Reward Video Ad is playing a huge role in helping games generate revenue. According to a recent report, 33% of games revenue comes from Pre-Roll and Reward Video Ads. That is a third of revenue for game publisher’s revenue. Ads in general account of just over half — 55% — of total mobile publisher revenue.
With that said, it’s easy to assume, once you integrate a pre-roll or reward video ads, money would come flowing like a river.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, it doesn’t happen that way. Like most things in life, and game design, reward video ad monetization doesn’t follow a straight line and requires lots of reiteration and continued improvements.
The first thing one needs to test when introducing Reward video ads is “reward insertion points” and if those reward points are fit for Reward Video Ads.
Some of the reward video ad insertion points that you can try to test Reward Video Ads include
- Start of the gameplay
Insert ads at the start of the gameplay to give gamers an additional morale boost in the form of virtual currency, power-ups, game elements and so on in exchange for watching your video.
- When the going gets tough
This could simply consist of watching a mobile video ad or it could be completing some offer on the offer wall, whereby you could offer the gamer a free life.
- Tail the users with a bonus
These are moments when you think the user has played enough and about to quit. During such times, the developer could think of introducing some rewarded ads to pull the gamers back into their game. Rovio’s Angry Birds 2 welcomes users back with a daily gift.
- End of the Game
It’s not conventional to place an Ad at the end of the gameplay but studies show it motivates gamers to continue with their game in exchange for watching the video.
The design needs to help players get back to the game sooner and makes them play longer. According to Adcloney’s report, video ads extend the players session time by more than 25%.
- Award every achievement with a virtual high-five
Games are engineered with concrete action plans and goals. As a developer, you could help your gamers celebrate a little more by offering them virtual high-five in the form of some virtual items or an extra life for which they are required to watch a video ad.
- Storefront
Users tend to visit Storefront during the gameplay to buy virtual currency, level-ups and more. For the starters, this is the most common slot for placing rewarded video ads.
- Upfront menu
Placing ads upfront at the start of the game itself would ensure that non-paying users don’t really have to struggle hard and reach the storefront for virtual currency, power-ups and so on.
Every game is different so there may be more or less “Reward Insertion Points” depending on the game type. You should try all these points without cannibalizing the game experience. While it’s great to generate or increase revenue from Reward Video Ads, you have to look beyond the immediate return.
It is better to let the chicken that lay eggs keep laying one Golden egg a day than pushing her to do 10 a day and losing her in few days. In the next post, we will cover ways how you can measure if your reward video ad monetization is working or not.
