The two-year study examined campaigns from brands like Olive Garden, Dodge, LEGO, Sephora, Norwegian Cruse Line, am/pm, Citi and Huggies. Tapjoy’s opt-in rewarded ads in mobile games saw a 17-point lift in aided awareness and 23-point lift in mobile ad recall over the control groups.
Rewarded ads have been shown to nearly double positive sentiment towards brands, according to a recent Forrester study.
With Google experimenting with labeling apps containing ads in the Google Play store, and a general stigma growing around digital ads as more and more consumers download ad blockers, finding a way to give consumers a better experience with their mobile experience is critical. (So far, Apple only labels apps that contain in-app purchases.)
“Mobile ads, when integrated into mobile games at contextually relevant moments with the right rewards, can deliver strong branding results that help advertisers meet or exceed their objectives,” stated Steven Millman, SVP, research at comScore.
Ads can also help users reach their objectives in the games, but they need to be done correctly.
"These types of ads are so powerful because they put consumers in control, allowing them to choose which ads to engage with, at which time, in what way,” stated Julie Howell, mobile director at Carat.
The study surveyed mobile users who had viewed in-app ads (about 8,500) and a control group who hadn’t (about 15,000).