An Overview of Rewarded Ads
A rewarded ad, also known as an incentivized ad, offers users an opportunity to watch a video, install an app, register for a website, or engage with a playable ad in exchange for a reward voluntarily. This ad type is mostly found in in-app games, many publishers also opt for this ad type to boost their revenue.
Source: admanager.google.com
Probably, some of us used to be mobile online game players and suffered disappointment due to the state of “dying” and that we could not complete the game/reach a critical point in the game. In most cases, publishers need a power-up and want to continue playing or gain an extra “life” instead of starting the games all over again, users sometimes choose rewarded ads, which are shown with sequential events:
- Ad prompt: The user is presented with the option to view an ad in exchange for a reward.
- Opt-in: The user chooses to watch the ad.
- Ad reward: The user completes viewing the ad, and receives a reward such as an extra “life” or power-up.
- Item used: The user consumes the reward and can continue playing the game from where he or she left off.
Source: oko.uk
Users are given the option to decide whether they consent to interacting with an ad or not with rewarded ads. Reward ads can be used to convert throughout the game if users want to keep playing.
Rewarded Ads: Why to choose?
Engagement and retention are pivotal to focus due to the increasing competitiveness of the mobile gaming industry. Therefore, developers need to balance monetization and user experience. Rewarded ad is supposed to be a popular solution to keep the balance because it results in a 3-win strategy for users, publishers, and advertisers.
Benefits to users: Enhance the app experience for free.
Users enjoy rewarded ads because, instead of purchasing with money, they can spend time to gain access to items that allow them to continue playing, progress faster, or receive paid items. Furthermore, rewarded ads put users in control of the ad experience by actively choosing to interact with ads. This opt-in nature (click-to-play) makes rewarded ads safe to implement without disturbing user experience.
Benefit to publishers: Boost revenue and user engagement
Rewarded ads help boost revenue while keeping users engaged. These formats are designed to effectively monetize non-spending users while protecting user experience. Rewarded ads generate a high revenue per thousand impressions (RPM) thanks to increased engagement rates. Additionally, rewarded ads generally enhance user retention because users are tempted to spend more time on the app. Finally, rewarded ads provide a great opportunity to implement a hybrid monetization model with in-app purchases (IAP). An increasing number of games that monetize with in-app purchases now implement rewarded ads as a complement to IAP. Rewards can serve as an introduction to premium features, so not only do users play longer, but more of them may eventually become spenders.
Benefits to advertisers: Create valuable impressions
Rewarded ads are opt-in, and users often watch them until the end because of the rewards, which makes rewarded video ads highly viewable, and advertisers are willing to spend more for formats that deliver more user engagement.
