Are Mobile Games the Hot New Television For Advertisers?

In a recent article for Venture Beat, Tech wizard, Ziv Elul, put forward the question: Are mobile games the new TV?" [1]. In his deliberation, Elul makes the valid point, that in a number of ways: "mobile games are everything appointment TV once offered, but with additional benefits and challenges" [1]. So let's take look into what this actually means.

The Rise & Rise of Mobile Entertainment

The OTT revolution has transformed everyone's lives. - And at this moment in time, the unstoppable momentum of consumers opting for next generation cutting-edge multimedia platforms such as OONA, which offers Free Entertainment 4 Life, on the go & at home, with its unique 3-in-1 Free Unlimited Entertainment Bundle of Live VOD/TV, Video Games & Music Channels, is clearly the future. Moreover, it offers entertainment equality for everyone, regardless of their financial status.

"By 2021: The gaming market is expected to be worth over $180.1 billion" [2]

Image credit: New Zoo

Mobile Has Overtaken Console & PC Gaming

As Elul notes: "If you look at where people play games, mobile has surpassed console and PC gaming. This means that mobile games have the scale that advertisers look for, so I wouldn’t be surprised if mobile games become the first place advertisers turn to when they want to launch highly creative branding campaigns at scale" [1]. This is highly feasible, and will, no doubt, be very profitable for advertisers.

A Case in Point

OONA Global, in partnership with telcom giant, Telcom Indonesia, first launched its state-of-the-art mobile app in Indonesia in 2018, making its ad-based free vMVPD service available to 185 million people. OONA's founder and CEO, digital strategist, AI expert, and government tech advisor, ChristopheHochart, has conducted substantial research on pseudo-holographic display technology. He sees this as the next exciting breakthrough in the 3D display industry, and a must-have for all games. Right from the get-go, he witnessed just how hugely popular mobile games are all over the world. So to that end, he decided to add the latest cool video games to the Free OONA Entertainment Package. And the great thing is that players can actually earn a virtual currency (tcoins), just for playing the games the love, interacting, and watching cool personalised ads that can save them time and money.  

Image credit: mailonline.com

"Mobile games allow marketers to reach consumers at scale, and to engage them with highly creative ads" [1]  

Hochart recently remarked: "We are very excited about our new games on OONA, which are proving to be a massive success, especially as users can earn unlimited virtual currency rewards which they can build up in their virtual wallet to claim branded goods and services, telcom products, and entrance to our daily Bid N'Win offerings for premium prizes. Our popular dynamic games will also empower our advertisers to deploy a broad spectrum of fun, creative, engagement tactics. We are looking forward to introducing our games to the US market, where we will be launching our Free 4 Life: TV, Gaming & Music Entertainment Trilogy, very soon. Our OONA research team have also shown that an overwhelming number of scientific studies, have proved the enormous benefits of gaming for all generations." 
Read: OONA Media: The Positive Advantages of Digital Games.

                                          Image credit: performinproperty.co.uk

Win-Win

"Like TV, mobile games give advertisers the opportunity to capture users' imagination with highly creative ads, including ads that are actually games" [1]

All age groups of children, men and women, love to play games. And as a consequence: "advertisers are keenly aware of the opportunity that mobile in-app games [such as OONA] provide" [1]. In fact, leading advertising tech company, Fyber NV, recognised this last year, when it conducted a survey of 500 executives who represented agencies and brands [1]. 

The research indicated that: "gaming apps are clearly viewed as solid investments, with 60% of all respondents citing scale and reach as reasons to advertise in the channel (the same benefits of appointment TV). 78% of respondents said they had already placed ads in gaming apps, and 91% of media agencies and 87% of brands said they plan to advertise in them [this year]. Fifty-nine percent of respondents cited high user engagement as a key reason for advertising in mobile games" [1].

Measuring Viewability 

When it comes to mobile app channels, there are a number of ways that brands can ascertain the verifications and measurements they require. For example, with regard to viewability: OMSDK (The Open Measurement Software Development Kit), provides a single SDK. Furthermore, tools to monitor measurement including comScore’s vCE, and Nielsen’s DAR, enable audience validation. In short: "brand marketers are able to track whether or not their ads reached the right audience, and were in view across all mobile games" [1]. 

More About OONA

OONA offers consumers an unrivalled 3-in-1 FREE Unlimited Entertainment Bundle: Live VOD/TV, Video Games & Music Channels; the chance to earn daily virtual currency tcoin rewards for interacting, gaming, streaming music & watching what they love; & fun tools & stickers for sharing & editing their favourite shows, music and games.  

OONA's free ad-supported, next generation virtual entertainment platform is a first of its kind. - It consolidates the most popular apps with live TV, SVOD, TVOD, music, games and YouTube channels in a singular platform operating on iOS and Android smartphones, Android TV and Smart TV applications. Using cutting-edge user engagement technology, OONA generates customized ads for viewers and rewards them with a virtual currency called tcoins® as part of a loyalty reward system which can be redeemed for popular branded goods and services.

To enhance the user experience, OONA offers multiple features including a genie-in-the-app known as OONAbot, to personalize the user journey as well as unique tools and stickers to use while interacting with friends & family, and sharing on social media platforms. As the vMVPD of the future, OONA is set to revolutionize the way we consume content with much more control, flexibility and monetary benefits for consumers and businesses. Currently, OONA has over 250 subscription-free channels including movies, TV programs, live sports, documentaries, and local and global breaking news, which is available in Indonesia and set to roll out in 2019 Q3 across Vietnam, the Philippines, US, and the Middle East.

References

[1]. Elul, Ziv (2019). "Are mobile games the new TV for advertisers?" Venture Beat.

https://venturebeat.com/2019/04/14/are-mobile-games-the-new-tv-for-advertisers/ Accessed 20 Sept. 2019.

[2]. Takahashi, Dean (2018). "Newzoo: Games market expected to hit $180.1 billion in revenues in 2021." Venture Beat.

https://venturebeat.com/2018/04/30/newzoo-global-games-expected-to-hit-180-1-billion-in-revenues-2021/ Accessed 20 Sept. 2019.