Success stories
Activision Blizzard Media grows revenue with a balanced monetization model
October 6, 2021
6 min read
Integrating in-app ads with a player-first approach
Activision Blizzard Media connects brands and players with fan-first integrated advertising experiences across gaming. Underpinned by a philosophy of choice, the company takes a thoughtful approach to including ads in their games alongside in-app purchases (IAP), aiming to create a transparent value exchange with players.
“We ensure that any advertising experience in our games is integrated carefully in a way that adds to the player experience. Gamers are passionate and highly engaged, and this should be top of mind when thinking about how best to connect brands with the gaming audience.” said Clement Xue, Head of Activision Blizzard Media.
Activision Blizzard Media has worked with Meta Audience Network for several years to monetize many of its game franchises with in-app ads, delighting hundreds of millions of monthly active users worldwide.
Challenge
Acquisition and monetization
Activision Blizzard Media was looking to leverage in-game advertising to acquire users more profitably and increase overall reach for their portfolio of titles, including Candy Crush Saga, Farm Heroes Saga, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Crash Bandicoot On The Run.
Their team also needed to demonstrate to game development partners that the ads would provide a meaningful value exchange and be positively viewed by players — without distracting current payers from continuing to spend on in-app purchases.
Solution
Rewarded video drives engagement and revenue
Activision Blizzard Media did extensive player testing and research to understand which placements, formats, and rewards would resonate best with their players, then introduced rewarded video ads to their games in an engaging and non-intrusive way.
“Our research shows that players prefer rewarded video to other ad formats, and this has translated to strong engagement.” said Clement Xue, Head of Activision Blizzard Media.
“Our ads show up at various points of the player’s journey outside of gameplay, and offer the player the opportunity to earn rewards to enhance their gameplay.” said Xue.
For example, their team leveraged ads to help those stuck on a level or having difficulties making progress in the game.
Rewarded video offers these players the choice to opt-in, which underscores the clear value exchange and creates a better user experience.
Overall, Activision Blizzard Media has found that advertising needs to be integrated into the game alongside in-app purchases during game design. This helps create a strong value proposition for players to watch ads or pay for in-app purchases while ensuring that the economy is well balanced.
Advertising needs to be integrated into the game during game design, alongside in-app purchases, so that there is a strong value proposition for players to watch ads or pay for IAP while ensuring that the economy is well balanced."
Clement Xue, Head of Activision Blizzard Media
Results
Ads complement in-app purchases
Across several games in their portfolio, Activision Blizzard Media demonstrated that, when carefully managed, ads monetization has a positive impact on in-app purchases.
“Ads monetization complements IAP monetization, which in turn allows games to acquire users more profitably and increase their overall reach as a result,” said Xue. “We believe that ads can also be a way for players to test and try rewards before actually making a purchase, thus driving up IAP.”
Their players have shown great receptivity and openness to in-game advertising experiences, which translates to strong engagement results:
98% viewability of rewarded video ads
92% rewarded video completion rate
Moving forward, Activision Blizzard Media said it will continue to innovate on ad experiences and rewards in partnership with Meta Audience Network. “We’ve found that the [Meta] Audience Network team has been able to grow and evolve with us as we’ve scaled our global business. They are a key strategic partner for us in shaping our monetization approach and monetizing our global audience.” Xue said.
Source: MOAT Analytics, King Performance 2020 Q4 ∙ Moat Analytics Benchmarks, Video Mobile In-App Q3 2020
Topics:
Success storiesSee all success stories
Lucky Kat success story
Learn how Lucky Kat increased ARPDAU and saved time on ad operations with app bidding.
February 15, 2021
Gismart increases LTV, ARPDAU and operational efficiency
Learn how Gismart used rewarded video ads to balance LTV and UA.
May 24, 2021
Sign up for our newsletter.
Stay up-to-date with the latest insights, updates and optimization tips sent to your inbox.
Follow us
Meta Audience Network empowers app developers and publishers to deliver a great user experience while growing a sustainable business. With Facebook demand from millions of diverse global advertisers, publishers can expand their app’s reach, keep users engaged, and monetize globally.