As technology has developed extremely in the last two decades, new opportunities for promoting your business and services have appeared. If we take a look at how the world was at the beginning of the 2000s, we can see that most marketing was done offline and through television and radio ads. Mobile phones were just developing, so the places where you could advertise your company were limited.
There was a fight over the best places in the city center, places that are visited by thousands of people every day. But as mobile phones have become more and more performant, a new door has opened in the world of marketing and advertising. And it is still developing, as new advertising techniques and methods are on the market.
Some of these are in-app ads and in-game ads. Even though they might seem pretty similar, they are different from each other. Many people use these terms interchangeably, which creates greater confusion. Let’s explore together the depths of mobile advertising and the differences between these two types.
The Evolution of Mobile Advertisement
The phone that has revolutionized technology was the first iPhone, which made it possible to connect to the internet rapidly and faster. Suddenly, you did not need to have a computer to connect to the internet, you could have this feature everywhere you go. This was the event that opened a new door in the world of marketing, as many companies and businesses rushed on posting their ads online.
When you entered a webpage in your browser, you were bombarded with lots of ads. Many of these were not even related to your needs and desires, and many users found them annoying. Of course, a cheat for this was also invented. The popular ad-blocker is now used by more than 65 million people as a browser extension. It blocks all the ads on that page and you can easily read the article, watch the video, and so on without an ad to perturb you.
However, back then ad-blockers were not invented yet, so those annoying ads kept appearing. Then, apps were invented, and more and more people started using them to keep ads away or entertain themselves. And as gaming has been a popular hobby since forever, mobile games were quickly developed. Which, again, opened a new door to marketing and nurtured the invention of in-app ads and in-game ads. But what is the difference between these two? Find out below.
In-app Ads vs. In-game Ads
Because most mobile apps are free to use, developers need to find ways to monetize them. And one of these ways is to allow companies and businesses to advertise their products or services in their games or apps. Games are very popular around the world, with approximately 30% of the world population playing games on their mobile phone every day. PUBG mobile is the most popular mobile game ever, with about 35 million registered players and over 15 million daily players. And from a marketer or advertiser’s point of view, this could be the game where you should advertise your products.
But there are two different types of ads: in-app ads and in-game ads and the differences between them are notable.
In-App Ads
In-app ads are known as those short ads that appear between games. When you enter the game, you could also see a short video that presents yourself with a brand or a product. In-app ads are a nice way to monetize your app and this is why developers choose to serve advertisements within their app.
Another characteristic of in-app ads is that they can be targeted depending on demographics. Marketers can easily program them to reach their target audience, thus increasing the chance of selling more of their products or accomplishing their marketing goal. Moreover, this type of ad appears only in specific moments, and most of the time, ad watching is encouraged by app developers as well. You have surely watched an ad to get some bonuses in the game or app you are using. And thus, marketers have found a way to make users watch their ads.
In-Game Ads
On the other hand, ads in game are a little bit different. The goal of an ad is pretty much the same: reaching your target audience, generating new leads, making your existing customer base loyal, and so on. But the highest goal is to increase your brand awareness, to make people know your brand and choose it over another. And one efficient way to do this is to have in-game ads. However, compared with in-app ads, in-game ads need to be added from the beginning. For example, if you want the logo of your company to appear in a game that will be released, you need to discuss and negotiate with the game developers. Your logo must be included in the game code, which cannot be changed after the release of the game.
In-game ads are similar to what you see on the tv when there is product placement in a scene. Even though at the beginning the in-game ads were pretty rustic, the technology has developed tremendously in the last few years. Game developers are now able to incorporate in-game ads in a non-intrusive way and users can happily play games.
Conclusion
Even though the terms in-app ads and in-game ads are used interchangeably, they are different from each other. It is important to be aware of these differences as a marketer to make sure you use the right techniques to achieve your goals.
For even more news from the world of Mobile Gaming click here
