‍

By Munira Rangwala

‍

We always hear from UA managers or Creative designers that it’s hard create the right creative to have a successful campaign. Having the right expertise aside, each ad network has its pros and cons with varying performance depending on the metrics you might be optimising for.  

According to Tenjin’s 2022 data, AppLovin, Mintegral and Google Ads top the “Total Installs” metric for Android games but this differs for iOS.

‍

‍

Why are some ad campaigns more successful than the others? While there is no magic formula that goes into making a great ad, in this piece, we will be doing a deep dive into the best ad practices for Google, Facebook, and Unity.

Google Ads

Did you know that while watching an ad, attention peaks within the first three seconds, after which users quickly move on to other things. Google’s AdMob provides a wide variety of flexible, non-intrusive, high-performing ad formats to help deliver a great ad experience for your game.

‍

Here are the different ad formats for AdMob.

• Native: These are custom ads that appear as a natural aspect of your app.
• Rewarded: Ads that encourage users to participate in exchange for in-app rewards. For instance, you may gain bonus points in a game for clicking on a particular ad.
• Interstitial: Such ads appear on transition points and contribute to creating an engaging brand experience.
• Banner: These are rectangular displays with the liberty to be at the top or bottom of your app

‍

Best Practices for Google Display Ads

• Assets should be diverse in length (from 10-30 seconds) and content should aim to grab interest within the first 2-3 seconds.
• To drive more installs, prioritise showcasing your in-app experience and your brand over telling a story.
• Include different aspect ratios —like portrait (4:5), landscape (1.91:1) and square — to account for the different ways people hold their devices.
• Use audio and music to emphasise branding and call-to-action.
• Some inventory defaults to audio off, so include captions where relevant.

Read more about Google Best Practices Guide to setup your App Campaigns here.

Facebook Ads

‍

If you’ve run a Facebook ad campaign in the past, you’re familiar with the pain of testing a myriad of interests and demographics, using different images, and even tweaking your copy several times just to have a successful campaign for once.

‍

According to a report by SocialPilot, Facebook has over 10 million active advertisers as of 2023. And Facebook ad revenue as of Q3 2022 is $82,387 million.

‍

If done correctly, Facebook advertising can transform your business. Facebook Ad Manager allows for many different ad options, including Image Ads, Video Ads, Poll Ads, Slideshow Ads, Carousel Ads, and Collection Ads.

‍

But here’s the thing - successful Facebook ad campaigns aren’t launched on a whim; they need to be built. According to Neil Patel, “You need to build your Faceook campaigns exactly as you’d build a building. Step by step, you’re collecting and putting together key data points that, eventually, will give shape to your winner ad.”

‍

Check out these for Facebook Ad Campaigns.

• Use square or vertical videos - Most people hold their phones vertically so it only makes sense to choose a square or vertical aspect ratio that takes up a large part of their screen. For Facebook, you can try 4:5 vertical video ads. This works well for instagram as well. 

• Make sure your brand message is clear - Make sure your brand appears on screen within 7-10 seconds of your video starting. This ensures that people understand the purpose behind the ad and remember your brand. 

• Always design for sound off - Today’s generation mostly watch videos on mute - especially if they are in public places. It therefore makes sense to use captions and text wherever possible. 

‍

‍

Unity Ads

For the uninitiated, Unity is one of the most popular and qualitative ad networks. Unity ads are mostly sed by publishers to monetize their mobile games. Meanwhile, advertisers use Unity Ads to attract relevant mobile users.

‍

Unity Ads deliver quality performance at scale, especially ROAS and Ad ROAS campaigns. Thanks to Playable End Cards, advertisers are consistently able to reduce the cost of in-app purchases, meet their ROAS targets, and reach highly engaged users at a higher volume than before.

‍

Unity Ads and Google Ads represent two very different segments of advertising. Google Ads primarily focus on the power of search to display relevant ads. Unity Ads are shown within apps and are primarily focused on the mobile gaming niche, monetizing the player base.

_____________________________________________________

UKEN GAMES CASE STUDY

‍

With its initial partnerships with various ad networks, Uken Games experienced a lack of transparency, stability, and efficiency. On partnering with Unity and using Unified Auction, Uken witnessed impressive results. With Unity’s Unified Auction, various advertising sources bid for inventory on an even playing field, and the highest bid wins. 

‍

Here are the substantial results experienced by Uken Games -

• 7% lift on retention 
• 15% increase over baseline in engagement (sessions)
• Crash rate dropped to near zero
• When paired with rewarded video, they experienced no cannibalization of IAPs

‍

While there is no way to ensure that your ad will be great, you can study successful ads and make a note of what worked. Start by setting clear, realistic and measurable goals. It’s also smart to pre-test your campaign ideas, both earlystage creatives as well as finished copy. 

‍

Part 2 of best practices for ad campaigns coming soon. Stay tuned!

‍