The Structure of an Effective Video Ad Creative - Successful UA Campaigns [3/3 - part 2]

This article was first published by Marc Llobet in the Appodeal blog on February 8th, 2021.

This is the third article from a series focused on how to create Successful UA Campaigns. Feel free to check out "LTV for Mobile Games" and "Improving the CPI & ARPU of your Mobile Games".

This is the second part of a longer article titled "The Best Ad Creatives for Mobile Games". However, it was so long that I had to split it into three small articles to fit into Linkedin posts:

1. Questions to ask yourself before producing your Ad Creatives
2. The Structure of an Effective Video Ad for Mobile Games
3. How do I know if my Ad Creatives are effective?

Table of Contents:

1. First seconds: Show the cool stuff
2. Get fast to the Punchline
3. A clear Call-to-Action
4. Under 30-seconds
5. Don't show everything
6. Sound & FX matter!

1. Show the Cool Stuff at the beginning of your Ad Creative

Nowadays, mobile players' attention span is just a few seconds.

Nobody wants to spend precious seconds watching a -probably- unwelcomed and intrusive video ad.

However, almost every platform forces users to watch Video Ads for a few seconds.

And this is all you have to seduce them. Use those three first seconds wisely. Impact, generate a strong impression, raise a doubt, or whatever you need to make that potential player stay for the rest of the ad.

My best tip for you is: to show your most incredible stuff in the first seconds of your video ad.

What will that be? Depending on your genre, your art, your game mechanics, etc. It's your mobile game; you'll probably already know what's that. Isn't it?

2. Get fast to the Punchline

Again, people don't want to waste time, much less watch an unsolicited advertisement.

So, unless you seduce them at the beginning of your ad, they will spam the screen area where the "skip" button will display. Sometimes your ads will be skippable from the first second.?

With that in mind, the best place to show your punchline is as soon as possible.

It is not easy to find ways to get to your punchline fast and, at the same time, keep the integrity of the message. But at the same time, you don't want to produce an ad creative that is not well crafted, or people won't respond to your message the way you want.

You may trim some of your best ideas to get the job done, but if your ad's performance improves, it will pay up.

3. Never forget a Clear Call-to-Action

Which action would you like your users to take after watching your ad? Install your game? Visit your website? Engage in your community? Share your content?

Then, say it as literally as you can. You can even place a button so they can click on it.

Sometimes indie developers produce their ad creatives for mobile games as if they were to be displayed on TV. Then, you show a spectacular advertisement that ends abruptly, and people don't know how to react. They're left thinking, "Was that a teaser?" "Is the game already on the app stores?" "Is this feature already on the game?".

It's common practice to place the CTA (call-to-action) at the last seconds of the ad. But you can still put it anywhere.

You can place your CTA anytime in your ad, even at the very beginning of it.

Example of a Voice over for a video ad with multiple CTAs: "Try the new Appodeal Dashboard for Mobile Apps & Game. Connect your UA, monetization, and analytics data, to find out new opportunities to grow. Sign up now & unleash the full power of data. {button = Sign Up Now}”

Your CTA can vary. Find synonyms, use visuals, audio, and even text.

Unless you have a crazy load of money to promote your game through teasers (which you, an indie dev, probably won't), don't leave people wondering what they must do. Make it crystal clear for them.

4. Keep your Video Ads under 30-Seconds

There are successful ads that are longer than 30 seconds.

However, producing them becomes more complex and riskier. Ads over 30 seconds force you to use more visual resources. Spend more time on your ad creative, and create a complex narrative to keep the audience engaged.

Again, you may not want to put all the eggs in one basket if you're an indie developer. You will surely get better results with a bunch of short video ads.

Also, the channels to promote ads over 30 seconds may have different specifications.?

YouTube lets you promote "non-skippable video ads". The video ads, however, must be under 15 to 20 seconds long. If your video ads are over 20 seconds, YouTube will let the user skip after three seconds.

What would you prefer: a thousand people watching your 20-second ad to completion? Or dozens of thousands that they only get to hear, "Destroy your enemies in Hearthst..."?

Take only the necessary amount of time to communicate your message. And keep it punchy.

5. Don't put All the Meat on the Grinder.

If you can't make super long video ads, and your creatives must be concise and punchy, then be selective on what you put in your ad.

When users receive too much information, they are only able to retain a few bits of it.

Putting all your game's features into one single ad may be counterproductive.?Producing short ads works in your favor here.

You can split your content and promote one in-game feature on each ad creative. Then, check which ads had better performance. The data will tell you which features are more enticing for your users. Detect them and create more ads in that direction.

6. Set the mood with the SFX & Music of your Video Ad

Some indie developers use the same music they used in their games. Some others instead use royalty-free music libraries.

No matter where you find your audio assets, be aware that they will set your viewers' mood and affect how they react.

The most common approach for mobile game developers is to think of your ad creative, cut your in-game footage, edit it, produce the visual, and in the end, add the SFX and background music that goes along with it.

Usually, video ads to promote mobile games tend to have energetic music. This way, people will follow the CTA with more enthusiasm. If you're not sure of that, you may want to A/B test your ad creatives for mobile games with different types of songs and SFX and see what works best for you.

Choosing between two good songs will make a slight difference. But your ad creative may perform better if your audio is aligned with your visuals.