The 4 Most Common (and Wrong) Assumptions About Playable Ads

Playable advertising has emerged as a prominent trend in the industry. However, as with any innovation, they can also be misunderstood at first. At Playturbo, we specialize in playable ads. Through deep research, we have identified the most common misconceptions about playable ads. This article seeks to dispel these myths and provide some clarity.

Misconception 1: Playable ads are just for casual games

You may have seen playable ads promoting casual and hyper-casual games and assumed that was their only purpose. While playable advertising does work well for casual games (thanks to their simple mechanics), these formats can actually be used for any type of game out there.

Advertisers are now using playable ads in a wide range of games, including midcore and even hardcore games, with some impressive results. But it doesn’t stop at gaming—we’ve also seen these ads being used to promote apps across various industries, such as utility, e-commerce, and entertainment.

Let’s take a look at some examples of playable ads we’ve created outside of the casual gaming area:

An example of a playable ad we produced for the Agoda app

Another example of a playable we created for the movie Bad Boys

Misconception 2: You can only create a playable ad based on the original gameplay

Some say that there are only two steps when creating a playable ad: 1) pick the original scenario, and 2) turn it into HTML5. While this approach is feasible, the possibilities extend far beyond replicating the original gameplay.

Playable ads today can be created in ways that not just copy existing parts of a game or app, but even reimagine it or expand upon key elements of it. At Mindworks, we can break down your app’s core gameplay or unique selling points into multiple elements to create new versions that generate better results. Based on our in-depth research, we can create new playable ads with new storylines, while keeping the things that make your app great - all with the goal of reaching your target audience.

Misconception 3: Not many platforms support playable ads

You might think playable ads, being relatively new, are only supported by a few platforms, right? Not really. In fact, most of the well-established traffic channels including Facebook, Google, Mintegral, TikTok, Unity, AppLovin, and Vungle, already have full support for playable ads, and adoption is rising quickly. Why? Because playable advertising drives revenue and boosts engagement.

Our data shows that playable ads improve monetization revenue for publishers, thanks to their ability to gamify the advertising experience. They also help with retention when combined with rewarded mechanics. For example, some games offer daily rewards just for simply interacting with these ads, which improves engagement and retention.

Misconception 4: Producing playable ads is too expensive

Some believe playable advertising is cost-prohibitive for large-scale production, requiring substantial time and resources beyond typical marketing budgets, making them a nice-to-have rather than a must-have. However, this is not necessarily the case.

As we mentioned in the previous section, playable ads can be broken down into their core elements. With Playturbo, you can edit your playable ads quickly and easily: simply adjust the elements you want and export the new playable ad with just a few clicks. One playable, endless possibilities.

When it comes to element-level iteration and creative testing, you can use Playturbo to produce multiple versions from a single playable ad. By conducting A/B tests, advertisers can identify the optimal combinations to maximize revenue. In this way, advertisers can cut down on costs and time, without the need to produce new versions from scratch.

Here’s an example where we used element-level iterations from a single playable ad to generate several versions for a massive increase in the install-per-impression rate (IVR). We used Playturbo to adjust the game difficulty for Tile Master, a match-3 game. We created three versions (easy, normal, hard) and exported them as separate playable ads - here are the results:

“Easy” version: IVR improved by 322.88%

“Normal” version: IVR improved by 324.97%

“Hard” version: IVR improved by 215.78%

Creative testing was conducted over three weeks, and the normal difficulty version received the best result. The advertiser also used this version in their following campaign and achieved great results. All of these wins were based on one original playable ad.

Another way to optimize your campaigns is via dynamic creative optimization (DCO). This technology allows you to maximize the effectiveness of your playable ads in real time, so you can find which versions perform best and use those in your campaigns.

Get ready for the new Playturbo

As the first platform to support DCO, Playturbo can take your campaigns to the next level. With Playturbo, you can turn a single playable ad into an unlimited world of possibilities, enabling you to maximize the reach and effectiveness of your campaigns with just a few clicks. Sounds interesting? This is just one of the new features coming soon to Playturbo and we can’t wait to share more details with you. In the meantime, make sure you contact us to learn more about Playturbo, and don't forget to follow us on LinkedIn for the latest updates and insights!