The ultimate guide on market analysis & creative strategies of mobile game ad 2022

Mobile gaming went through a skyrocketing growth in 2021, especially with the impact of the COVID pandemic 2020. Under such circumstances, companies like Applovin, Chartboost, and iResearch have given their perspectives on the industry trends in 2022, which we will share at the end of the article.

It is worth mentioning that according to the 2021 mobile game industry white paper released by SocialPeta, 2021 had nearly 65k mobile game advertisers, North America remained Top 1 with a total of over 41K mobile game advertisers, up 18.72% YoY.?

With these increasing statistics, the global mobile marketing competition became increasingly difficult. How to make full use of the successful experience of last year and avoid potential risks is the primary issue at present. As a marketing data analysis tool serving the mobile game industry for almost 10 years, SocialPeta reveals everything you need to know about winning in the mobile game market in this article, including the mobile game advertising statistics in 2021, creative trends & tips, and marketing trend predictions.

How does mobile game advertising perform in 2021?

Ad Market Statistics

There was a significant slowdown in the number of game advertisers in 2021 compared to 2020. Emphatically, SociaPeta recorded a 5% growth rate, in-game advertisers, in 2021 as compared to the 44% growth rate in 2020.

The average duration of creatives is 32.5 days, which increased by 87.9% in 2021. The reason for this is that advertising data shows that classic materials are more popular in the market.

# 5.6M video ads creatives were placed in 2021, a 73% increase over 2020. Video creatives have become the mainstream of game advertising as a result of the constant upgrading of mobile devices, 5G networks and the development of mobile technologies.

Casual games had the most advertisers, with more than 18k. Also, RPG games had the most significant number of creatives, with a total number of more than 6.6M.

Ad cost statistics

The CPM of mobile games on the meta platform increased by 34% in 2021. Also, the average CPM of mobile games in the U.S. exceeded $28, and this value equals a 93% increase over the average stat of 2020. The average CTR of mobile games is 1.28%, a YoY decrease of 29%.

What are those mobile game ads stand out for?

Hardcore SLG games tried to lighten the creatives

Most SLG advertisers added light elements such as casual or puzzle to their creatives. Advertisers implemented this strategy to acquire casual game players, reducing the overall UA cost.

Although, the retention of casual game players is not good. However, some advertisers are determined to use this strategy for long-term game operation, unceasing users’ acquisition, and lowering advertising costs.

Real people and real stories in RPG advertising

RPG advertising featured real people and real stories. Advertisers implemented this strategy to increase their credibility.?

Celebrity endorsement

?Aside from acquiring game users via creatives, it can be more promising to work with celebrities. These individuals have a fan base and audience loyalty converted to get people to download games.

For instance, in 2021, the famous football star Cristiano Ronaldo endorsed free fire. Cristiano Ronaldo comes to life in the free-fire Chrono, which significantly increased game download.

Mid-core Casual Games Produced Female-oriented Advertising Creative

Match-3 + X games and simulation games are mid-core games played mainly through females. Therefore, advertisers create creatives that relate stories from the feminine perspective.?

Many advertisers make creatives that tell stories of female players’ ridiculous things in real life. For instance, creatives emphasize a broken relationship, heart, makeup, and more.

The creatives are strategically created to show how miserable the heroines’ lives are, which will make players feel sorry and want to download the game to save them.

Simplify content to reduce cognitive costs for casual games

The average viewing time of simple game ads is 4.2s. Advertisers display gameplay directly in ads which enable players to understand the game. Among others, vertical screenplay and one-handed operation show the convenience of the game, which cater to the preferences of casual game players.??Here are some standard gameplay creative types:

What are the mobile game marketing trends in 2022?

Knowing the right audience will foster market success

Marketers who want to make the most of mobile gaming in 2022 will develop strategies based on a thorough understanding of their target customers and how their ads are performing.

In other words, they’ll analyze campaign effectiveness against concrete indicators rather than proxy metrics and employ artificially intelligent systems like SocialPeta to gather the data they need to adjust in-flight. Marketers will alter their strategies in this way to guarantee that they are optimizing their spend allocation, driving incremental performance, and offering consistent relevance for mobile gamers.

Ad analysis will be important in 2022

The mobile game market is becoming fierce. It is similar to a wrestling contest in which whosoever wins dominates. Similarly, marketers need a data-driven strategy that can thrive over their competitors.

Advertising creatives are the key to mobile game UA success

It is not easy to produce the best advertising creatives for mobile games. However, the place of these creatives in target markets will be a priority.

SocialPeta’s notable partners expressed their perspectives on this point:

User privacy is more important than ever. Due to the limitations of the SKAN, advertisers will put more effort into the production and optimization of advertising creatives. —— Chartboost?

How to connect products with ad creatives? How do you tell stories of creative ads to attract more users and cater to their tastes? Those are the key questions to solve before winning the competition of creative ads. ———— Moonton

Marketing tools will help marketers get more opportunities for their app growth?

MarTech and Creator Economies are Gold Mines for Marketers. According to a statement by Katie Jansen, AppLovin Chief Marketing Officer,?marketers’ toolboxes have been forever changed and expanded as we emerge from the pandemic and live in a vibrant creator economy world. Consumer behaviors, particularly their use of apps on mobile devices to conveniently conduct and enjoy all aspects of life, coupled with the proliferation of content creation platforms, create more significant opportunities for marketers to more efficiently monetize and market to defined, engaged audiences.

Final Thoughts

The global mobile game market is becoming competitive day after day. Advertisers that know how to play their cards well are the ones that will generate skyrocketing results.?

Interestingly, you have within your fingertips information that is needed to thrive in this mobile game market. Implement them well, and, indeed, you will have the best experience.

Moreover, you have free access to download the complete SocialPeta 2021 Global Mobile Game White Paper for more data and have a full understanding of what has been discussed above.