Amazon’s McDonald’s test rewarded audio ads in the mobile game “Big...

Short:

• Audiomob, a Google-owned startup for audio advertising in mobile games, is offering rewarded audio ads in a multiplayer game inspired by the reality competition show “Big Brother”. Players receive digital currency that they can use in the app by turning on the radio in the “Big Brother” virtual house and listening to an ad. This is evident from an announcement emailed to Mobile Marketer.
• Brands like Dell, Amazon, McDonald’s, Spotify, and PayPal run audio ads that may target players competing for a $ 1 million chance of winning or viewers watching the game in the app or on Twitch, the Amazon’s live streaming platform. The mobile game “Big Brother” costs $ 4.99 but is free for viewers. These viewers have the opportunity to make in-game purchases.
• The incentive for digital currencies could encourage more users to listen to audio ads from major brands. In a video demonstration provided by Audiomob, an ad from Progressive Insurance is played in the background while player avatars move around the house after the radio is switched on.

Insight:

With ad-supported multiplayer games like “Among Us” growing in popularity for retail customers during the pandemic, mobile marketers have the opportunity to target highly engaged audiences with their campaigns. Audiomob promises to make the promotional experience for players of Big Brother, the mobile game inspired by the show that premiered in the Netherlands in 1999 and has since been reproduced in more than 54 countries, more acoustic. The mobile game offers players an incentive to turn on the virtual radio in the “Big Brother” house to earn digital currency after hearing ads from brands like Amazon and McDonald’s.

The incentive system is similar to rewarded video ads in mobile games, which offer players exclusive in-game content and bonus features in exchange for viewing a commercial. Almost 80% of consumers who watch digital videos are willing to watch ads in exchange for free content, according to a study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) last year. It remains to be seen whether Big Brother players will show a similar willingness to listen to their new audio ads.

According to Audiomob, the audio ad format in mobile games has the potential to reach a wide audience. According to a YouGov poll cited by Audiomob, sixty-one percent of gamers listen to music on their phones while playing. The survey also found that 86% of gamers disliked full-screen ads in mobile games because they paused, while 67% said they preferred ads like audio spots that didn’t stop the game. With many players listening to music while playing, advertisers can potentially reach 1.5 billion consumers worldwide, Audiomob says. CPMs are also predicted to become much more expensive for advertisers, gaining 250% in audio banner ads and outperforming Google Admob, Inmobi, Adcolony, Fyber, Ironsource and Vungle.

The new audio ad format begins with the “Big Brother” which is playable if mobile gaming increases during the pandemic. Mobile game downloads rose 44% year over year in the second quarter, hitting a high of 5.5 billion per Sensor Tower study in April. 75 percent of US households have at least one player, as measured by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The trading group found that among gaming households, 21% of gamers are under 18 years old while 40% are between 18 and 35 years old, a desirable audience for marketers.