Digital Turbine: mobile game ads can have more impact than social ads

Digital Turbine, in partnership with Apptopia, released a study highlighting the opportunities for brands to reach consumers via mobile games. According to the report, games account for 10.6% of time spent on mobile phones, but only capture 3.9% of total ad spending. Given that 70% of U.S. consumers play mobile games and 21% of these players rarely or never use social media, there’s an opportunity for brands to reach their target audience in-game.

The report looks into specific opportunities in four genres: word, puzzle, card and action games. Within these genres, Digital Turbine identified the other kinds of apps these consumers used, their interests and other buying personas. These were indexed against the U.S. population as a whole to show how over-represented these groups are among players. Similarly, the report highlighted specific brands that were more popular than average to each genre’s audience.

“In a challenging environment, mobile gaming is a channel that can help brands realize their 2024 goals. This is because US consumers spend an average of 28 minutes daily immersed in mobile games. With advertisers allocating less than 4% of ad spend to this high-growth platform, mobile gaming is an opportunity for brands to stand apart from the clutter and capture up to 9x more attention than they can on other video platforms like TikTok, Meta, or YouTube,” said Ravi Pimplaskar, director of marketing at Digital Turbine.

Brand opportunities in mobile game genres

Word gamers are fitness fans, news buffs, and adventure enthusiasts according to the results. Players are 31% more likely to use fitness apps and 29% more likely to use news apps than average. Additionally, they are 23% more likely to play sports and 22% more likely to be interested in adventure/extreme sports. Their top brands in select categories are Corona (+54%), Urban Outfitters (+45%), Delta (+30%) and Panera Bread (+30%).

Puzzle gamers are beauty enthusiasts (+23%) and adventure seekers (+26%). The report highlighted interest in brands like Estée Lauder (+54%), Lululemon (+42%), BBC World News (+40%) Nordstrom (+38%) and Travelocity (+27%).

Card gamers are sports lovers (+32% more likely to have apps in this category) and beauty aficionados (+28% more interested than average). Digital Turbine called out opportunities for brands like Tarte Cosmetics (+120%), Patrón (+59%), Coca-Cola (+67%), Rite Aid (+60%) and Papa John’s (+42%).

Finally, action gamers prioritize health and fitness apps (+94%) and are interested in sports (+71%) and outdoor activities (+36%). These players over-index on brands like YouTube Premium (+130%), Jordan (+114%), Abercrombie & Fitch (+110%), and Red Bull (+87%).

“A myth about mobile games is that they appeal to only one type of person. But mobile games come in all shapes and sizes, so people of all sorts play them. Very few people don’t engage in the fun and convenience that mobile gaming offers, which shows in the diverse appeal for both audience interests and brands. Simply put, gamers are people, too! They are your parents, foodies, students, avid shoppers, and more. And as the data shows, they may even be MORE likely to be interested in your brand than the general population,” said Pimplaskar.

Digital Turbine’s full report on the opportunity for brands to reach players via mobile game ads is available here.