Rewarded video ads improve app retention by 4X!

[:en]A major mobile gaming publisher based in San Francisco recently integrated Tapjoy’s rewarded video ads into its app and was surprised to find that player retention rates went up right away. Digging into its data, the company noticed that player retention among those who had watched rewarded videos was more than triple that of other users!

Perhaps they shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, most of our publishing partners experience a similar phenomenon. App publishers are finding that rewarded video ads are one of the best ways to boost app retention, and they are integrating more and more of them into their apps.

Some publishers have been reluctant to add video ads — or at least not too many of them — for fear that they’ll annoy users. At Tapjoy, we found the opposite to be the case. We recently looked across our entire network to analyze the relationship between rewarded ads and retention, and we found that rewarded ads actually help boost player retention. In fact, engaging with just one ad in their first week — whether a Video ad, Full Screen Interstitial, a Message-to-Earn Ad, or through the Tapjoy Offerwall — multiplies a user’s chances of being around after 30 days by nearly 4X.

Rewarded video ads had the most profound effect on app retention of any ad type. Users who watched just one rewarded video during their first week had a 30-day retention rate of 53.2% — an increase of more than 4 times the average 30-day retention rate for all users. For users that watch seven videos in their first week, the 30-day retention rate was 71% — nearly 5.5 times greater than the benchmark!

Why do rewarded videos boost retention?

It’s easy to why rewarded video ads are so effective at increasing retention:

• They provide valuable rewards for very little effort

Rewarded video ads are perhaps the easiest way for users to earn virtual currency or other types of in-app rewards for free — all they have to do is give about 15 seconds of their time. And once they get have those rewards, they are more likely to stick around long enough to actually use them.

• They whet a user’s appetite for more

Once a user gets a taste for in-app rewards, they are likely to want more. They’ll see how much more fun your game can be when using those power-ups, for instance, or they’ll appreciate just how much they enjoy watching your subscription content. Once they realize the full benefit they get from using your app’s virtual goods or premium content, they are more likely to keep using it into the future.

• They’re a great introduction to rewarded ads and IAP

Aside from giving them a taste for your virtual goods and premium content, rewarded videos are also a great introduction to other forms of rewarded ads and your virtual economy as a whole. Presenting them with the opportunity to earn rewards by watching a video — when they learn about it through an in-app message or a Direct-Play video, for instance — is often a great way for developers to first introduce users to all the other ways they have of earning or buying in-app currency.

Tapjoy offers several ways to integrate rewarded video ads into your app and promote them to your users. Contact us for a free consultation on how your app can leverage the power of rewarded video ads, and join the thousands of apps using Tapjoy video to monetize, engage and retain their users. [:]