Mobile Monday: Holiday Season Strategies for Apps, More Viewability with Mobile Video Ads, and the Next Generation of Gamers

Digital Turbine is constantly keeping tabs on the mobile world, and every week, we’re sharing the most interesting and important need-to-know stories and articles. In this edition of Mobile Monday, we’re covering how apps can get noticed during the busy holiday season, the latest report showcasing higher viewability rates and lower brand risk for mobile video ads, and the future generation of gamers including how they spend. Learn all about these stories in this week’s Mobile Monday!

Bringing App Users “Home for the Holidays”

For growing brands, there will not be a bigger moment than the holiday season to introduce people to your app. A recent AdWeek feature from Meta highlighted that 91% of holiday shoppers said they’re likely to try a new brand during the holiday season. So with people on the lookout, this is your opportunity to get your app noticed — and appear as a transcender or leader in our next BRAG Index! 

Meta highlights three C’s that can help: continuity, content, and a call to action. And while all of these are important for driving action when it comes to a mobile sale, driving mobile growth requires a different thought process. The 4th C could be “Conversion” since while growing brands obviously want to grow revenue for the holidays, they also want to take the opportunity to build relationships with new customers and turn them into recurring app users.

Sure enough, the most successful brands in our BRAG Index are apps that have built these relationships and made themselves part of a “lifestyle”. What does that mean? Well think of it this way - while Amazon might be a shopping app, consumers don’t just go to the app when they need something. They’ll flock to the app on designated “Prime Days” just because they know they’ll get discounts. And THAT needs to be the ultimate goal for shopping brands: have consumers think of you beyond when they just have a shopping need.

BRAG Index leader SHEIN has done a magnificent job of tailoring an identity around TikTok influencers and “fast fashion” (low cost trendy attire). Consumers wait til one of their favorite influencers get a #SHEINhaul and showcase a bunch of their clothing and then run to the app to make their purchases - whether they need it or not! And that’s exactly the type of creative thought that will not only build app growth, but make your app a lifestyle. 

Mobile Ads Deliver More Brand Safety and Viewability

According to a recent study from Integral Ad Science (IAS), video ads had much higher viewability rates than display ads in the first half of this year — 76% for video compared to 66% for display. Italy had the highest viewability rates for videos on mobile with 92%, but the U.S. falls shortly behind with 90%. 

What’s more, brand risk for digital and mobile ads has also shrunk during 2022 with rates below 2.5% worldwide. With this latest report, it is clear that video advertising on mobile has more power to capture user attention and engagement in a safe environment.

As a Managing Director at IAS points out in this article, it is significant that brand risk has dropped this year despite political and economic turmoil globally; however, there is always a chance that an environment will become unsafe, so it’s extremely important that advertisers work to build campaigns that are effective in capturing user attention through the right channels.   

Younger Players Spend More on Games - With Mobile at the Top

A recent report by Newzoo focuses on the future generation of gamers, looking at Gen Alpha (born 2010 or later) and Gen Z (born 1995-2009). 

These groups have become more significant gamers than any generation before them. On average, Generation Alpha (10-12 y.o.) spend six hours and forty-nine minutes a week gaming, compared to six hours and ten minutes for Gen Z (13-27 y.o.) and five hours for the total online population. And mobile is taking the lead.

Mobile sits at the top of the gaming scene for all demographics. With 60% of all people connected playing on their mobile - the numbers for the younger generations are strong. 73% of Gen Alpha play games on their phones - with Gen Z sitting at 69%. 

And time spent comes with funds spent. Gen Alph and Gen Z are more likely to spend on games in general, and their top platform for spending is also where they spend most time - mobile. Over 50% of these gamers are spending money games, ad over 30% of them are described as “mobile payers”. When asked, the gamers said that unlocking content is their top motivator for spending money.