Study: 69% of app developers have tested playable ads

Brief:

Video remains a top choice among app marketers, accounting for 75% of all app install campaign spending while mobile video makes up 56%, according to a survey by AdColony of the top 100 grossing app developers. The survey also found that full-screen video is the most-used format.
Advertisers are also paying more attention to playables, with 46% saying that's the opportunity they're most exited about for 2018. Among the top advertisers, 69% said they've tested playables, compared to 33% this time last year. Seventy-one percent of that number find them to be effective, an increase from 51% in the spring survey.
Among the top app publishers, 80% use a combination of video and display ads to monetize their apps, and ads account for 55% of total publisher revenue. They also ranked rewarded video as the top choice for engaging user experiences.

Insight:

AdColony's survey highlights how app marketing continues to evolve and become more sophisticated beyond a simple display ad featuring a "download now" button. Another key takeaway is that app marketing teams are getting larger, with 28% numbering more than 10 people in Q4, up from 23% in Q1 and 8% in Q3 of 2016. This points to the both the importance of apps to developers and the challenge they face into driving downloads in a saturated market.

The growth in playables is interesting, reflecting the trend toward more interactive and entertaining engagement strategies.

In AdColony's spring survey, 58% reported that they were reducing their TV ad spend, while 70% said they were reducing budgets on traditional print ads and radio. This aligns with the latest survey that also shows app marketers cooling to more traditional radio, print and out-of-home campaigns that are historically tricky to measure.

Overall, there is a shift toward more measureable marketing methods. Publishers often use three or more engagement methods to retain users, with most relying on achievements, notifications, value exchanges and events. Seventy percent of publishers who use push notifications say it effectively drives engagement, per the survey.

Marketing quality indicators also vary by region. AdColony found that app install marketers in North America looked for early in-app purchases, while those in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia were most concerned about long-term user retention.