THE MEDIABRIX SOCIAL AND MOBILE GAMING REPORT

Q3 - 4 2013

www.mediabrix.com
 www.mediabrix.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS
3 Overview

4 Key Findings

5 Benefits for Brands

7 Benefits for Developers

8 Demographics

9 The MediaBrix Advertising Benchmarks

11 Developer Case Study: JackBox Games

12 Methodology

12 About MediaBrix

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OVERVIEW
Led by the growth of mobile, social
gaming is one of the most engaging and
popular activities across all screens—
desktop computers, laptops, mobile
devices and tablets. In fact, according
to Newzoo data, people around the
globe spend one billion hours daily
playing games, which is more than
five times the amount they spend on
YouTube or Facebook. According to
eMarketer, playing games continues to
dominate as the most popular activity
on mobile devices and tablets, and a
over a third of smartphone owners and
nearly 70.0% percent of tablet owners
in the U.S. play games on their devices
more than they perform any other activ-
ity. Also according to eMarketer, by
2015, approximately 162.4 million, or
over 50.0% of the U.S. population, will
actively play games on their mobile
devices—that’s 8 out of 10 people.
As marketers look for scalable solutions
across all demographics, they will find
one in cross-platform social game adver-
tising, and this trend is being recognized
throughout the industry. Recently, Medi-
aPost reporter Steve Smith said, “If mar-
keters want to understand mobile con-
tent and usage, and think harder about
how to integrate either ads or services
into consumers’ lives, they need to wrap
their heads around gaming.”
brands with 100% viewable advertis- Continuing in the tradition of previous
ing—where marketers get 100% share of reports, it shows how cross-platform
“If marketers want voice, 100% of the time—in a high qual- social gaming advertisements con-
ity environment with the most engaged tinue to perform for brands. This report
to understand mobile users. For this reason, cross-platform takes a look at the last two quarters of
content and usage, and social gaming has become an important 2013, revealing how in-game ads sur-
digital marketing tactic for top brands, pass leading digital advertising formats
think harder about as well as a monetization tool for devel- when comparing the following metrics
how to integrate either opers. According to eMarketer, this and benchmarks: CTR, interaction rates,
year, U.S. social game ad revenues will video completion rates, engagement
ads or services into increase by 22.9% and mobile gaming rates and reward acceptance rates.
consumers' lives, they advertising revenues will also reach dou-
ble-digit growth, proving that in-game
need to wrap their advertising can’t be ignored.
heads around gaming.” This third installation of our biannual
report explores industry-wide trends in
the cross-platform social gaming market,
What’s more, as the digital media indus- including benefits for brands and devel-
try attempts to resolve the pervasive opers, social game player demograph-
issues of click fraud, bots, viewability, ics, advertising industry benchmarks
fraudulent traffic and banner blindness, and a real-world example from a lead-
cross-platform social games provide ing game developer, Jackbox Games.

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KEY FINDINGS
MediaBrix Momentum Summary of Industry-Wide Trends
♦♦ As of comScore’s December 2013 figures, MediaBrix ♦♦ Mobile continues to drive growth in the gaming industry;
reaches over 45 million monthly unique Internet users in by 2015, approximately 162.4 million, or over 50% of the U.S.
the U.S. who play social games online—20.0% of the total population, will actively play games on their mobile devices;
online audience, making MediaBrix’s reach larger than Pan- that’s 8 out of 10 people
dora, Twitter and Hulu (source: eMarketer)

♦♦ Also according to comScore, MediaBrix reaches almost ♦♦ Developers are turning to free to play (F2P) games and
half—46.0%—of the total online gaming audience, making are embracing advertising from top brands as a moneti-
them the largest gaming platform measured by comScore zation solution that seamlessly fits into their games and
enhances the user experience, in conjunction with other
♦♦ When comparing data from 2012 to 2013, MediaBrix revenue-generation tactics
found that emotional targeting and Breakthrough Moments™
(BTMs™) technology provides a lift in cross-platform social ♦♦ F2P is the dominant business model for mobile, taking
gaming advertising performance; in 2013, performance over 90.0% of global revenues
increased by 15.0% for online and 30.0% for mobile cam- (source: Newzoo)
paigns as a result of layering in emotional targeting
♦♦ Adding emotional targeting—defined as a way for brand
♦♦ For the first time, MediaBrix debuts rewards metrics and marketers to reach people, elicit positive responses and
benchmarks, relevant for brands offering players virtual increase brand connections—increased overall social gam-
goods at moments of achievement, and the success rates ing performance by 15.0% and mobile gaming performance
are compelling as MediaBrix reveals that rewards garner a by 30.0% from 2012 to 2013
63.8% acceptance rate on the web and a 67.9% acceptance
(source: MediaBrix)
rate on mobile
♦♦ Rewards-driven models are fueling the growth of in-game
♦♦ MediaBrix social and mobile gaming value exchange ads
advertising, as marketer adoption rates of them increased
see average video completion rates of 89.0% on the web
by 61.0% from Q3 to Q4 of 2013
and 83.1% on mobile, exceeding most other video ad com-
(source: MediaBrix)
pletion rates in the industry

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THE BENEFITS OF IN-GAME ADVERTISING FOR BRANDS

Before getting a full understanding of cross-platform in-game advertising benchmarks and how they compare to the digital
advertising industry averages, it is important for marketers to understand the true benefits of social gaming. Below is a list
of benefits for marketers:

Reach Emotional targeting in cross-plat- a chance to reward, encourage and res-

No longer a niche, gaming is a main- form social games enables marketers cue players in a way that is additive to
stream activity that entertains peo- to reach people during Breakthrough the user experience. For example, with
ple around the world. It is becoming Moments™ (BTMs™), when players expe- BTMs™, brands can reach game players
more popular than watching tele- rience a range of emotions from ela- during moments of “achievement,” such
vision or f ilms online or listening tion to frustration. With this approach, as when they get a new high score or
to the radio. According to Newzoo, advertisers know exactly when play- a longest jump. This allows brands to
people spend one billion hours a ers are experiencing these emotions be the “hero” as they reward players
day playing games compared to only and are able to target them appropri- with a virtual good. Once a reward is
175 million hours on Facebook and ately. As users appreciate the brand’s redeemed, people will reciprocate the
134 hours on YouTube. According to message, a meaningful connection is brand’s gift and take a post ad action—
August 2013 comScore data, over created, producing performance and such as purchase a product or visit a
700 million people worldwide play brand metrics unparalleled in the digi- website—and further engage with the
games on mobile devices or online, tal advertising industry. brand. The entire experience is “in-unit”
giving marketers the chance to reach and doesn’t disrupt gameplay, giving
Positioning Brands As “Heroes”
a massive and engaged audience. marketers a unique way to make lasting,
In-game advertising is unique,
meaningful connections with people.
Emotional Targeting and Break- because it offers marketers a way to
through Moments™ Technology reach a massive and engaged audi- Mobile Video Formats
Emotional targeting offers brands a new ence that circumvents issues—such as Mobile is driving social gaming growth,
way to reach and connect with people banner blindness and click fraud—prev- making it crucial to marketers who want
during game play, as well elicit positive alent in standard digital advertising. to reach gamers, and people are inter-
responses and increase brand recogni- Cross-platform social gaming adver- acting with mobile video more than ever
tion based on a player’s emotional state, tising provides a way for marketers to before. According to eMarketer, 74.4 mil-
hierarchy of needs and current activ- finally think beyond web-based inter- lion people in the U.S.—30% of the U.S.
ity. This approach empowers market- stitial, banner and pre-roll video ads, mobile phone user base and 23.5% of
ers to reach players as they experience which users often ignore, resulting in the U.S. population—viewed videos on
specific emotions in real-time through poor performance. On the contrary, it their mobile phones at least once per
immersive ad units with dynamically delivers to brands a way to seamlessly month last year. In-game advertising
positioned creative messages, offers integrate into one of the most popu- offers marketers the chance to deploy
and promotions, while leveraging game lar and engaging forms of media avail- video ads in an environment where
assets and game mechanics. able—social and mobile games. users are most receptive to ads on the
Also, in-game advertising offers brands web, mobile devices and tablets.

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Plus, a Harris Interactive survey reveals 64.0% of marketers planned to utilize a

that 40% of smartphone owners prefer mix of both direct response and brand
to see standard banner ads in mobile marketing online advertising tactics last
apps, while 60% prefer to see immer- year. Additionally, brand advertising saw
sive and integrated ad units in mobile a large increase in spending last year,
apps, such as those that offer people as 63.0% of marketers said they planned
virtual rewards or currency and video
ads that occur during natural breaks in
games. Thus, it is best that marketers “… games are based
keep with the way people view—and
want to view—content and run in-game on a reward system,
mobile video advertising. you reach a level, you
Rewards in a Dopamine Economy unlock new perks and
By design, social and mobile games
make players want to come back for are rewarded with bells
more, stimulating the brain as part of the and whistles, points
user experience. Whether players win
or lose, they are challenged to succeed and ‘high scores’…all
and take away rewards in the form of of which encourage
dopamine molecules each time they play
social games. Plus, social and mobile repeat behavior…and
games offer brand marketers the chance if your buddies all
to reach players through new and inven-
tive advertising—such as reward-based ‘high-five’ you and
units or value exchange. With these congratulate you on
emerging formats, players will have
even better experiences during game your big achievement,
play, benefit from the additive adver- you have gained social
tising units and develop positive brand
association as a result. status, acceptance and
Research supports that social game a boost to your self-
players want to keep playing because
of the rewards, which inspire positive esteem, which further
emotional responses from them. Accord- encourages repeat
ing to a recent industry article, licensed
social worker and researcher Rae Staton behavior.”*
said, “… games are based on a reward
system, you reach a level, you unlock
to increase their investments, enabling
new perks and are rewarded with bells
branding to play a larger role in digital
and whistles, points and ‘high scores’…
advertising than it had in previous years.
all of which encourage repeat behav-
Cross-platform social games create
ior…and if your buddies all ‘high-five’
high-impact experiences for brands.
you and congratulate you on your big
Since the entire advertising experi-
achievement, you have gained social
ence happens within games, market-
status, acceptance and a boost to your
ers can receive data and analytics to
self-esteem, which further encourages
help track and measure the success
repeat behavior.” Thus, cross-platform
of their campaigns. Top-of-the funnel
social games—and new advertising for-
metrics are available to them, includ-
mats leveraging these behaviors—are
ing interaction rates, video comple-
fueling a reward-based dopamine econ-
tion rates, engagement rates, social
omy that people want to partake in.
shares, purchase intent and time
Performance Branding spent, offering new exciting ways for
According to a 2013 study by the CMO brands to measure performance.
Council and Vizu, a Nielsen property,

*Source: Gotta Be Mobile. (Feb. 5, 2014). Flappy Bird Addiction Pushes Gamers to Go Big with Hacks and Cheats [Blog post].
Retrieved from http://www.gottabemobile.com/2014/02/05/flappy-bird-cheats-hacks-addiction-frustration

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THE BENEFITS OF IN-GAME ADVERTISING FOR DEVELOPERS

Monetization often than they perform any other activ-
For game developers, the barriers of ity. Thus, cross-platform social game
entry are increasingly getting higher advertising offers developers a new
since the marketing and sales of games way to monetize F2P games, as well
is now part of the developer’s job. Since as the opportunity to deploy ads that
the onus is on the developer to run the leverage existing game mechanics and
gaming business, those that can mon- players’ emotional states.
etize their games will pull ahead of the For example, with BTMs™, developers
pack. Cross-platform, in-game adver- enable brands to reach game players
tising campaigns are a great way for during moments of “achievement,” such
developers to generate average eCPMs as when they get a new high score or a
upwards of $200—almost 180 times longest jump, and allow brands to be the
higher than industry eCPM averages “hero” as they reward players with a vir-
for developers. In comparison, accord- tual good. Once a reward is redeemed,
ing to MoPub, eCPMs averaged $0.81 people will reciprocate the brand’s gift,
for Android devices and $1.12 for iOS take a post ad action—such as purchas-
during the 2012 holiday season. ing a product or visiting a website—and
engage with the brand. The entire expe-
Advertising from Top Brands rience is “in-unit” and doesn’t disrupt
As game developers look for non-in- game play, offering the best user expe-
trusive ways to generate more revenue, rience to players and a monetization
in-game ads offer them a way to mon- option to developers.
etize with friendly and highly effective
advertising from top brands such as Cross-platform
Coca-Cola, Arby’s and Hillshire Farms. Technology companies and adver-
Advertising dollars from top brands tising tech vendors are better lever-
continue to flow to digital mediums, aging technology, such as HTML5—
such as cross-platform social gaming. endorsed by the IAB as the format of
eMarketer predicts that by 2017, U.S. choice for mobile ads—and responsive
advertisers will spend $31.14 billion on design, for monetization, which allows
digital branding initiatives, or 49.6% of in-game advertising to seamlessly be
the total digital spend. Also, accord- deployed cross-platform and across
ing to data supplied by eMarketer, the devices. According to eMarketer, the
majority of marketers plan to use social, majority of marketers said that HTML5
mobile and video in their brand market- and responsive design are important
ing tactics—all of which are available developments in mobile advertising,
in cross-platform social games—mak- revealing that such technological capa-
ing in-game advertising an excellent bilities are poised to attract more adver-
solution for top brand marketers, while tising spending from brands.
offering developers a comprehensive Analytics
ad solution and SDK for F2P games. Going forward, tech vendors will deliver
User Experience comprehensive and actionable analyt-
Gaming has become a critical form of ics to developers so they can measure
media, which players see as a personal the success of their advertising cam-
experience and players go through a paigns. For example, they will provide
range of emotions—from elation to frus- opt-in rates, allowing developers to
tration—during gameplay. For this rea- maximize their revenue and measure
son, in-game advertising must recog- how users engage with their advertising
nize and complement the experience; units. Additionally, vendors will provide
not just replicate the web-based inter- developers with video completion rates,
stitial, banner or pre-roll video ads that click-through rates (CTR) and other per-
perform poorly online or users will formance metrics, data and analytics.
ignore. Also, gaming represents a seis-
mic shift in media consumption since
people play games on mobile more

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MEDIABRIX AUDIENCE: GENDER DEMOGRAPHICS

Social and Mobile Game
Player Demographics
According to 2013 comScore data,
more than 700 million people around
the globe play games either on their
mobile device or online. Also accord-
ing to 2013 comScore data, in the U.S.
roughly 102.2 million unique visitors
(or 46.0% of the entire Internet popula-
tion) visited an online gaming website
or portal and 67.3 million (or 50.3% of
mobile users) went to an iPad, iPhone or
Android gaming platform in December.
As of comScore’s December 2013 fig-
ures, MediaBrix reaches over 45 million
monthly unique Internet users in the U.S.
who play social games online—20.0% of
the total online audience, making Media-
Brix’s reach larger than Pandora, Twitter
and Hulu. Also according to comScore,
MediaBrix reaches almost half—46.0%—
of the total online gaming audience.
According to proprietary data, Medi-

Male Female aBrix reaches over 50 million game

players each month. See to the left
and below for MediaBrix social game

33% 67%
player demographics.

MEDIABRIX AUDIENCE: MEDIABRIX AUDIENCE: MEDIABRIX AUDIENCE:

INCOME AGE EDUCATION

$0 - $29,999 $75,000 - $99,999 18 - 24 yrs 45 - 54 yrs High School Some College

$30,000 - $49,999 $100,000 - $149,999 25 - 34 yrs 55 - 64 yrs College Grad Grad Degree

$50,000 - $74,999 $150,000 + 35 - 44 yrs 65 + yrs

Source: MediaBrix / Exelate

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AVERAGE AD CTRS AVERAGE INTERACTION RATES

Source: MediaBrix, DoubleClick, and Data Supplied by eMarketer Source: MediaBrix, DoubleClick, and Data Supplied by eMarketer

THE MEDIABRIX IN-GAME ADVERTISING BENCHMARKS

MediaBrix is the leader in social and CTR Interaction Rates
mobile gaming advertising for brand According to DoubleClick, standard According to DoubleClick, rich media
marketers. Over the past six months, image, flash and rich media ads gener- ads have a 3.3% average interaction
MediaBrix has compiled benchmark ate click-through rates (CTR) less than rate and a 1.7% average expansion rate.
data on cross-platform social gam- 0.2%. Data supplied by eMarketer and Additionally, on average, people watch
ing campaigns. This report provides sourced from Salesforce Social.com rich media ad units an average of 11.95
information about the benchmarks reveals that Facebook sponsored ads seconds. Data supplied by eMarketer
and compares them to leading digital garner average CTR ranging from 0.3%- reveals that mobile HTML 5 banners gar-
advertising formats. When compar- 3.2%. Also according to data supplied ner an average interaction rate of 5.0%.
ing data from 2012 to 2013, MediaBrix by eMarketer, mobile banner ads garner Average social and mobile gaming non-
found that by layering in emotional tar- average CTR of 0.4% around the world. video interaction rates are 11.5% on the
geting coupled with BTMs™ cross-plat- On average, social and mobile gaming web and 10.0% on mobile, the highest
form social gaming branding perfor- ads see CTR of 3.8% on the web and of the reported advertising formats.
mance increased by 15.0% for online 3.2% on mobile, while value exchange
and 30.0% for mobile campaigns. ads on the platform see an average CTR
of 9.5% on the web and 9.7% on mobile,
outperforming all other types of ad units.

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THE MEDIABRIX IN-GAME ADVERTISING BENCHMARKS

Video Completion Rates AVERAGE VIDEO AD COMPLETION RATES
Video ad completion rates on average
are slightly less than 58.0%, according
to DoubleClick, who defines this metric
as “the number of times a video played
to its completion.” Social and mobile
gaming value exchange ads see aver-
age video completion rates of 89.0% on
the web and 83.1% on mobile, exceed-
ing most other video ad completion
rates in the industry.
Engagement Rates
Facebook paid posts engagement rates
vary depending on format, according to
data supplied by eMarketer. Paid photos
garner a 5.8% engagement rate, while
paid offers garner a 4.2% engagement
rate—the highest of all the other paid
and organic posts on the platform. Com-
paratively, social and mobile gaming ads
see engagement rates of 19.8% on the
web and 15.8% on mobile, while in-game
value exchange ads see engagement
rates of 102.2% on the web and 91.4%
on mobile devices.
Reward Acceptance Rates
Rewards are delivered to social and
mobile game players during moments of
“achievement,” such as a new high score
or a longest jump, that allows brands to
Source: MediaBrix and DoubleClick
reward players with a virtual good and
leverage a positive emotional moment.
Only social and mobile gaming advertis-
AVERAGE ENGAGEMENT RATES
ing has the capability to offer marketers
rewards and metric benchmarks for vir-
tual gifts. According to MediaBrix pro-
prietary data, rewards garner a 63.8%
acceptance rate on the web and a 67.9%
acceptance rate on mobile.

Source: MediaBrix and Data Supplied by eMarketer

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DEVELOPER CASE STUDY: JACKBOX GAMES

Jackbox Games’ YOU DON’T KNOW
JACK is a free-to-play, cross-platform
trivia game utilizing Breakthough
Moments™ (BTMs™) and MediaBrix’s
ad products Flex, Views, Rewards
and Fusion.
The game has become a hit, generat-
ing more than five million downloads
and engaging people with regularly
refreshed, first-rate content.
The company utilizes BTMs™ from the
ground up to incorporate seamless
brand advertising that respects the
user experience. Currently, advertising
comprises more than half of YOU DON’T
KNOW JACK’s revenue and BTMs™ sup-
ply the vast majority of the ad spending.
“BTMs™ enhance the content-rich expe-
rience of YOU DON’T KNOW JACK,
while contributing to the bottom line
About MediaBrix Products in a way that fans actually enjoy. That’s
huge,” said Mike Bilder, General Man-
ager, Jackbox Games.
“They provide us the opportunity to
run high-impact brand advertising,
Views Rewards offering us the best eCPMs and user
When a user comes to a moment Winner of the DeveloperWeek 2014 retention of any of our advertising
of need for help or rescue, Jackbox Awards, Rewards is one of the best partners. The MediaBrix team is like
Games and brand partners can pres- game monetization solutions on the mar- an extension of our own, and they are
ent a helping hand and rescue play- ket today. Here’s how it works: as players professional, reliable and have found a
ers during BTMs™. Views is a value reach a moment of highest achievement, way to tailor products to both brands
exchange video ad that reaches users developers—like Jackbox Games—and and developers alike.”
at such moments—like when a player is brands can reward them with a virtual
stuck on a level or running out of lives— gift. Once players opt-in to redeem the
and rescues them during the natural virtual gift, they will receive a short mes- About Jackbox Games
game flow. As a result, Views estab- sage from the brand and continue play- Jackbox Games is the developer and
lishes a positive connection between ing. The entire experience is “in-unit” publisher of YOU DON’T KNOW JACK®,
the player, the brand and the developer. and doesn’t disrupt game play. Lie Swatter™ and other games for social,
mobile and new-gen platforms. Learn
more about the company by visiting
http://jackboxgames.com/.

Flex Fusion
As a user is playing a game and Jackbox Games helps immerse
reaches a congratulatory point, with brands within a social or mobile game
Flex, Jackbox Games enables brands to or empower them to create their own
congratulate their performance through BTMs™ with this exclusive, scalable inte-
this brand-response advertising unit, gration that inspires positive brand rec-
which is seamlessly integrated during ognition and association among players.
natural game breaks to offer the opti-
mal user experience

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METHODOLOGY ABOUT MEDIABRIX

The MediaBrix Social and Mobile MediaBrix powers the industry’s
Gaming Report data was compiled leading advertising and services
for the time period July 1, 2013 to platform for social and mobile games.
December 31, 2013 across social and Through a suite of proprietary prod-
mobile games. The MediaBrix bench- ucts and analytics, the company
marks were calculated by averaging delivers immersive brand messages
proprietary data collected from over during Breakthrough Moments™
200 social and mobile gaming adver- (BTMs™) within games when people
tising campaigns and over one billion are most receptive to marketing
impressions. The advertising data was messages. Our ads elicit positive
then compared to industry bench- emotions by rewarding users and
marks supplied by eMarketer and enhancing the user experience
DoubleClick. Please note that social during gameplay. As a result, people
gaming performance rates and metrics appreciate the brand’s participation
may be higher or lower than the data and they develop an emotional con-
included in the report depending on nection to the brand. MediaBrix’s
varying factors including intent, cre- campaigns routinely see average
ative, media and other factors. video completion rates 84x the
industry average and engagement
rates as much as 2000% higher than
other forms of digital advertising.
Hundreds of top brands, including
Coca-Cola, MTV and T-Mobile, and
many of the world’s largest game
developers leverage the MediaBrix
platform to provide over 500 million
user-friendly BTMs™ to more than 200
million people each month. ■

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