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Mobile Monday: Brands’ Opportunities in In-App Advertising, Zynga Focuses on Expansion in Asia

Posted Aug 5, 2019

Although in-app game advertising is on the rise, there are still brands that are skeptical about dedicating marketing budgets to reach out to “gamers.” AdColony’s recent article on Digiday touches on the diverse gaming audience and why brands should get in on the mobile in-app gaming phenomenon. Meanwhile, Zynga’s strongest mobile earnings ever in Q2 has lead the gaming developer to focus on expanding in Asia. Get all the details in this week’s Mobile Monday!

Why Brands Can Benefit From Mobile Gaming
As a part of an article series on Digiday, AdColony illustrated why brands can benefit from the rise of mobile gaming with in-app advertising. The article cites the 2018 Electronic Entertainment Design and Research study which says that out of 211.2 million American video game players, 90% of them play games on a mobile device. Additionally, 49% of all mobile gamers are women. The age range has also widened with Gen X’ers and boomers as active gamers particularly with word-match and word-search apps. Simply put, the gaming audience is huge. Brands are slowly learning that the term “gamer” no longer holds the stereotype it once had.

In-app advertising not only gives brands access to a wider audience but can offer some features not available with traditional media. Ever-evolving technology has provided tools for A/B testing, mobile attribution, and reporting on return on ad spend. Furthermore, mobile gaming ads can give users a custom branded playable experience, which can deliver better engagement rates and more brand awareness. As more companies adopt mobile game advertising, brands who ignore the opportunities in gaming could be left behind. 

Zynga’s Strong Q2 Leads to Asia Market Expansion
Gamesindustry.biz reported that Zynga’s Q2 2019 earnings gave the company its highest quarterly mobile revenue ever with titles Empires & Puzzles, Words With Friends, and Merge Dragons! seeing record revenue and bookings. Mobile revenue was up 49% year-over-year and totaled $287 million while bookings were up 69% and reached $358 million. Additionally, mobile advertising revenue hit $64 million, an increase of $28 million since last year. While much of this revenue comes from the United States, Zynga is looking to expand in Asia.

During the developer’s Q2 earnings call, CEO Frank Gibeau and CFO Gerard Griffin spoke about their current strategy for Asia citing the release of Empires & Puzzles in Japan and Korea. Despite the country’s gaming restrictions, Gibeau said they are looking to release Empires & Puzzles in China as well. He also mentioned the upcoming Star Wars and Harry Potter games as possibilities to bring globally-recognized names to the Asian market. China remains to be a complicated region for game publishers but, as one of the highest spenders on gaming, it will always be considered as an opportunity to grow audiences and revenue.

About AdColony Mobile Mondays
Mobile Monday examines the latest news, trends, and developments in mobile apps, tech, and advertising. Do you have a story to share for the next Mobile Monday?   

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