Brands: How playable ads can increase connection

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Kristina: What exactly is a playable ad?

Amit Dar, General Manager – US, Taptica: Playable ads can be thought of as a “mini-game.” Those who engage with a playable ad unit must be able to win or lose. A purely interactive ad, on the other hand, does not depend on how a user performs and must still be able to reach all available content.

Kristina: How do marketers measure its success?

Amit: The majority of the time marketers utilize playable ads as part of their user acquisition efforts. Therefore, measurement is like any other user acquisition campaign: onboard new users who will engage with an app and finally convert to paying users.

Kristina: How should marketers determine if a game correlates with their brand?

Amit: Marketers must first determine whether a game makes sense for their brand. If words like “fun” or “playful” are part of your brand’s identity, playable ads might be a good fit. For example, an entertainment brand could use a game to build awareness for a new television show. If gaming isn’t highly correlated to your brand like an insurance company or car dealership, though, you should probably consider investing your marketing dollars elsewhere.

Kristina: What should marketers take into consideration if a playable ad is right for their brand?

Amit: The two biggest things marketers should keep in mind are cost and inventory. Not only are playable ads a significant investment for marketers, but they also require serious mobile chops. If your brand’s mobile capabilities are still a work in progress, then playables are likely out of your reach. Additionally, while playable ads are extremely popular in the market right now, they still hold a relatively niche place overall. It’s imperative that you gauge supply before investing both the time and resources into playables.

Kristina: What are examples of brands who leverage playable ads well?

Amit: It’s no surprise that gaming brands execute playables extremely well. Their ads are literally a demo version of the game itself.

Kristina: Are there any downsides to playable ads for marketers?

Amit: Besides the ad unit to brand fit, playable ads can be misattributed. They are dynamic and very engaging. However, there is a big difference between being engaged and actually following through with a call to action. Marketers should make sure they have clear goals with the campaign and do not fall in love with a playable unit’s engagement.

Kristina: How do you expect playable ads to evolve over the next five years?

Amit: We are at the very preliminary stages of playable ads. As technology evolves, we will see new formats and the use of AR and VR come into the space. It is really hard to predict the future of playables, as five years ago they looked like science fiction.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kristina Knight-1
Kristina Knight, Journalist , BA
Content Writer & Editor
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Kristina Knight is a freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience writing on varied topics. Kristina’s focus for the past 10 years has been the small business, online marketing, and banking sectors, however, she keeps things interesting by writing about her experiences as an adoptive mom, parenting, and education issues. Kristina’s work has appeared with BizReport.com, NBC News, Soaps.com, DisasterNewsNetwork, and many more publications.