Mobile Monday: iOS In-App Ad Opportunities and Studies Prove Video Ads Grab Attention

Digital Turbine is constantly keeping tabs on the mobile world, and every week, we’re sharing the most interesting and important need-to-know stories and articles. In this edition of Mobile Monday, we’re covering how the drop in App Store revenue creates in-app ad opportunities, and the studies that have proven the effectiveness of video ads for grabbing attention.. Learn all about these stories in this week’s Mobile Monday!

The App Store’s Biggest Drop in Revenue Means Advertising is Crucial

According to a report by Morgan Stanley, the Apple App Store dipped 5% year-over-year, representing the biggest drop the company noted since recording its data. A number of factors contributed to this decline including a slowdown in gaming, flat spending in the top markets, and financial concern among consumers. Spend in mobile games decreased by 14% in September with key markets, China, Taiwan, and South Korea seeing some slowdowns. With many consumers anticipating economic downturns, they have decreased spending in subscriptions and in-app purchases. Morgan Stanley analysts also expect to see a drop in sales on Google Play as they estimate revenue there fell 9% in September.

While these drops will be a concern for app publishers, it is important to note that smartphone users around the world are still crazy for mobile gaming. A study released earlier this year showed that 68% of adults increased their mobile gaming playtime. Mobile gamers are still playing, but are spending more conservatively. If spend continues to trend downward, publishers will need to examine their monetization mix and consider focusing more on in-app advertising.

The right partners can connect publishers with the most recognizable brands who are looking to capture the attention of mobile games’ huge audience. Publishers also need to make sure players are satisfied with the free-to-play option by using ad types (like rewarded video) that will not disrupt gameplay. These drops in revenue for both Apple and Google means is now more crucial than ever to monetize primarily through in-app advertising.

Who’s getting all the attention? 

Mobile marketers are looking at attention. Digital Turbine recently shared a Lumen study comparing in-game ads attention performance to other ad formats, finding that DT’s ads gained the most attentive second of all channels examined. 

A recent study by Amplified Intelligence, appearing in Yahoo and OMD Worldwide’s “Attention in Context” report and shared by eMarketer, looks at more ad formats on mobile - and talks attention first. 

The main takeaway was that “the larger the mobile ad, the more time spent looking at it”. Interscroller ads grabbed 3.3 seconds of attention on average, while video interscroller ads saw 3 seconds of attention.

Both the Lumen study and the “Attention in Context” report show that Video is key for grabbing attention.