mobile ad monetization for games | christian calderon
TRANSCRIPT
Monetization for Game StartupsChristian Calderon
Chief Revenue OfficerKetchapp
Who am I?
Ketchapp
Rank 2014 2015 2016 YTD1 Google Apple Apple
2 Apple Facebook Tencent
3 Facebook Google Google
4 Tencent Tencent Facebook
5 Gameloft Gameloft
6 King Electronic Arts Baidu
7 Disney Electronic Arts
8 Electronic Arts Baidu King
9 LINE Corporation King Gameloft
10 LINE Corporation Cheetah Mobile
Source: AppAnnie
Overview
• What’s going on in the market• Terms you should know• Ad monetization landscape• What to look for in a partner• Business development tactics to improve revenue• Product features to improve revenue
The mobile ads market
2014 2015 2016 2017 20180
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Smartphone Penetration
Smartphone users % change
Smartphone Users (Billions)
Grow
th %
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018$0
$20
$40
$60
$80
$100
$120
$140
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%
Mobile Ad Spend
Mobile % Growth
Mobile Ad Spend ($Billions)
% Growth
2014 2015 2016 2017 20180.0x0.5x1.0x1.5x2.0x2.5x3.0x3.5x4.0x4.5x
Spend Growth / User Growth
Spend / User Growth
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018$0.00
$10.00
$20.00
$30.00
$40.00
$50.00
$60.00
Mobile Ad Spend per User
Spend Per UserSpend per U
ser ($U
SD)
The mobile ads market
2014 2015 2016 2017 20180
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Smartphone Penetration
Smartphone users % change
Smartphone Users (Billions)
Grow
th %
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018$0
$20
$40
$60
$80
$100
$120
$140
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%
Mobile Ad Spend
Mobile % Growth
Mobile Ad Spend ($Billions)
% Growth
2014 2015 2016 2017 20180.0x0.5x1.0x1.5x2.0x2.5x3.0x3.5x4.0x4.5x
Spend Growth / User Growth
Spend / User Growth
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018$0.00
$10.00
$20.00
$30.00
$40.00
$50.00
$60.00
Mobile Ad Spend per User
Spend Per UserSpend per U
ser ($U
SD)
The mobile ads market
Developers, don’t undervalue your worth!
Ad monetization metrics and terminology• Impression: each time an ad is fetched and it is countable• CPM: cost per thousand impressions• Calls: the number of times you request an ad impression• Fill Rate: % of calls that serve an ad impression• Adoption rate: unique ad engagements / unique users• Ads ARPDAU: average revenue per daily active user for ads• Retention: daily cohorted user retention • Ads LTV: lifetime value from ads• CTR: click-through-rate• CVR: conversion rate• ATTAV: average time to ad view
Ad monetization metrics and terminology
Freemium Economics
By Eric Seufert
Ad landscape
Ad monetization landscape
Advertisers
Ad monetization landscape
Advertisers
Demand Partners
Ad monetization landscape
Advertisers
Demand Partners
Ad Technology
Ad monetization landscape
Advertisers
Demand Partners
Ad Technology
Games
Ad monetization landscape
Advertisers
Demand Partners
Ad Technology
Games
Analytics
Ad monetization landscape
Advertisers
Demand Partners
Ad Technology
GamesPlayers
Analytics
Mediation technology
Should you use mediation?
Mediation technology
Mediation technology
Mediation
Mediation technology
Mediation
Demand Source 1
Demand Source 2
Demand Source 3
Demand Source 4
Demand Source 5
Demand Source 6
Demand Source 7
Demand Source 8
Demand Source
Mediation technology
Mediation
Demand Source 1 $20.00
Demand Source 2 $9.00
Demand Source 3 $18.00
Demand Source 4 $25.00
Demand Source 5 $14.00
Demand Source 6 $14.00
Demand Source 7 $21.00
Demand Source 8 $10.00
Demand Source eCPM
Mediation technology
Mediation
Demand Source 1 $20.00
Demand Source 2 $9.00
Demand Source 3 $18.00
Demand Source 4 $25.00
Demand Source 5 $14.00
Demand Source 6 $14.00
Demand Source 7 $21.00
Demand Source 8 $10.00
Demand Source eCPM
Mediation technology• Mediation is good• Algorithms are different, it’s important to understand
them• Technology should improve over time• Not real time--reporting APIs are too slow• New entrants are entering the market• Incumbents are improving tech to compete against
each other• Important to understand how mediation partners
make money – it’s actually pretty hard for them – and each mediation partner has a different revenue model
Demand sources
How many demand sources should you
integrate?
Demand sources
S1
Q1
Demand sources
D1
Q1
S1
Demand sources
D1
Q1
S1
P1
Demand sources
D1
P1
Q1
S1
Demand sources
D1
D2
P2
Q1
S1
P1
Demand sources
D1
D2
P2
Q1
S1
P1
Evaluating the best demand partner
Demand
Tech
Choosing the best demand partner: biz
• What’s the revenue share?• Are they open to CPM guarantees and
floors?• Can they throw in user acquisition?• Will they offer buyouts?• What does your dedicated account team
look like?• Will they let you make modifications?• Can you build a relationship with the
partner?
Biz
Choosing the best demand partner: tech
• Test the SDK before you sign• Is there a serverside integration?• Do they support your game engine?• Is the documentation up to date?• Is it flexible enough to make
modifications?• How’s the tech on the demand side?• What items are they passing in their
reporting API?• How often can you hit the reporting API?
Tech
Evaluating demand
• You don’t want too many SDKs in your app
• Does the demand partner have a sizeable salesforce?
• What types of advertisers? Is there brand demand and performance demand?
• How much are advertisers spending?
D1
D2
P2
Q1
S1
P1
Ad UnitsBanner Interstitial Rewarded Video
Ad Units: banner ads
BannerCons• The Industries most unpopular ad unit• Not as performant• Lower CPM
Pros• High adoption• High revenue Potential
Ad Units: interstitial ads
InterstitialCons• Intrusive if improperly integrated• Medium CPM• High CPM (for playables and video)
Pros• High adoption• High revenue Potential
Ad Units: rewarded video ads
Rewarded VideoCons• The Industries most unpopular ad unit• Lower Adoption
Pros• High revenue potential• High CPM
Ad Units: other…
• Native has had much higher adoption outside of games
• Standardized ad formats have proven demand
• Some ad units can offer higher CPM, why is the CPM higher? does it hurt retention?
Other…
CPM Decay
Frequency
CPM
($)
CPM ($)
Tactics: first impression CPM + adoption
Adoption (%)
CPM
($)
First Impression Revenue
Product feature: multi-ad format
• Stack by Ketchapp• Currency rewarded to players for
watching a video• Banner unit during gameplay• Interstitial served if rewarded video was
not activated • Combines multiple ad formats for a
simple, fun, and thoughtful ad experience
Multi
Product feature: daily reward re-roll
• Two Dots by Dots• Daily prize served to every player• Create a compelling prize to increase
adoption rate• Combine the high adoption rate with a
high first impression CPM
Rewarded Video
Product: multiplier high frequency re-roll
• Doomsday Clicker by Pik Pok• Monetization mechanic tied to a core
game loop within the game• Monetization mechanic speeds up
progression in a core way• You can re-roll the multiplier • Combines high frequency ad viewing
with higher CPM ad format in a fun way
Rewarded Video
Product: hourly rewards
• Nonstop Knight by Flaregames• Monetization mechanic is a function of
progression• Coins, tokens and consumables
available through rewarded videos every 3 hours
• Need resources to upgrade your knight to progress through the game
Rewarded Video
Product: native
• Pele by Cosi Productions• Incorporates native format as a function
of level progression• Impressions served every second with
every kick at every level• Realistic and beautifully incorporated
into the background like an actual soccer game
• High deal value and cash component
Native