Research of 18,340 respondents reveals new opportunity for publishers, developers, and advertisers to collaborate in 2023 to level up creative experiences in high attention in-app gaming segment

LoopMe, a leading technology company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to improve brand advertising performance, announced the results of the company’s mobile gaming study, “Understanding Consumer Mobile Gaming Habits and Preferences.” The new research from LoopMe explores consumer preferences related to in-app mobile gaming in the U.S., the U.K., and Singapore. Key findings show that 62% of consumers play games on their mobile devices, with 76% playing upwards of an hour daily, and 15% playing for more than five hours per day. Furthermore, one fifth of mobile gamers are highly attentive, focusing on the gameplay and nothing else, presenting a prime captive audience to lean into mobile brand advertising.

According to eMarketer, time spent with mobile gaming is a full 50% the size of in-app social, yet the brand spend in social ($56B, according to Statista) is 7x that of mobile gaming ad revenue projected for 2024 (nearly $8B), creating a huge growth opportunity to reach consumers. Most brands are not intentionally buying mobile gaming app advertising as a branding vehicle and some aren’t even aware they are buying it. Creative formats available in mobile in-app environments capture consumer attention with the ‘gold standard’ being non-skippable ads, along with full screen and sound-on video ad formats. There is also increased demand for gamification or rewarded video ads to further increase intent and favorability among consumers, especially mid-funnel. LoopMe’s internal research has found that in-app mobile gaming optimization campaign performance against brand lift outcomes is 2-4x higher than other industry norms.

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“As mobile gaming continues to grow in popularity and deliver the reach, engagement, and results that marketers are seeking in a brand-safe environment, we see in-app mobile gaming becoming an intentional and increasingly important part of mix in 2023, right alongside CTV and social”

“As mobile gaming continues to grow in popularity and deliver the reach, engagement, and results that marketers are seeking in a brand-safe environment, we see in-app mobile gaming becoming an intentional and increasingly important part of mix in 2023, right alongside CTV and social,” said Rachel Conforti, SVP Marketing at LoopMe. “LoopMe is proud to be a category leader in in-app mobile gaming, helping connect brands and apps so that advertisers can lean into this massive market opportunity, address a highly engaged market segment and bring to light new opportunities that exist within this ecosystem.”

“There are clear benefits to brands that explore new creative experiences that help keep in-app mobile gaming audiences highly engaged,” said Lewis Ward, Research Director, Gaming and VR/AR at IDC. “Leveraging newer ad formats — for instance, playable and interactive ads — can translate into more momentum for brands’ ad content because users don’t have to be passive, which is, of course, how games work. The in-app mobile gaming creative market will get more interesting in 2023 as more big brands experiment with these more engaging ad types.”

LoopMe’s survey also found:

• 65% of consumers play games more than two times per day on their mobile device (31% play more than five times per day)
• 57% of consumers who play games on their mobile devices do so in their spare time
• 20% of consumers said they are fully focused on their gameplay and do not do any other activities while playing. This figure rises to 38% for gamers who are playing while also listening to music, but not doing anything else.
• 43% of consumers said they watch TV while playing games, which can be considered a good complement to any TV strategy

LoopMe’s opt-in GDPR-compliant, non-incentivized survey was delivered via mobile devices to 18,340 respondents in the three above-mentioned regions. The language-localized survey was conducted in October 2022, with the analysis of the results completed in December 2022. Data was normalized to account for population and gender splits by country.

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