Are you hoping to increase engagement and conversions from your digital advertising campaigns? You might want to consider creating playable ads and integrating them into your marketing arsenal. Playable ads are interactive ads that allow users to get involved with your brand in a creative and entertaining way. Not only do they increase user interaction, but they also give users a better sense of what your product or service is all about.
In this blog post, we explore the benefits of creating playable ads, as well as the challenges and limitations to be aware of. We'll also share some great examples of winning playable ad campaigns to inspire your own creativity. Finally, we'll discuss how partnering with Driver Studios, a full-service production studio with expertise in creating engaging and age-appropriate content, can help you create successful playable ad campaigns that drive real results.
Playable ads are interactive ads that allow users to experience a part of a game, app, product, or any other unique brand experience before purchasing it. They are intended to engage and entertain and are a popular marketing tool for almost any type of business.
Playable ads can be designed as mini-games, interactive demos, or even video ads giving users a taste of the full app or game experience.
Playable ads are an increasingly important tool for companies trying to make it in today's digital landscape. By allowing users to interact with and experience a brand's product or service in a fun and engaging way, playable ads can drive increased engagement, higher conversion rates, and more effective targeting.
One of the individual advantages of playable ads is their ability to capture and retain users' attention. In a world where consumers are constantly bombarded with ads, playable ads offer a unique and captivating method of getting their attention. By offering users a chance to interact with a brand's product or service in a way that is fun and entertaining, playable ads can create a more memorable and positive experience for users.
Playable ads can also be highly effective in terms of targeting. By designing ads that are tailored to specific audiences, brands can ensure that their message is reaching the right people at the right time. This can lead to higher conversion rates and more effective campaigns if done properly.
Another key advantage of playable ads is their ability to provide valuable data and insights into user behavior. By tracking user interactions with the ad, brands can gain a better understanding of how users interact with their products and services, as well as what drives them away. This can help businesses develop future marketing strategies and optimize their campaigns for maximum impact.
According to ironSource, playable video ads can increase retention rates by 30-40 percent. But why does that happen?
Having seen a playable advertisement, users know what to expect when they install the game. To put it another way, they already have some ideas about the basic game mechanics, which encourages them to start playing right away. That usually results in higher user retention and a higher lifetime value for players.
Moreover, studies show that an average person can recall 95% of a message when it's watched, as opposed to 10% when it's read. Because of this, it's easier for potential customers to remember your message with a video ad than with an image or text-based advertisement.
According to a study by Google, playable ads are also more effective at capturing users' attention than traditional static or video ads. The study found that users were 3x more likely to engage with a playable ad than a static ad, and 47% more likely to remember the brand after interacting with a playable ad.
In addition, playable ads can also lead to higher levels of engagement. According to another study by Unity, the average time spent on a playable ad is 27 seconds. This is significantly longer than the average time spent on a static ad or video ad. This extended engagement time can lead to higher conversion rates and a better return on investment for your advertising spend.
Overall, playable ads offer a range of benefits that can drive success for businesses in today's digital landscape. By creating engaging and interactive experiences for users, brands can capture attention, improve targeting, and gain valuable insights into user behavior. As the digital advertising landscape continues to evolve, playable ads will likely become an indispensable resource for companies that wish to remain competitive and prosper in 2023 and beyond.
Whether it's tourism, banking, entertainment, fast food, and beyond, brands of all kinds are coming up with original online playable ads to reach and connect with their audiences. Creating playable ads and adding them to a marketing plan is a great idea since they offer a way to demonstrate an app's capabilities or an event revamp.
Playable ads also offer a range of benefits over traditional ad formats. Here are some of the key benefits:
Playable ads provide an immersive and interactive experience for users, leading to higher engagement rates. According to studies, playable ads have an engagement rate of up to 80%, compared to 20% for static ads. By providing a compelling and enticing experience, playable ads capture the user's attention and encourage them to interact with the ad.
By allowing users to experience a part of an upcoming game event or app before downloading it, playable ads can help improve conversion rates. As we mentioned before, users who have already played the game or used the app are more likely to convert into paying customers. Playable ads also allow brands to highlight the features and benefits of their app or game in a way that static ads can't.
Creating playable ads allow for more effective targeting, as they can be designed to appeal to specific user demographics or interests. By providing a targeted experience, brands can reach the right audience with their message and increase the likelihood of conversion. Playable ads can also help companies gather information about user preferences, allowing for more effective retargeting and remarketing campaigns.
Playable ads can offer a lower cost per acquisition (CPA) compared to traditional ad formats, as they provide a more engaging and interactive experience for the user. By reducing the cost per install and increasing the conversion rate, playable ads can provide a more cost-effective way for brands to acquire new customers.
With playable ads, brands can track user behavior and measure ad performance more effectively. Investing in collecting data on user interactions and behavior lets brands optimize their campaigns and improve ROI. Playable ads also offer more accurate and detailed performance metrics, allowing brands to evaluate their campaigns' effectiveness in real-time.
The following examples show the diverse ways in which creating playable ads can be used to engage and entertain users, while also driving revenue. By creating interactive and interesting experiences that align with their brand message, these companies were able to effectively capture users' attention and drive meaningful results.
Tinder created a playable ad campaign that simulated a game of "truth or dares." Users were presented with a series of questions and challenges, such as "Send a GIF that represents your perfect date." The campaign was highly successful, with a 30% increase in app downloads and a 26% increase in matches.
Blackout Bingo is an easy game that does not require any special skills on the part of the player. It’s great for unwinding and killing time. This is reflected in the playable ad for Blackout Bingo. In this playable ad, users simply need to find the called-out numbers and click on them. A highlighter is placed on the board to make it even easier to see the called numbers. Users must, however, act quickly, which makes the advertisement exciting.
An intriguing aspect of the advertisement is that it displays how much other users have won, adding an element of competition and social interaction to it. Moreover, at the end of the playable ad, it shows how much money you can win, plus a "claim now" button as the cherry on top.
H&M created a playable ad campaign that allowed users to decorate a virtual living room using H&M's home decor products. The campaign was highly engaging and drove a 3.4x increase in click-through rates compared to traditional banner ads.
Mercedes-Benz created a playable ad campaign that allowed users to solve a puzzle featuring one of their cars. The campaign was highly successful, with a 68% increase in ad recall and a 61% increase in brand favorability.
Paramount Pictures created a playable ad campaign to promote the release of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie. The campaign allowed users to play a game featuring the movie's main character, Sonic. The campaign was highly successful, with a 66% increase in brand awareness and a 22% increase in ad recall.
Next Games created a playable ad campaign to promote their mobile game, "The Walking Dead: No Man's Land." The campaign allowed users to play a demo version of the game within the ad. The campaign was highly successful, with a 5x increase in app installs compared to traditional banner ads.
While playable ads offer many benefits, they do face some challenges and limitations. Ad-blocking and user privacy concerns are two of the main issues that brands must consider when using playable ads.
Playable ads may be blocked by ad-blockers, which can limit their reach and effectiveness. Brands must ensure that their playable ads are designed to be compliant with ad-blocker policies or risk losing out on potential customers.
User privacy concerns around data collection and targeting are also a challenge for playable ads. Brands must ensure that their playable ads are designed to be GDPR-compliant and that user data is collected and used in a transparent and ethical manner.
In addition to ad blocking and user privacy concerns, there are several other challenges and limitations that brands must consider when using playable ads. These include:
Creating a high-quality playable ad can be expensive, requiring specialized skills and resources. Brands must be willing to invest in the design and development of their playable ads in order to create a memorable and effective campaign.
Playable ads require a certain level of technical expertise, as they must be designed to work seamlessly across a variety of devices and platforms. This can be a challenge for brands that do not have experience in mobile game development or app design.
While playable ads offer a unique and engaging format for advertising, they can also be limiting in terms of creativity. Brands must design playable ads that are fun and entertaining, while also staying true to the gameplay and mechanics of the game or app being promoted.
Playable ads are still a relatively new format, and may not have the same reach as traditional ad formats. Brands must consider the target audience for their campaign and whether playable ads are the best way to reach them.
At Driver Studios, we are a full-service production studio that specializes in creating engaging and interactive content, including playable ads. With our extensive experience in the field, we are qualified to help businesses of all sizes create successful playable ad campaigns.
One of the key advantages of working with us is our expertise in creating content that resonates with younger audiences. As the leading production studio for advertising to kids, we have a deep understanding of how to create content that is both engaging and age-appropriate. This expertise can be invaluable for businesses looking to target younger demographics with their playable ad campaigns.
In addition to our experience creating kid-friendly content, we offer a range of services that can help businesses create killer playable ads. From ideation and concept development to production and distribution, we can handle every aspect of the campaign creation process. This end-to-end approach ensures that businesses can create high-quality playable ads that are optimized for maximum engagement and impact.
Get in touch today and let us be a part of your success story.
In conclusion, creating playable ads offers an innovative and memorable way for brands to reach their target audiences. They offer a range of benefits, including increased engagement, improved conversion rates, and more effective targeting.
While there are challenges and limitations to using playable ads, brands that are willing to invest in design and development can create effective campaigns with real results. As the digital advertising landscape continues to evolve, playable ads will likely become an increasingly important part of brands' marketing strategies in 2023 and beyond.
Of course, similar to any other marketing tool, your professional decisions determine the success of the campaign. Partnering with marketing experts like Driver Studios can be particularly valuable for businesses looking to distinguish themselves in a sea of digital ads, as it ensures that their playable ads are both distinctive and impactful.
Our commitment to innovation and experimentation also drives us to constantly explore new technologies and methods so we can create effective and innovative content.
We are an ideal partner for businesses looking to create powerful playable ad campaigns. With our expertise in creating content for kids, our end-to-end production services, and our commitment to innovation and experimentation, we can help businesses of all sizes create engaging and effective playable ads that drive real results.
