PGC Digital: How to monetise your virtual real estate using in-play ads

Kicking off Pocket Gamer Connects Digital NEXT, Admix co-founder and CEO Samuel Huber discussed how to monetise your virtual world – or metaverse – via the Admix platform.

Huber gave the analogy that space within the virtual world is much like real estate and that developers are the land owners.

When creating their virtual worlds, developers can think ahead and create areas in their games where the ads can be placed.

Developers often create mock advertisements in their games, but these can be easily replaced with real ads, creating an additional monetisation avenue.

For example, in a driving game there are billboards on the roadside which can be used to display in-play ads, which are also commonplace in reality and do not detract from the in-game immersion.

Location, location, location

As users cannot interact with in-play ads, maximising viewability is one of the key things brands are looking for.

Admix measures viewability using a “dwell time” calculation which times how long the ad appears on the screen, the area of the ad and how much of the ad is on the screen at once.

In-play ads are not about conversion, but are instead about awareness, similar to other forms of traditional non-gaming advertisements.

In the earlier example, as the player gets closer to the ad it will become larger on screen and create a greater ad impression.

As users are playing a game there is more active consumption of ads as they are mentaly stimulated as opposed to passively onlooking, meaning advertisers gain much more valuable impressions.

Currently, Admix offers two ways for developers to monetise their in-play ads, either by selling as they go or by selling as a service.

Selling as they go means developers make money when advertisers buy the ad space within the game.

Selling as a service allows companies to invite their own brands into the platform. Huber noted that larger publishers often have their own pre-established relationships with brands and they can use the Admix platform to deliver on this relationship.

Huber indicated that Admix will soon bring a new method to monetise on in-game real estate alongside its current methods.

Ad awareness

Admix has recently introduced new features to its platform that give developers more control over the in-play ads featured in their games.

Developers can now approve the brands and creatives before they appear in their games. For example, if they developers did not want ads about fast food then they will be able to prevent these from appearing in their games.

Secondly, Admix now gives developers the option to pause their monetisation at any time, removing the ads from that space. Huber said that you can create the space for advertisers but you don’t have to “rent” it all the time, for example, if you wanted to promote an in-game event or crossover this space can be used for that.

Huber concluded his discussion with the idea that in-play ads are not about conversion, but are instead about awareness, similar to other forms of traditional non-gaming advertisements.

As they cannot be interacted with, in-play ads do not actively take the user out of the ecosystem, benefiting the developer and creating the opportunity for increased exposure for the advertiser.

Furthermore, Admix has found that because ad placement is integrated within the game, it does not affect user retention as it removes the trigger for them to leave the game.

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Source: http://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/77551/admix-samuel-huber-ads-metaverse/

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