Halloween is behind us now but the holiday season for marketers has just started! Lucky for you, we kept an eye out for all the latest and juiciest news the mobile marketing industry has to share and we rounded them up for you. 

Meta introduces AI tools for ad creatives

Meta is unveiling a trio of AI-powered tools to bolster its advertising capabilities, set to be integrated into its Ads Manager platform. These innovative tools are part of Meta’s AI Sandbox initiative, serving as a testing ground for new AI features before a broader rollout. Meta has been collaborating with a select group of advertisers and media buyers to test these tools, leveraging their valuable insights during the development phase.

Here are the upcoming Ai tools:

• Text Variation Tool: This tool automates the generation of multiple ad copy versions to suit different target audiences, simplifying the customization of messages for specific demographics.
• Background Generation Tool: Streamlining ad creation, this tool automatically generates various background images that complement different products based on provided text inputs.
• Image Cropping Tool: Recognizing the varying aspect ratios across different ad surfaces, such as Reels, feeds, and Stories, this tool automatically adjusts creative assets to ensure they appear visually appealing on each platform.

These AI tools draw from a wide range of data sources, including Meta’s platform data, third-party data, partner data, and publicly available data. Meta plans to gradually expand access to these tools to more advertisers over the course of the coming year.

New features for Reels ads

Not one to stop at AI testing, Meta is also working on a new range of features for Reels ads. Here are the upcoming tools:

• Collection Ads: This format features a prominent video or image alongside smaller swipeable images. After its successful launch on Instagram, it’s now being tested on Facebook
• Multi-Destination Reels Carousel Ads: Reels Carousel Ads will now support multiple CTAs, allowing advertisers to direct viewers to multiple product pages within a single ad
• Swipe-Left Functionality: Viewers will be able to swipe left on an ad to directly shop the products featured in the ad
• Creative Optimizations: For ads using Advantage+, advertisers can access tools like automatic templates to adapt media to various formats and enhance color and video resolution
• Music Optimization: Advertisers can source, select, and add music to their Reels ads during the campaign creation process
• Brand Suitability: Advertisers can have greater control over the type of content that appears alongside their Reels ads with Zefri

So now may be the time to look into Reels ad. 

The Play Store’s search bar is about to become permanent

Google is experimenting with the Google Play Store to turn the app’s search bar into a permanent one with the goal to enhance user experience. It would streamline user interaction within the store and eliminate the need to scroll back to the top to access the search bar. 

In addition to making it user-friendly, it’s also interesting to see that Google is investing more time in the search bar and its use, would that mean that Play Store search ads might be happening in the future? Only time will tell!

Mobile gamers love rewarded ads

A recent survey conducted by Monetizr, an in-game ad experience platform, has revealed key insights about mobile gaming and how gamers view in-game advertising. The study collected responses from over 207,000 mobile gamers and provides valuable information for brand marketers.

Mobile gaming is a potent media channel, with 31.43% of respondents playing games for over five hours daily. Furthermore, 60% of gamers played two to four hours daily, and 30.27% spent up to an hour on their favorite games, indicating broad appeal for advertisers.

Player preferences for in-game advertising varied, with nearly half (49.28%) feeling that ad placement didn’t significantly impact their gaming experience. Ad format preferences were split, with 26.17% preferring seamless integration into gameplay and 24.55% favoring distinct ads.

Additionally, 44.86% of players were open to engaging with in-game ads offering real-world rewards or discounts. When it came to Free-to-Play (F2P) games, 15.68% might stop playing if ads continued, while 44% would keep playing, and 19.57% were interested in clicking on ads for further exploration.

The survey highlights the opportunities for advertisers in the mobile gaming space, which has 3.2 billion mobile gamers worldwide. These findings align with predictions that over half (56%) of global gaming expenditures in 2023 will go toward mobile games, emphasizing the growing significance of mobile gaming for both gamers and advertisers.

TikTok brings its ads out of mobile

TikTok is introducing a new advertising offering called “Out of Phone” to extend its video campaigns beyond the app. This offering includes “Out of Phone: Billboard” for billboard advertising, “Out of Phone: Cinema” for advertising on movie screens during pre shows, and “Out of Home: Other Screens” to display TikTok content in various locations like bars, restaurants, and airports.

The content will be tailored for different audiences and continuously refreshed with engaging videos and campaigns from the app. TikTok has partnered with digital platforms like Vevo and in-theater advertisers like Screenvision to distribute these videos globally. This means a bigger audience for your TikTok campaigns. 

Additionally, they introduced text posts to enhance ad revenue by increasing user engagement. Their most significant launch this year, TikTok Shop, allows advertisers to promote their storefronts and purchase Shop ads, competing with e-commerce platforms like Amazon. TikTok is also exploring alternative monetization options, such as testing ad-free paid subscriptions in select European markets.

Merge Mansion developer Metacore acquires Piñata

Helsinki-based mobile gaming company Metacore is acquiring animation studio Piñata. They already worked with them on the now famous Merge Mansion 3D ads. Metacore will take over 100% of Piñata’s share.

This acquisition follows Metacore’s previous acquisition of Supercell’s game Everdale earlier in the year. It represents a strategic move to bolster Metacore’s capabilities in mobile game development and storytelling, and the company views it as a crucial step in their journey.

Numbers of the month

• Hypercasual game downloads drop 8% in Q3 2023
• Summer travel app boom: 14% spike in usage
• 65% of companies increased their mobile ad budgets
• Google pays Apple $18B to $20B a year to keep its search in iPhone 
• UK clears Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision acquisition 
• Mobile gaming offers diverse benefits as 71% of gamers notice reduced stress
• 43% of mobile gamers are boomers
• Mobile ad spending grows 9% while video surges by 11%
• Threads Is Closing in on 100M Users Says Zuckerberg
• Meta revenue surges 23% but volatility could soften advertiser demand

What we talked about last month

• Using psychology to market your mobile game
• Dress up your mobile game for Halloween

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Marine Nozerand

Hi there, I'm Marine (she/her), I'm a Content Manager at Apptamin. Apptamin is a creative agency specialized in app videos (video ads, app store videos, etc.).

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