News

  • MAY 17 2013

    Ad Format 101: Recent Trends For Publishers

    Display ads, interstitials, offer walls, rewards-based videos - We've tackled each and why the recent trend in rewards based ads are proving more valuable to publishers and brands. As paid apps face greater difficulties gaining market traction, the in-app advertising model continues to grow and currently represents a $7.3 billion business. Understanding the differences between ad format types can help you carve a larger piece of the expanding ad spend budgets. The dinosaur of traditional online advertising having been around for over 20 years is the display unit - typically containing text logos, photographs or other static images. It is more often than not devoid of creativity; it stands out as an intruder on webpages; and it is mostly ignored by audiences. For publishers this translates potentially alienating audiences in exchange for very low eCPMs (effective cost-per-thousand). Another format, interstitials, are when a new page is displayed before the expected content page for about 10 or 15 seconds, then to the content page. Ad networks typically pay higher eCPMs for interstitials than for banners because they take up the entire screen. Interstitial ads are best shown before or after the user takes an action requiring their attention and focus. The next two ad types are categorized as "rewards based, where audiences receive virtual items or currency in exchange for engaging with advertisements. The first, offerwalls, allows users to earn points and items by signing up for exclusive offers. Each ad is clearly for a brand and provides a description of what action the user will be asked to take. They can be easily implemented within a game or app and at a key breakthrough moment - increasing engagement, CTR and average playtime while lowering attrition. The fourth ad type which yields Publishers and Developers the highest eCPM, is opt in video advertisements, whereby audiences select to watch a short video ad directly inside the app or game and similar to offerwalls, presented at key breakthrough moments. Various industry studies and reports illustrate how video and offerwall advertisements far outperform that of traditional, or image banner ads. One such report from Juniper "Messaging, In-App and Mobile Internet Strategies 2012-2017", showed that immersive and entertaining experiences to attract the attention of the consumer is essential for marketers wanting to take advantage of the massive increase in app usage. In- app and game video ads offer brand marketers one of the best ways to run engaging, immersive creative cross-platform. As a result, in game and app video has becomes a part of Brand's overall marketing mix bringing publishers ad sellout rates that are significantly higher than any other format due to their popularity. The focus on relevancy and user context also gives reward-based advertising a leg up on traditional banner ads. Banner ads are often plastered across a variety of apps and games, which are often not relevant to the type of content that users are interacting with. Targeted reward based ads allow Publishers to monetize with advertising in a way that is non-intrusive and custom to an app’s content.

  • MAY 20 2013

    Rewards Based Ads Maintain User Experience

    Maintaining user experience is a top priority for developers and publishers when considering ad monetization. Online display advertising is increasingly being seen as a dinosaur in terms of relevancy but display ads are still being used. The latest trend in advertising is to provide users with valuable attention grabbing messages enticing the user with a reason to interact, like reward based advertising. Rewards based ads are supplemental to the experience your audience is engaging in, not annoying and obtrusive. Your audience is given the opportunity to opt-in to engage with advertiser offers in exchange for virtual currency that they can use in your app or to progress through the game. Here are a few tips on how to integrate rewards based ads into your game or app: 1. Select a relevant place in your game or app where your users will be encouraged to engage with the ad but makes sense with your user flow 2. Use clear wording for the call to action such as "Watch this video and Earn a life" 3. Design the traffic driver as a part of the game. Integrating the advertising creates an organic and non-disruptive feel for your users 4. A/B test locations to find what works best for you The bottom line is that the days when advertising could bombard consumers with irrelevant or untimely interruptions are numbered. With reward-based ads, you can offer opt-in, well-targeted, non-interruptive videos that are respectful of the online experience, directly leading to revenue uplift.

  • MAY 15 2013

    Enter Our Advergame Contest!

    Clients are always looking for innovation and fresh ideas. Be ahead of the curve and enter to win an advergame + $50k media spend to help supplement your client's marketing campaign. Fusing advertising and entertainment, adver-games get brands in front of massive worldwide audiences, to positively connect with consumers where they already spend their time. Simply put, social gaming is one of the most engaging and popular activities on social, mobile and web.

  • MAY 16 2013

    IAB Mobile Engage 2013: The Mobile Majority

    We’re a culture on the move and the web goes with us. This year may be the first time that more time is spent online via mobile devices than through PCs. However, the ubiquity of the Internet doesn’t mean that marketers can take a one-size-fits-all approach. James Salins, Managing Director, Europe, will be at IAB's Mobile Engage on May 16th discussing the major opportunities and key issues at the heart of mobile marketing.

  • MAY 14 2013

    Candy Crush Saga to Become World's Most Popular Game

    The world's biggest sweet tooth is official: Candy Crush Saga has overtaken Angry Birds to be world's most popular game hitting the top spot on Facebook, iOS and the Android Play store. Success for developer King doesn't end there as they also beat out Zynga recently o become the world's most popular social gaming firm. King now has more than 66 million players worldwide, with more than 15 million of those playing Candy Crush on Facebook on a daily basis. The aim of Candy Crush Saga is to match three of more sweets in a row to make them disappear. You can create super sweets that can help you clear the board faster. Cleared sweets appear in a candy cane at the side of the screen and you progress to the next level when the candy cane gets full.The game was launched on mobile in November 2012 and became number one within six months, including 10 million downloads in December 2012 alone. Since the game launched, Candy Crush Saga players have spent the equivalent of 103,000 years playing the game. And over 1 trillion candies have been crushed, which is more than the stars in the Milky Way.

  • MAY 3 2013

    Facebook Report $213 Million Social Gaming Revenues

    Facebook have this quarter recorded their highest ever revenues from social gaming payments. Total revenue from “payments and other fees” — which includes game payments — totaled $213 million. Facebook CFO David Ebersman commented, “We’re pleased that Q1 represented our largest three months quarter of games revenue to date despite a 37 percent drop in year over year payments volume from our largest developer, as our other developers increased their payments volumes by almost 60 percent and we saw a record number of people playing games on Facebook.” These positive figures come at a time when Facebook’s largest developer, Zynga, are reporting a fall in Monthly Active Users, disappointing profits and game closures. The announcement also follows EA’s decision to pull 7 of their Facebook titles by June of this year. Overall, revenue for the quarter was up 38 percent to $1.46 billion. Profits were up 7 percent to $219 million. Daily active users were 665 million on average for March, up 26 percent with Monthly active users up 23 percent to 1.11 billion. Mobile MAUs were 751 million, up 54 percent.

  • MAY 1 2013

    Social Times Reports: TLC Turns to Social Games to Bring ‘Honey Boo Boo’ to the UK

    To introduce “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” and other American television classics to our neighbors across the Pond, Discovery Networks is running a cross-platform campaign at the launch of the TLC entertainment channel in the UK. The network is showing previews of its hit shows on Facebook and mobile apps within the SupersonicAds network. Players will have the option to watch a full 30-second TLC video in exchange for virtual currency and can also click through to the website. Games that will run the ads include Candy Crush Saga, which is currently ranked number one on Facebook, and Bubble Witch Saga, which is made by King.com. King recently passed Zynga to become the largest social gaming company. Other games include Lost Legacy, Fashion Designer, Jewel kingdom, Cafe Life, and Jewels of the Amazon. Entertainment verticals that use the “BrandConnect” branded videos to reach their audiences typically have a 90 percent video completion rate and an organic click-through rate of 20 percent or more, according to SupersonicAds. This campaign is aimed at TLC’s core demographic in the UK: women between the ages of 25 and 54 who have yet to experience outspoken redneck children and women who are addicted to eating cat hair.

  • APR 30 2013

    Discovery Channel Teams With SupersonicAds to Promote UK Launch of Entertainment Channel, TLC

    SupersonicAds (supersonicads.com) announced today that Discovery Networks UK selected them to create a cross platform social app campaign for the UK launch of their entertainment channel, TLC (www.uk.tlc.com), on April 30th. TLC, already the biggest female entertainment channel in the U.S., will be exclusively premiering hit shows from the U.S., alongside a host of original UK series featuring well-known stars. Headquartered in London, SupersonicAds provides brands with premium access to social gaming audiences with integrated non-disruptive user initiated ad experiences across web and mobile. The campaign is scheduled to run on Facebook and mobile apps within the SupersonicAds network specifically targeted to TLC's core demographic in the UK -- women aged 25-54. The cross-platform campaign will feature a 30 second video of TLC show clips embedded within BrandConnect(TM). The audience is offered the opportunity to view the TLC video and upon completion, is rewarded with virtual currency needed for game progression. The BrandConnect(TM) unit will also feature a click to website button as an additional, value exchange feature. SupersonicAds' Managing Director James Salins says, "BrandConnect(TM) delivers branded videos to target audiences who are already immersed in the experience and prefer integrated and non-disruptive ad experiences. We typically see entertainment verticals that run campaigns with BrandConnect(TM) achieve a 90% video completion rate and high organic click through rates upwards of 20%, where the industry average is between 1-2% CTR. This really drives home the exceptional value in-app marketing can deliver to advertisers." Will Lake from Discovery Network's media agency, The 7 Stars, says, "TLC is a unique entertainment channel that brings together a huge range of characters from the UK and US. It is full of stories that will get people talking and we hope it will become part of the rich and varied TV culture in the UK. SupersonicAds provides the campaign access to key audiences in contextual environments that resonate with TLC's brand values and positioning." TLC will be available on Sky, Virgin Media, BT Vision and YouView on the TalkTalk player, as well as via Sky, Virgin Media and BT Vision's on-demand services. TLC will also be available in HD from Sky and Virgin Media.

  • APR 26 2013

    Social Gaming By The Numbers [Infographic]

    Social Gaming By The Numbers [Infographic]

  • APR 25 2013

    US Mobile Gaming Audience Grows

    With US audiences for mobile gaming expected to rocket upwards 174 million users, advertising in mobile will expand faster than in other venues. This will present a growing range of options for brand participation through branded virtual goods, opt-in videos, activity-based ads, product placements, sponsorships, custom games, advergames, interstitials and traditional in-game ads.