How To Triumph With Playables and Make +700% CR: stats, numbers and tips

Users grow weary of irrelevant ads, opting for ad blockers. Advertisers adapt and perfect their targeting techniques, as well as offer more engagement overall. One of the ways to deliver greater interactivity is to create playable game ads.

Interactive advertising has three times the conversion rate (CR) of traditional video ads. Mobile analytics also indicate that playables enjoy a CR of up to 700%, compared to static mobile app ads. Playable game ads could have become the preferred form of marketing, were it not for a couple of drawbacks that deter people away, like time constraints and technological complexity.

Worry not, our ad intelligence agency has got you covered. In this article, we will elaborate on how to master playable advertising. We will briefly go through its definition, benefits, key elements, best practices, and examples, like Facebook ads.

Playable Ads Explained

Playable ads serve as a mini-game, featuring the main functionality of the app. Playables usually last 15–60 seconds and provide unparalleled interactivity, making them more engaging than video ads or interstitials. The user is free to play the ad, which is why it’s 32% more likely to be remembered than traditional ads.

Playable advertising goes beyond mobile Gaming and can be used in other verticals: Shopping, Finance, Fitness, Traveling, and even non-mainstream niches. For example, you can make a platform mini-game, where the user is to catch a discount or a gift. 

Interactive ad by Temu: Shop like a Billionaire via Apptica Ad Intelligence 

Playables are engaging, thus they offer superior user acquisition, enhanced customer LifeTime Value (LTV), and better tracking capabilities. With our mobile analytics tool, you can monitor every interaction with the ad, including if the difficulty should be lowered, provided the users keep on losing, etc.

Playable ads used to demand coding skills and a lot of time to be executed properly. Plus, higher engagement tends to be offset by increased cost of production. It might take more time to verify if they run correctly. Finally, they are more suitable for casual, non-hardcore gamers, as the latter will demand more challenge.

Nowadays, there are software like Playable Factory, which allow creating a playable ad without any coding skills. Conveniently, this also decreases the cost of production and addresses other issues as well. We’ll get to creating a playable ad in-depth in the respective section below.

Quick stats

Creative cycle of playable ads and their share on Android and iOS in 2023

Playable format shows a positive dynamics YoY on iOS (+2,7%) and a negative one on Android (-0.5%). iOS enjoys a larger share of playables.

A bit less than a half of playable ads are dropped within the first 3 days, around 1/3 are dropped within a week. Only 6,3% of creatives (on iOS) and 6,8% (on Android) run for more than a month.

Share of playables by gaming category in 2023 and in Q1, 2024

The ranking of gaming subcategories hasn't changed significantly from what we saw in 2023. Casual leads with 38% of playables in App Store and 35% in Google Play in Q1, 2024. It's worth noting that on iOS Family genre takes a visible share leaving behind Action and Strategy games.

Top advertisers in Q1, 2024 | playable creatives’ number

Top advertisers in Q1, 2024 in terms of buying share

Top publishers in Q1, 2024 in terms of buying share

Without any surprises, Gaming covers the largest part of the rankings: MONOPOLY GO!, Whiteout Survival, Royal Match, Playrix titles, Coin Master, Candy Crush Saga are among the leaders both in buying share and creatives' number.

Types of Playables

Playable ads are full-screen ads, rendering them an upgraded hybrid of interstitials and video ads. Common marketing channels for them are social media and in-app advertising. From a technical perspective, playables can take two forms: an HTML-based mini-game or interactive game footage enhanced with HTML elements.

HTML playable ads utilize HTML code and the game's assets to replicate segments of gameplay. They offer the most faithful depiction of the app by letting you recreate the game experience from scratch.

Interactive videos incorporate game footage alongside HTML elements to craft a playable ad. They are not as engaging but easier to produce. The interactive video is the best choice for 3D or cinematic games but it tends to load slower due to heavy files.

How Playable Ads Work

Playable ad of Royal Match by Dream Games via Apptica Ad Intelligence 

Playables resemble the inverted pyramid style of journalism, where the most important information, like gameplay, is dished out first. Gradually, key supporting elements are introduced one by one, let’s overview them quickly:

Lead-in video. Playable ads commence with a brief demo video, featuring a “Try Now” button below to indicate the ad is interactive. It plays automatically with an overlaying game controller icon and a tap-to-try indicator. A good example would be Facebook ads, appearing right in the News Feed.

Via: WebFX

Full-screen playable ad. The demo allows potential users to test your application and evaluate its appeal. Upon tapping the ad, individuals are directed to a concise, interactive, full-screen demonstration where they can interact with your app and explore its features.

This demonstration empowers users to navigate through your app by tapping and swiping. Your demonstration should be brief yet informative enough for users to grasp the essence of your application.

Call-To-Action (CTA). The app advertisement ends with a succinct button, redirecting to either the App Store or Google Play. Make sure to include a button of 15 characters or shorter, guiding the user to what to do next: “Download”, “Try Now”, “Install”, or “Save Her”.

Playable Ads Specifics

How to build and upload Playable ads for Facebook. Via: Playable Maker

Let’s take a look at Facebook requirements for playable ads, as this platform serves as a compass for advertisers. Specifically, it requires playable HTML5 Assets, playable Zip files, and a lead-in video.

Playable HTML5 asset requirements:

• Playable games must be in HTML5 format, with file extensions 'html' or 'htm'
• File size should not exceed 2 MB
• Playables must not require 'mraid.js'
• Playables should not initiate any HTTP requests, such as 'XMLHttpRequest'
• Playables should be in portrait mode
• Responsive design is essential to support various devices with different resolutions
• A single file for a playable ad that contains all assets as part of that single HTML file and assets should be data URI compressed (JavaScript, CSS, images, sounds)
• Use the JavaScript function 'FbPlayableAd.onCTAClick()' for call-to-action interactions
• Avoid JavaScript redirects
• Dynamic asset loading from external networks is prohibited
• To combine into one file: encode the image into base64 string, integrate js into index.html

Zip file requirements:

• Zip file format is supported on all placements for iOS and Android
• The zip archive must include an 'index.html' file at the root
• Resources may be placed anywhere in the directory structure, as long as they are referenced relative to index.html. For example, the following file:./assets/splash.png

must be referenced as:

<image src="assets/splash.png"/>

• HTML and JavaScript files within the zip file must adhere to the same constraints, although FbPlayableAd.onCTAClick() only needs to be called in one place
• The total size of uploaded files should not exceed 5 MB, with a maximum of 100 files
• The size of 'index.html' should not exceed 2 MB

Lead-in video requirements:

• All aspect ratios, including landscape, square, and vertical, are supported.
• Lead-in videos are mandatory for playable ads but are only delivered as part of the playable experience on the Feed. No lead-in video is delivered on Meta Audience Network placements.

How to Build a Playable Ads

Tutorial from Playable Factory

ADS Kit or Playable Factory are constructors for the fast creation of playable ads, which can be tried out for free. With the help of the former, you don’t have to be a programmer, since it has a well-developed and intuitive user interface. Built-in tools like visual scripting or “Tap”, “Swipe”, and “Drag-and-Drop” functions should ease creation even further. There are 4 major steps involved:

• Layout. Background, fonts, resolution specifics, and preloader are all set up here.
• Assets. Images, videos, texts, audio, and other elements are all added here. They follow the Photoshop logic and function in layers. Every asset can be customized, e.g., whether it’s relative (affected by other elements) or absolute (remains fixed).
• Actions. Creative scripts, responsible for seamless transitions. This ensures that the animation plays after the initial tap, as well as CTA appears when the time comes.
• Upload. Keep in mind the requirements from the previous section and upload your playable ad into the platform you’re going to advertise on.

Who Can Use Playable Ads

A wide range of business actors can benefit from using playables. Here’s an incomplete list:

• Game and app developers. Playable ads are probably the best showcase for an app, as long as the game meets the expectations set with an ad.
• eCommerce entrepreneurs. Playable advertising helps to show a clothing store or even McDonald's (refer to the example in the beginning) interactively, engaging the user from the get-go. Consider mix-and-match or a maze-like game.
• Educational platforms. Presenting learning materials or courses with playables helps to persuade the customers that they won’t get bored.
• Digital marketing agencies. Ad networks can capitalize on playable ads as an innovative format, winning over marketers who want to try out something new and efficient.
• An average person. People realize that app ads tend to be inconsistent with the actual gameplay, including the most popular apps on the mobile market. Playables change the rules of the game, allowing the user to familiarize themselves with the gameplay first before even downloading the game.

Overall, playable game ads tend to improve app performance, thanks to improved and simplified user acquisition.

Best Practices for Playable Ads

“Playable ads have become a game changer in the UA landscape. They offer an interactive and engaging way to capture users' attention and drive higher conversion rates. While primarily used by gaming companies, brands are beginning to adopt them as well. We expect this trend to continue to grow."

Orkuncan Aydın, COO at Playable Factory

So far we’ve provided the basics of how to make a playable ad and how it works. However, the devil is in the details, which is why we’ve prepared a compilation of tips and hints, based on our mobile application analytics, to improve the performance of your playables even further.

Engaging gameplay. Create a captivating and enjoyable game experience aligned with your brand message. Keep the gameplay simple, intuitive, and focused on motivating users to try out the mini-game.

Clear CTA. Ensure users understand the next action to take, whether it's making a purchase, signing up, or exploring further. Minimize delays before the CTA to prevent user frustration and potential financial losses.

Guide The Player. Make sure that players understand and can progress through the playable ad. Use clear CTA texts and tutorial hands to always show the next steps to the player. Since playables are seen by everyone from those with no gaming experience to seasoned players, it's crucial to make the journey intuitive for all.

Quick loading time. Optimize the playable ad for fast loading to minimize drop-offs due to slow loading times. Don’t add too many assets, make sure the bare essentials remain. (Playable’s has be maximum of 5mb in order to be used so you cant load too many assets even if you want it but the performance is important for sure.)

Mobile-friendly design. Tailor the playable ad for mobile devices with a responsive design to ensure a seamless experience across various platforms.

Value proposition integration. Clearly communicate the unique value of your product or service within the playable ad to excite users about what you offer. Some playables offer a teaser end card to showcase what the real game offers. However, be considerate: if the playable is unrelated to the actual game, it might result in negative feedback on the app store page of the app. (Skyline Bowling Image)

Teaser Endcard Examples made by Playable Factory from a Whiteout Survival, Match Factory and Skyline Bowling Playable Ads

Interactive storytelling. Create a narrative within the playable ad to engage users emotionally and make the experience memorable. Themes like "Save the Danger" in Royal Match playables produced by Playable Factory have been proven to increase engagement among players.

Incorporate feedback mechanisms. Allow users to provide feedback within the playable ad to enhance interactivity and gain insights into user preferences. This is an extra layer of engaging, showing your genuine care for UX.

Social media integration. Enable easy sharing of the playable ad on social media platforms to amplify its reach and impact. (If you encounter a playable ad you can’t share in social media but if you make a mini game to earn coupons it can have a positive impact in the social media like Mcdonalds’s minigames or Starbucks)

A/B testing. Experiment with different elements of the playable ad and conduct A/B testing to identify what resonates best with your audience. By using tools from companies like Playable Factory, you can create different versions with various parameters. This allows for effective testing and optimization to develop the most effective playable ad. 

Marketers can use these editors to customize their playables. (Playable Factory's editor)

Analytics and measurement. Implement robust app analytics tools to track user interactions and measure the performance of the playable ad. Companies like Playable Factory offer services like Insight to track the performance of the playable and the behavior of the player.

Performance measurement tools such as Insight are important to calculate the direction of improvement on the playables.

Customization for the target audience. Tailor the playable ad to resonate with your specific target audience by considering demographics, interests, and preferences.

Compliance with app store policies. Ensure the playable ad complies with the policies of the app stores and platforms where it will be displayed to facilitate approval and wider distribution.

Conclusion

Playable ads are a powerful tool for boosting engagement, with 3x times the conversion rate of traditional video ads. Despite initial hurdles, advancements in technology and accessible tools like Playable Factory have made creating playable ads easier.

These ads, serving as mini-games showcasing app functionality, offer higher engagement, enhanced customer lifetime value, and better tracking capabilities. By adhering to best practices such as engaging gameplay, clear CTA, and mobile-friendly design, advertisers can maximize effectiveness.

Playable ads represent a compelling opportunity for advertisers to deliver interactive experiences, driving higher conversions and engagement. And with the help of our mobile app analytics tool, you’ll be able to track all the mobile data needed and optimize your campaigns like a pro.