquisition Joins the TikTok Marketing Partner Program as an Official Creative Partner

Our global network of experienced storytellers, designers, and video editors helps advertisers scale the volume and quality of their TikTok advertising.

 

in-game advertising trends

[Infographic] In-Game Advertising Trends

Non-gaming companies are seeing ROI with in-game advertising thanks to contextual placement, brand-safe environments, and captive audiences.

 

Facebook predicts creative fatigue

New Facebook Tool Predicts Creative Fatigue

Facebook Ads Manager introduces new guidance when ads are predicted to fatigue so advertisers can recover performance sooner.

 

Entersplainer Videos

A unique breed of advertisement is gaining traction among Gen Z and millennial consumers: hilarious explainer videos we’re calling entersplainers.

entersplainer explainer videos creative trends June 2022
Still from Thryve/Ombre Commercial

 

Comedic Approach

Check out how complex, nuanced, or even boring products and services drive performance through this comedic approach.

  • Grab viewers with topics, not products
  • Provide an absurd yet earnest call to action
  • Combine unexpected narrators, locations, and props

Humor can work for any industry if you’re willing to experiment.

INK Games Case Study: Launching With 130+ Tested Ads

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

In our newest case study, we share how INK Games will launch worldwide with a treasure trove of 130+ tested ad creatives to help them scale as fast as possible.

  • An early partnership with a creative studio can improve creative strategy
  • Early ad creative testing can reduce development cycles by validating game mechanics and user motivations
  • A repository of tested ad creative enables faster scaling upon launch
  • A creative studio with media buying expertise reduces the UA burden on the internal development team

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

Upcoming Webinar

webinar

Register for this Thursday’s webinar: Why Performance Advertising Needs Great Storytelling. Discover how any app can drive performance through Direct Response Storytelling for TikTok, Reels, Snapchat, and YouTube. Our creative team will answers all your questions live.

Explore our On-Demand Webinars here, including our most popular topic ever, Influencers vs. TikTok: Get the Right Ads For Your Brand.

Check Out Our Creative Reels!

Reels May 2022

For more information on the UA trends we will be watching in 2022, please contact sales@consumeracquisition.com.

Instagram Hot Tips and Updates June 2022

Posted on by Lian

Instagram updates mean new opportunities for advertisers:

  • Original Reels ranked above recycled TikTok content
  • Instagram Subscriptions attract monetizing viewers
  • Product Tags drive native purchases

Instagram Hot Tips and Updates June 2022

Continuing to thrive, Instagram reported $12 billion in revenue in Q1 2022 and over 1.4 billion active users per month. As Instagram rolls out more creator-driven features, we expect the partnership between creators and advertisers to only grow. To unlock new audiences and adapt to Instagram’s changing environment, advertisers need to know about fresh features and updates. Our market insights and creative expertise come from managing over $3.5 billion in creative and social ad spend for the world’s largest mobile apps and web-based performance advertisers. Contact us here to work with our team of Instagram marketing experts providing ad creative and managed user acquisition services.

Instagram Updates June 2022
Source: Instagram for Business

 

Product Tagging

“From supporting brands you love to helping your friends and family discover new products they may like, sharing products on Instagram just got easier.” With this announcement, Product Tags became available to all users, offering advertisers a new avenue for reaching potential customers. Using the new tagging feature, users can tag the brand and then specify the product being shown on the post. If another user then clicks on the tag, they will have access to detailed information about the product through a product detail page. From there, users can confirm the purchase directly in-app. Brands will have a much easier time driving clicks into their online shop, thanks to the 1.6 million users who tag at least one brand per week. An upcoming feature, currently being tested in the US, will also allow brands to schedule product launches directly on their Instagram Shop.

Instagram Updates June 2022
Source: Search Engine Journal

 

Instagram Subscriptions Means New Advertising Opportunities

Instagram’s long-awaited subscription feature provides creators with a new way to monetize their content. After setting a monthly cost, creators can offer additional content to their most loyal followers, which is in the form of Subscriber Lives and Subscriber Stories. Additionally, subscribers will get a purple Subscriber Badge that shows up next to their username. Advertisers working with creators can find new opportunities with this loyal audience of paying subscribers.

Currently, creators can offer subscriptions ranging from $0.99 to $99.99. The higher amounts are ideal for private meetings such as online courses through the platform. The subscription model seems quite flexible. This means creators will come up with new and exciting ways of utilizing this feature.

Instagram Updates June 2022
Source: Instagram for Business

 

Original Reels Ranked Above Recycled TikTok Content

It’s been almost two years since Reels were introduced on Instagram. Initially, they had a maximum duration of 15 seconds, which has since been substantially increased. As of last month, users now have access to 90-second Reels to give creators more time to tell their stories. One of the platform’s latest updates gives more exposure to original posts, rather than those taken from other platforms such as TikTok. Instagram Head Adam Mosseri said the algorithm change was an effort to support creators, with a promise to “…do more to try and value original content more particularly compared to reposted content.” Instagram continues to modify its ranking system. As a result, original Reels content will be critical for brands and creators to drive performance.

 

Want better results from Instagram UA?

Working with a knowledgeable marketing partner that can provide extensive quantitative creative testing ensures you get the best performance from your Instagram ads. Email us at sales@consumeracquisition.com to discuss your user acquisition goals.

INK Games Prize Kingdoms Case Study

Posted on by Lian

INK Games Prize Kingdoms Case Study – How to prepare for a global launch by optimizing ad creative early.

  • An early partnership with a creative studio can improve creative strategy
  • Early ad creative testing can reduce development cycles by validating game mechanics and user motivations
  • A pre-launch repository of tested ad creative enables faster scaling upon launch
  • A creative studio with media buying expertise reduces UA burden on an internal development team

Ink Games Prize Kingdoms Case Study

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

For our client INK Games, we developed 130 new ad concepts, the official 1-minute game trailer, a 1-minute narrative CG commercial, and a 30-sec live-action commercial for their forthcoming mobile game Prize Kingdoms. From storyboards through production, we created entirely original 3D computer animation along with motion graphics, 2D animation and FX, text animations, lighting effects, character rigging, illustrations, and character design. We also developed original scripts and animatics, ran two casting sessions, and completed two live-action shoots.

As a result of working with Consumer Acquisition, INK Games will go into worldwide launch with a treasure trove of tested ad creative to help them scale as fast as possible. Read on for how we did it.

Watch a sneak peek into the world of INK Games Prize Kingdoms!

Challenge

Mobile game studio INK Games was seeking proven ad creative for the 2022 worldwide launch of their flagship social board game, Prize Kingdoms. To reduce the burden on their internal team, INK Games wanted an agency with rigorous A/B testing expertise that could simultaneously act as a creative partner. Their priority was a one-stop shop that specialized in fast creative prototyping and even faster UA scaling. INK also wanted a team with illustration, 3D animation, and storytelling skills that could amplify the look, feel, and narrative spirit of the game.

INK Games Prize Kingdoms Case Study

For a new game without known IP, initial viability is directly tied to top-of-funnel ad creative. A game may appear to be underperforming, when in fact, the ad creative is not resonating with audiences. INK wanted to eliminate false negatives about their game viability by launching with a massive repository of tested ad creative. Similarly, INK understood the need to test dozens of ad creatives to find the few that were worth spending heavily against. Without proper planning, untested ad creative becomes a bottleneck to spend and INK’s goal was to scale as quickly as possible upon launch.

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

 

Solution

Understanding the high failure rate of mobile ad creative, INK partnered with Consumer Acquisition over a year before the worldwide launch to begin developing, testing, and optimizing an enormous backlog of UA creative. In a highly collaborative and flexible process, our creative team helped inform strategy, providing recommendations based on creative testing. Prize Kingdoms gameplay appeals to different types of player motivations including personalized board building, high-stakes dice rolling, and competitive clubs and leagues. As the game evolved and new features were added, we adapted ad creative to test what was resonating most with players.

Early in game development, INK Games identified the following motivations for players:

  • Progression through leveling up, exploring new game boards, and unlocking new features
  • Collection of totems, skins, monuments, and zeppelins
  • Social/Competition through competitive clubs and leagues

Many game developers come to Consumer Acquisition with existing in-game assets. But our creative team was deeply embedded in the development process from the very beginning of the partnership. With a shared workflow, both teams were able to efficiently collaborate as the game was developed and assets evolved. Similarly, our internal creative and user acquisition teams worked together closely to efficiently align creative development with UA goals using our proprietary Ad Concept Model, a proven process to generate fresh, relevant creative assets for efficient testing.

3D, CG & Live Action

In the spirit of “try everything,” INK wanted 3D animation and live-action in their creative repository. They wanted to amplify the high quality of the game experience. Competitive trends showed the success of narrative-driven live-action and cinematic CG ads in the market. Additionally, longer form and higher fidelity creative allowed for more versioning to cut up and test. This made asset production, even more, cost-effective.

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

 

Results

Working with Consumer Acquisition, INK Games will go into worldwide launch with a treasure trove of tested ad creative. This repository of tested assets will allow Prize Kingdoms to scale quickly upon launch without losing momentum. In a partnership with INK Games spanning over a year, Consumer Acquisition has developed:

  • 130 new, tested ad concepts
  • A 30-sec live-action commercial
  • A 1-minute CG narrative commercial
  • A 1-minute CG/live-action hybrid game trailer
  • Original illustrations and character design
  • 2D animation and character rigging

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

 

Illustration, Design, 3D, and Live-Action Work Developed by our Creative Studio Team

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

Prize Kingdoms

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

Prize Kingdoms

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

Prize Kingdoms

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

Prize Kingdoms

INK Games Prize Kingdoms

Prize Kingdoms

 

Our creative expertise comes from managing $150m in monthly ad spend across Facebook, Google, TikTok, Snap, and Apple Search Ads. Creating and testing 100K videos and images each year for clients provides us unparalleled insights into the evolving mobile advertising ecosystem. From our strategic analyses of IDFA loss and media buying automation, to tactical guidance for A/B testing, we ensure our clients can adapt and thrive. Contact us at sales@consumeracquisition.com to work with our team.

Creative Trends: Complex Products Get Funny Explainers

Posted on by Lian

Check out our creative trends for Entersplainers – the funny explainer videos you need for your complex product ads.

  • Grab viewers with topics, not products
  • Provide an absurd yet earnest call to action
  • Combine unexpected narrators, locations, and props
  • Drive genuine interest in complex, nuanced, and boring products
  • Humor can work for any industry if you’re willing to experiment

 

Entersplainers: Advertisement’s new normal?

“We need to talk about your balls” and “let’s talk about your poop” are the declarations of a unique breed of product advertisements: comedic explainer videos we’re calling entersplainers. This ad style is growing in popularity among eCommerce and DTC marketers as it gains traction among Gen Z and Millennial consumers.

An entersplainer is just that– an ad that both entertains and explains a topic with the ultimate goal to sell a product. With their educational language and dry, versed talking points, these companies weave their story while successfully driving sales. By harnessing direct address with explanatory language, marketers create an informal and visually interesting presentation that melds both the personal and informative.

 

Open with Humor

Humor has long been a part of advertisement culture, and entersplainers are first and foremost funny. Depending on brand goals and willingness to experiment, humor can be industry agnostic and effective for everything from health and hygiene to mobile phone networks. As creative teams develop ad concepts, testing a trend like comical explainer videos can unlock new audiences.

If a product is particularly complex or nuanced, producing an informative ad while keeping the audience’s attention is a challenge. Entersplainers are so effective precisely because they keep an audience engaged for the duration. They provide context and introduce topics in a way that doesn’t feel like an ad, but rather a comedic skit. This presentational style can extend an ad’s reach– especially if it is a skippable ad– and may be shared among peer groups while also helping with ad recollection. A 2022 study in Psychology & Marketing showed humor in advertising positively affects an audience’s attitude toward a product and toward the brand, as well as “increased attention and processing.”

 

Hook Them with Absurdity

Entersplainers often start with an unconventional appeal to the viewer: an absurd yet earnest call to action. Thryve, now known as Ombre, provides at-home health tests and nutritional supplements. However, their ad creative doesn’t start with their product. Instead, they open with the phrase, “Let’s talk about your poop.” The phrase invites a reaction from the user, already starting a discourse. The surprise of the introduction begs the question: where could this possibly go from here?

Thryve/Ombre Enterplainers
Still from Thryve/Ombre commercial on Youtube

 

Thryve/Ombre Entersplainers

Thryve’s tone is bright, energetic, and curious throughout the presentation, marrying the topic of gut health with product explanations. The audience is captured by the absurd beginning and then held by the emotional energy. Who does want to talk about poop? Viewers will definitely pay attention now.

As younger consumers increasingly respond to absurdity in advertising, brands are adapting their messaging accordingly. Manscaped offers hygiene products and uses an introduction similar to Ombre: “We need to talk about your balls.” Both Ombre and Manscaped grab their viewers with topics, not products. This approach is similar to how influencer-style UGC focuses on people over products.

Manscaped Entersplainers
Still from Manscaped commercial on Youtube

 

Manscaped and Dr. Squatch Entersplainers

Narrators explain the importance of stomach and hygiene care, using both details and innuendos. This approach opens up highly personal and potentially embarrassing topics for discussion. By illuminating these topics, marketers build a sense of community with the target audience. The combination of absurd humor with earnest discussion is a novel break from the ordinary which helps keep viewers’ attention. Manscaped destigmatizes male hygiene. Ombre normalizes gut health. Dr. Squatch adds a humorous history of soap to help consumers understand why their product is different. Audiences willingly watch for an absurd take on these topics.

 

Dr. Squatch Entersplainers
Still from Dr. Squatch Commercial on Youtube

Here are some tactics to embrace the entersplainers ad style:

  • Find a broad topic that your product, service, or app can be a part of and position yourself within it.
  • Ensure your narrator is directly addressing the camera with confidence and a well-delivered script.
  • Mix statistics, science, and history with self-aware humor; bonus points for an unlikely narrator speaking on the topic.
  • To signify a change in topic, walk to a different location. Movement helps with the flow and pacing of the narrative and a pause places emphasis on specific details.
  • Embed an explanation within a contrasting scenario, such as Dr. Squatch’s school report in the middle of the woods.
  • Create unexpected combinations of locations and props to amplify the absurdity, like the in-house flamingos below.
Live Action Video Entersplainers
Still from a live-action commercial by Consumer Acquisition for Design Home from Glu/EA.

 

How We Can Help

From cinematic trailers to influencer-style UGC, our Creative Studio provides clients with creative, driven by Hollywood storytelling and quantitative analysis. Our creative expertise comes from managing $150m in monthly ad spend across Facebook, Google, TikTok, Snap, and Apple Search Ads with clients like Disney, Zynga, Rovio, Nickelodeon, Yelp, Sun Basket, NBA, MLB, Roblox, Glu Mobile, Jam City, and many others. Our creative team is masters of influencer-style UGC creative, live-action, post-production, 3D animation, motion graphics, and illustration.

Creating and testing 100K videos and images each year for clients provides us unparalleled insights into the evolving mobile advertising ecosystem. From our strategic analyses of IDFA loss and media buying automation to tactical guidance for A/B testing, we ensure our clients can adapt and thrive. Contact us at sales@consumeracquisition.com to work with our elite creative team.

Consumer Acquisition by Brainlabs Joins TikTok Marketing Partner Program as an Official Creative Partner

Posted on by Lian

Consumer Acquisition by Brainlabs Joins the TikTok Marketing Partner Program as an Official Creative Partner

TikTok Marketing PartnerTikTok advertisers now have access to proven performance-driven creative through this leading Creative Studio

 

Consumer Acquisition by Brainlabs Joins TikTok Marketing Partner Program

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – June 2, 2022 – Consumer Acquisition by Brainlabs announced its acceptance as a TikTok Creative Partner and participation in TikTok’s Creative Exchange. As part of the TikTok Marketing Partner Program, advertisers can work with Consumer Acquisition as a trusted creative partner for best-in-class TikTok videos for ad campaigns.

Brian Bowman, Consumer Acquisition founder, said:

“Advertisers looking to reach TikTok audiences often recycle ad creative from other channels, but TikTok requires a unique people-first approach to advertising. Our Creative Studio offers a global network of experienced storytellers, designers, and video editors to help companies scale the volume and quality of their TikTok advertising. Our team is a master of influencer-style UGC creative, live-action, post-production, 3D animation, motion graphics, and illustration tailored for TikTok.”

Jyri Kidwell, Director of Creative Partnerships at TikTok, said:

“We’re thrilled to welcome Consumer Acquisition by Brainlabs to the TikTok Marketing Partner Program. Their strategic approach to developing creative research and testing is a value to marketers and we look forward to adding their Creative Studio team as a Creative Partner for our advertisers.”

Industry Expertise

Consumer Acquisition’s industry expertise comes from managing over $3.5 billion in creative and paid social spend for the world’s largest mobile apps and performance advertisers. These include Electronic Arts, Disney, Bumble, Roblox, Wooga, Zynga, NBA, and MLB. Their creative development process ensures that creative concepts align with target audience motivations and proven creative trends. Eliminating unfocused ideation and reducing creative waste improves efficiencies and ensures clients can maintain profitable ad spend. In addition to its Creative Studio, the company provides media buying services powered by its proprietary full-stack marketing platform AdRules. Through Brainlabs, clients have access to a full suite of digital marketing services. These services include programmatic, paid search, SEO, CRO, GMP, and data strategy.

To see Creative Studio for TikTok advertisers in action, visit www.consumeracquisition.com/reels.

 

About Consumer Acquisition by Brainlabs

Founded in 2013, Consumer Acquisition is a technology-enabled marketing services company and creative studio. They provide end-to-end, results-driven creative storytelling, integrated user acquisition, and creative optimization. Consumer Acquisition has managed over $3.5 billion in creative and social ad spend for the world’s largest mobile apps and performance advertisers. These include Disney, Zynga, Rovio, Bumble, Nickelodeon, Yelp, Sun Basket, NBA, MLB, Roblox, Glu Mobile, Jam City, and many others. Consumer Acquisition was acquired by digital marketing agency Brainlabs in December 2021. To learn more, visit consumeracquisition.com.

May 2022 Mobile App UA and Creative Roundup

Posted on by Lian

TikTok has added first- and third-party cookies to their Pixel. Facebook introduced new creative fatigue guidance to recover ad performance sooner. And in-game advertising is gaining traction among non-gaming companies. Read this May 2022 roundup of platform updates and creative trends for mobile app marketers.

Questions? Let’s meet up at MAU Vegas! Our team will be at MGM Conference Center Booth #410 or come see our talk with Zynga and Jam City at 2 pm Weds: The UA Formula to Beat the 95% Creative Failure Rate. We are looking forward to connecting with the mobile app community in person! Not attending? Feel free to schedule a call with me to discuss your creative strategy.

MAU Vegas

May 2022 Mobile App UA and Creative Roundup

 

Check Out Our 3D Animation & Live Action Creative

UA and Creative Trends in May 2022

 

TikTok UA Hot Tips and Updates for May 2022

TikTok UA Hot Tips and Updates for May 2022

TikTok recently released several new UA tools to help marketers improve performance including first- and third-party cookies, a new contextual advertising solution, and a platform for trending topics.

 

in-app-ad format rewarded video

Most Loved In-App Format? Rewarded Video

Advertisers, publishers, and mobile gamers all love rewarded video ads. Discover why in-game advertising is gaining traction among non-gaming companies.

 

in-game advertising trends

[Infographic] In-Game Advertising Trends

See why in-game ads have proven benefits for advertisers seeking contextual placement, brand-safe environments, and captive audiences.

 

Facebook predicts creative fatigue

New Facebook Tool Predicts Creative Fatigue

Facebook Ads Manager introduces new creative fatigue guidance that alerts when ads are predicted to fatigue so advertisers can recover performance sooner.

 

Video Ad Specs

[Infographic] TikTok + Reels + Snapchat: Video Ad Specs That Work Across Channels

From file types to creative filters, find out which ad specs ensure proper optimization and improve video ad results across media channels.

 

episodic ads

How to Make the Best Episodic Ads for Your Mobile Game

Every game genre can drive viral installs with episodic ads and deliver the promise of “to be continued…” Discover the pitfalls and pointers from our team of Hollywood storytellers and animators.

 

Infographic: In-Game Advertising Trends

From viewer receptivity to different ad formats, check out our newest infographic to see how in-game advertising continues to grow across industries.

 

in-game advertising trends infographic

 

Join Our Team!

We are hiring across all departments! We have been fully remote since our founding and we’ve thrived in this model for nine years. Come work with us as we enter our 10th year with the support of Brainlabs!

See all of our Global-Remote openings

  • User Acquisition, Senior Manager
  • Director of User Acquisition
  • Group Account Director, Client Services
  • Junior Creative Director
  • Engineering Product Manager
  • Sales and Marketing Manager, Corporate
  • After Effects / Animator

 

Consumer Acquisition in the News

Check Out Our Creative Reels!

Reels May 2022

More Creative Trends

Helpful Content

For more information on the UA trends we will be watching in 2022, please contact sales@consumeracquisition.com.

TikTok UA Hot Tips and Updates for May 2022

Posted on by Lian

Get insider details on fresh TikTok UA tips and tools including:

  • First- and third-party cookies added to TikTok Pixel
  • Pulse, a new contextual advertising solution
  • Insights platform for trending topics
  • A new mobile gaming playbook

TikTok UA Tips and Updates for May 2022

To help UA and creative teams adjust to the evolving ad ecosystem, we’ve compiled the latest tips, updates, and guidance for TikTok UA campaigns. TikTok For Business has introduced several new features to enhance its advertising capabilities, so UA teams have some great new tools to try out. And if you’d like expert TikTok UA tips and recommendations from our UA team, feel free to contact us here. Our market insights and creative expertise come from managing over $3.5 billion in creative and social ad spend for the world’s largest mobile apps and web-based performance advertisers. Here’s what’s happening in TikTok mobile advertising.

 

TikTok Capitalizes on Contextual Advertising

With the goal of increasing user reception to ads, TikTok is focusing efforts on serving ads more closely aligned with user behavior, and relevant to the content being viewed. A recent study found that contextual ads increased memorability by 76% and favorability by a staggering 107%. Serving ads based on context is proven to increase user sentiment and user engagement.

TikTok UA Contextual Ads
Source: Business of Apps

 

TikTok Pulse

TikTok capitalizes on contextual ad placement with the launch of TikTok Pulse, “a new contextual advertising solution that lets advertisers place their brand next to the top content in the For You Feed.” TikTok suggests that aligning brand presence with more relevant content fosters a sense of community that inspires creators and app discoverers alike. According to TikTok, “Pulse is designed to give brands the tools and controls to be a part of these everyday moments and trends that engage the community.”

TikTok UA Stats on Pulse Performance
Stats on Pulse performance via TikTok Newsroom

 

Key Features for Pulse

  • Advertisers receive placement within the top 4% of trending videos
  • Placement within 12 culturally relevant categories including gaming, cooking, beauty, fashion, and more
  • Inventory filter and campaign measurement tools ensure ads are paired with verified content for brand suitability

 

TikTok’s Insight into Current and Past Trends

TikTok’s new Insights platform supports marketers with an easy tool that offers trend transparency over time. Marketers can view trending topics over time based on audience generation, holidays, industries, and years. While the analysis is currently quite broad, marketers new to TikTok will gain data on user sentiment and behaviors as they plan campaigns.

TikTok New Business Platform
Source: TikTok for Business

 

Increasing Visibility for Mobile Games

TikTok For Business released its mobile gaming playbook that highlights best practices for brands to engage with gaming audiences. The resources show how the platform embraces gaming culture and how to leverage emerging gaming trends to enhance brand image. The diverse gaming community thrives on interaction and engagement, with TikTok’s top 100 gaming-related hashtags earning 40 billion views per month. 1 in 5 users says they downloaded/purchased a game because of an ad on TikTok. 65% of US TikTok users have made an in-app purchase within the last 3-6 months, offering marketers an opportunity to get in front of known spenders.

TikTok Stats and Hashtags
Stats and hashtags via TikTok For Business Mobile Gaming Playbook 101

Tailored TikTok Campaigns

Advertisers can tailor TikTok campaigns based on objectives and KPIs for all stages of mobile game marketing: pre/soft launch, launch, scaling, retaining, and monetizing. Owned content, creator content, and in-feed video are used in tandem to create the best possible mix. During pre-launch, advertisers can use organic and paid content to validate product-market fit and optimize content. During the launch, growing the player base through direct response user acquisition is a critical focus. Once the player base is established and growing, advertisers should expand brand visibility and optimize for value. Finally, rewards, content updates, and community engagement increase loyalty, and by extension, player retention and monetization. View TikTok’s Mobile Gaming Playbook here.

TikTok Mobile Gaming Chart
Chart via TikTok For Business Mobile Gaming Playbook 101

 

TikTok Adds Cookies to their Pixel

TikTok’s in-platform capabilities are robust, but attribution has long been an issue for advertisers seeking to validate their TikTok campaigns. Even with cookies (eventually) going away, TikTok has added first-party cookies to their site conversion pixel, allowing advertisers to track site behavior and attribute ads across browsers. Additionally, TikTok now requires advertisers to collect and pass third-party cookies to TikTok. In their documentation, TikTok states:

“As identity continues to become increasingly fractured and uncertain, and as third-party cookie deprecation continues to delay, we have decided to bring our product offerings in line with the industry by activating the use of first- and third-party cookies. Cookies will supplement existing event data advertisers already share with TikTok, and will improve both the quality and dependability of event data.”

TikTok’s third-party cookie will dramatically improve attribution, particularly within their already flourishing shopping community. Unlike Facebook, TikTok has historically been accommodating to users leaving the app when linked to an outside browser. By allowing advertisers and influencers to direct users to off-platform marketplaces, TikTok has actually encouraged shopping behavior. This flexibility paired with the Pixel and cookies provides TikTok an opportunity to “improve matching and attribution capabilities.”

 

 

 

TikTok Cookies and Pixels
Source: TikTok Business Help Center

 

Diverse Content Drives Results on TikTok

As we’ve reported, without deterministic tracking on iOS or effective lookalike audiences, relying on general broad-stroke creative won’t be enough to profitably expand your audience. However, persona-led creative developed around player motivations, preferences, and interests is the key to sustainable user acquisition. In TikTok’s Creative Solutions: The Ultimate How-to Guide their recommendation is clear: “in order to captivate new audiences, the key is to continuously share fresh and diverse content.” With the platform built on a content graph instead of a social graph, “diverse discovery” keeps users “inspired and energized.”

TikTok UA Do's and Don't's
Source: TikTok For Business

 

TikTok Creative Guide

Our 2022 TikTok Creative Guide provides an in-depth analysis of creative trends along with actionable insights to drive creative performance. Understand how different styles of UGC ads work and get TikTok creative testing and media buying recommendations. Working with a knowledgeable marketing partner that can provide quantitative creative testing ensures you get the best performance from your TikTok ads. Email us at sales@consumeracquisition.com to discuss your creative and user acquisition goals.

New Facebook Tool Predicts Creative Fatigue

Posted on by Lian

Facebook released a new tool that predicts creative fatigue. In this post, we will explain the details of this new feature and help you do the following: 

  • Diagnose creative fatigue patterns early
  • Receive improvement recommendations from Facebook
  • Recover campaign performance faster
  • Avoid increased costs per action

New Facebook Tool Predicts Creative Fatigue

Facebook Ads Manager introduced new guidance for when an ad set is predicted to fatigue, before and after starting a campaign. During ad creation, advertisers will receive a “creative limited” prompt if Facebook predicts the ad set will likely fatigue within 7 days. Once an ad set is published, the prompt may surface as early as 3 days post-launch in the Delivery column and Account Overview if the ad set appears to be nearing fatigue. With this early detection from Facebook, advertisers can update their ad creative before declining campaign performance is unrecoverable.

facebook Tool Predicts Creative Fatigue

How Facebook Identifies Creative Fatigue

Facebook can determine if an audience has seen the same ad too many times. Facebook analyzes the cost per result for all recent exposures of the ad’s image or video. This includes those from other campaigns. If the cost per result is approaching twice as much as past ad performance, the ad will be flagged with “creative limited” status. If the cost per result is twice as much or more than past ads, the ad will have a “creative fatigue” status.

 

Facebook’s Creative Recommendations

If ad creative receives a limited or fatigue prompt, Facebook provides some recommendations. Increase audience size or create a new ad materially different from the original creative, while keeping the original creative running to maximize results. Facebook also recommends dynamic experiences. Facebook uses a proven algorithm to distribute dynamic creatives personalized by user predictive measures. By using the same image or video in each dynamic ad, reach is maximized through result-driven variations.

New Facebook Tool Predicts Creative Fatigue
Source: Facebook for Business

 

Every Ad Will Eventually Fatigue and Die

As dramatic as it sounds, no ad will perform forever. Based on over 100,000 videos and images we produce and test yearly for our clients, our research has shown that winning ads last only 10 weeks, before they burn out. We have performed over 25,000 A/B and multivariate tests on Facebook, Google, TikTok, and Snap and have learned that 85-95% of new creative concepts fail to outperform the best ad in a portfolio. To survive in this volatile ad ecosystem, 20-50 new concepts are needed to find the next winning creative. And you’ll need to keep developing new concepts to stay ahead of creative fatigue. 

New Facebook Tool Predicts Creative Fatigue

How We Can Help

Our Creative Studio provides clients with bespoke ad creative driven by Hollywood storytelling and quantitative analysis at scale. Mobile app marketers and web-based performance advertisers come to us for end-to-end, outcome-oriented creative, integrated user acquisition, and creative optimization. Through our proprietary technology AdRules, we also make creative and media buying decisions based on our clients’ real-time financial performance. Also, to help our clients stay ahead of creative fatigue, we use our proprietary Ad Concept Model. This creative development tool pairs creative trends with motivational drivers to guide creative exploration aligned with target audiences.

Wooga and Rovio Testimonials

Creative Expertise

Our creative expertise comes from managing $150m in monthly ad spend across Facebook, Google, TikTok, Snap, and Apple Search Ads. We also create and test 100K videos and images each year for clients. This provides us unparalleled insights into the evolving mobile advertising ecosystem. From our strategic analyses of IDFA loss and media buying automation to tactical guidance for A/B testing, we ensure our clients can adapt and thrive. Contact us at sales@consumeracquisition.com to work with our team.

 

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Reels April 2022

In-Game Advertising Trends [Infographic]

Posted on by Lian

In-game advertising has proven benefits for advertisers seeking contextual placement, brand-safe environments, and captive audiences. Setting aside “gamer” stereotypes, mobile games appeal to hugely diverse audiences and offer marketers an increasingly flexible environment to reach them. “As marketers contend with the deprecation of cookies and changes to other identifiers, an embedded approach in gaming could have greater appeal. Gamers, after all, are held at rapt attention given the interactive nature of the medium,” says MarketingDive.

Data from our article Most Loved In-App Ad Format? Rewarded Video is summarized in this infographic In-Game Advertising Trends.

 

In-Game Advertising Trends Infographic

in-game advertising trends infographic

Sources

In-Game Advertising Market to reach USD 18.41 billion by 2027 | IPS News
Mobile Gaming Market – Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 – 2026)
3 Reasons why Mobile Games Represent a Huge Opportunity for Digital Marketers
20+ Intriguing Mobile Gaming Statistics: How Effective is Mobile Marketing in 2022?
55 Mobile Gaming Demographics Statistics: 2022 Data on Market Share & Spending
The Consumer Engagement Crossroads: Getting consumers to opt in before they opt out
The Mobile ePCM Report: In-App Ad Monetization Worldwide
Smaato and Liftoff Reveal the Most Engaging In-App Ad Formats
Rewarded Video Ads: Statistics and Best Practices for 2022
Rewarded Video Ads Monetization: App Developers Guide
Playable in-game ads are most effective but marketers should consider motivation
What Mix of In-App Ad Formats Are Mobile Game Developers Worldwide Using?
What Are US Mobile Gamers’ Attitudes Toward In-App Advertising? | Insider Intelligence
Playable Ads: Creation, Examples & Tutorial | ironSource
Offerwalls Impact On IAP, Engagement & Retention | Tapjoy

Want better results from video ads for TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, or Snap?

Our industry expertise comes from managing over $3.5 billion in creative and paid social spend for the world’s largest mobile apps and performance advertisers, including Glu, Roblox, Wooga, Zynga, and Skillz. Our proprietary full-stack marketing platform AdRules provides real-time business intelligence and creative research from 3.5 million video ads across social channels.

As the mobile advertising ecosystem has evolved, we have focused on being a reliable source of mobile app industry insights and trends. Our strategic analyses of IDFA loss and media buying automation, along with tactical guidance for user acquisition and creative teams, has helped advertisers remain profitable during an unprecedented era of change. Our industry expertise has earned coverage from CNBC, Forbes, SeekingAlpha, Business Insider, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, Mobile Marketing Magazine, and many more.

Working with a knowledgeable marketing partner that can provide extensive quantitative creative testing ensures you get the best performance from your UGC ads. Email us at sales@consumeracquisition.com to discuss your user acquisition goals.

DOWNLOAD In-Game Advertising Trends Infographic NOW

Facebook Tips for Mother’s Day Advertising 2022

Posted on by Lian

With Mother’s Day almost here, Facebook for Business shared with us some timely tips for advertisers to make the most of the holiday.

  • Understand market opportunities
  • Provide inspiration to gift-givers
  • Get creative recommendations

Facebook Tips for Mother’s Day Advertising 2022

 

A key growth opportunity

To understand the value of the Mother’s Day market, consider participation at the national level: 83% percent of U.S. adults celebrate the holiday, translating to an enormous brand growth opportunity that boosts sales averages and increases visibility. The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported a $2B increase in consumer Mother’s Day spending from 2020 to 2021, with average spending increasing every year since 2018.

Online spending continues to increase, even compared to pre-pandemic numbers. Facebook notes that 34% of consumers plan to shop online and have their Mother’s Day gifts delivered directly. This presents a massive opportunity for eCommerce marketers, in particular.

facebook tips for mother's day 2022 overview
Source: National Retail Federation, Mothers’ Day Consumer Spending & Celebration Plans

 

Retailers Should Inspire Gifters

32% of Mother’s Day gifters always/very often look to retailers to provide inspiration for their gift-giving. Irrespective of demographics, NRF identifies core purchase motivators as convenience, uniqueness, cost, and creating a special memory.

faceboo tips for mother's day inspiration
Source: National Retail Federation, Mothers’ Day Consumer Spending & Celebration Plans

 

Ad Creative

With consumers looking for retailers to inspire them, advertisers must craft campaigns and utilize ad creative that addresses those top motivations. Persona-led and motivation-driven ad creative will improve direct response results. Create “special memories” by evoking care, wonder, or nostalgia. A Mother’s Day celebration isn’t typically an ordinary, everyday experience, so gifters seek out unexpected and unique gifts. While jewelry continues to dominate gift spending, consumer electronics is a competitive category, following after special outings and experiences. Self-care and fitness gifts are also on the rise. Advertisers must understand the underlying values, desires, and behaviors of target customers to inspire their purchase decisions.

facebook tips for mother's day gifting

Creative Facebook Tips

Facebook for Business recommends the following tips for Mother’s Day creative.

  • When incorporating seasonal assets (as many eCommerce advertisers will be doing), include strong, attractive branding to ensure your offering stands out
  • Highlight the value of the experience (not the product) to inspire the consumer
  • Remember that your product encapsulates a set of emotions from a gifter to the receiver
  • Appeal to the human (not the wallet) with great storytelling and alignment of values
  • Leverage user-generated content for a sense of community and authenticity
  • Make it beautiful, says Facebook: “Inviting, captivating visuals followed with direct pushes towards your desired action allow for the merging of performance and branding in a flawless way”
Facebook tips for mother's day messaging
Source: Facebook for Business

 

 

Want better results from Facebook performance advertising?

Working with a knowledgeable marketing partner that can provide market resources and Facebook expertise ensures you get the best performance from your platform ads. Email us at sales@consumeracquisition.com to discuss your user acquisition goals.

 

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Reels April 2022

 

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