Mobile Gamers Prefer Rewarded Ads By 4-to-1 Margin, Tapjoy Research Finds

Three-quarters of mobile gamers say they are likely to watch rewarded videos when offered the chance

SAN FRANCISCO — June 13, 2017 — Consumers want their apps free and their ads rewarded. A new study by Tapjoy, the Maximum Impact Platform™ for mobile advertisers and app developers, found that mobile gamers in the US prefer opt-in, rewarded advertisements over mandatory ads such as pre-roll videos by a 4-to-1 margin. The study also found that videos are far and away consumers’ favorite type of rewarded ads on mobile — preferred by at least 6X over playable ads, app installs, surveys and other types of advertising offers. Findings from the study were released today in a research report titled “The Modern Mobile Gamer: Advertising Preferences Revealed.”

“Mobile apps have completely flipped the script between brands and consumers, and consumers now have much more control than ever before,” said Shannon Jessup, chief revenue officer of Tapjoy. “As this study shows, consumers want to download apps for free, but they are more than willing to watch videos in order to unlock content within those apps. We have seen this trend played out across our platform as well, as we’ve experienced a 120% year-over-year increase in rewarded video views between April 2016 and April 2017.”

Rewarded videos are 100 percent optional and skippable for consumers, while delivering nearly perfect viewability and completion rates for brand advertisers. Rewarded ads — sometimes called “opt-in ads” or “value exchange ads” — empower consumers to earn free access to premium content or upgraded features in mobile apps by watching videos or engaging with brands.

Other key findings from the study include:

• Freemium apps are preferred over paid apps. A majority of consumers prefer their mobile apps to be supported by opt-in, rewarded advertising (54 percent), rather than mandatory ads such as pre-roll videos (32 percent) or by paid downloads (14 percent).
• Consumers are willing to watch 4+ videos per day. More than half of US consumers — 51 percent — said they are willing to watch at least four videos per day in exchange for rewards. Thirty-seven percent said they’d watch six or more videos per day.
• Humorous videos get the most attention. Forty-four percent of consumers say that humorous content most appeals to them when watching video ads on mobile. The next most popular genres were ads that featured Storytelling (28 percent), Product Demonstrations (26 percent) and Special Effects (24 percent).
• Sex and celebrity might not sell so well after all. Ads with Sex Appeal (13 percent) or a Famous Celebrity (13 percent) were among the least popular types of ads, although men were more likely to say they enjoyed ads with Sex Appeal than women.
• Movie trailers are most liked category. More than half (55 percent) of consumers say that ads for Movies & Entertainment are most likely to interest them, followed by ads for Food & Restaurants (46 percent), Retailers (25 percent), Fitness & Healthcare (22 percent) and then Local Services (19 percent).

Today’s report is a follow-up to a January report titled “The Changing Face of Mobile Gamers: What Marketers Need To Know,” which analyzes the demographics and psychographics of worldwide mobile gamers, available at http://hello.tapjoy.com/Modern-Mobile-Gamer-Research-Report.html.

The latest “Modern Mobile Gamer” report can be downloaded at: https://home.tapjoy.com/lp/modern-mobile-gamer/

About Tapjoy

Tapjoy’s Maximum Impact Platform™ provides mobile engagement and monetization services for leading advertisers and app developers. Advertisers rely on Tapjoy’s diverse suite of rewarded Interplay™ ads including video and rich media to impact performance. Developers utilize our technology and mobile expertise to acquire and monetize users. The Tapjoy SDK is currently embedded in over 15,000 mobile apps, reaching 520 million monthly active users. A 2016 comScore™ study confirmed Tapjoy Interplay™ ads deliver an unprecedented 3x lift across all brand metrics. The company works with Fortune 500 brands and the Top 200 grossing app developers. Founded in 2007, Tapjoy is a global organization with more than a dozen offices worldwide and is headquartered in San Francisco.

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Media Contact:

Matt McAllister

Fluid PR & Communications

(510) 229–9707

matt @ fluidspeak.com

Tapjoy Contact:

Emily McInerney

VP of Marketing

(415) 766–6900

emily.mcinerney @ tapjoy.com