Here is AppGrowing's analysis of the global mobile game advertising markets in February 2024, based on advertising data from 25 global media platforms in 50 countries/regions.
01 Advertising Trend
Game developers are well-motivated heading into Q1 2024. The weekly mobile game Ad Volume remained above 2M and the App Volume was above 20K in February. The Creative Volume was stable at above 500K in a single week.
The peak of Ad Volume was in the early days, with more than 1.52M ads on Feb. 4, down from January. App Volume peaked in the later part of the month, with more than 20K mobile games being advertised on February 29th.
In terms of market, the Top 3 regions are North America, Western Europe and Southeast Asia, with North America accounting for 35.5% of the Ad Volume, a slight increase compared to January. Japan & Korea and Latin America also accounted for more than 20% of the Ad Volume. As for the Top 10 regions by Ad Volume, the Top 5 were the USA, France, Canada, Japan and Germany. Except for the USA, there was little difference in their share of Ad Volume.
On category, Puzzle returned to the Top 1 in terms of Ad Volume, accounting for 15.2%. Casual took the Top 1 in terms of App Volume, accounting for 17.3%. In addition, Simulation accounted for more than 10% of both Ad Volume and App Volume. The Top 5 in terms of the average Ad Volume of a single App were Music, Strategy, Role Playing, Word and Board, all of which declined compared with January.
For media, AdMob remained No. 1 with a 31.6% share, while Meta Ads continued to dominate the Top 2-5, but with a slightly downward trend compared to January. In addition, AppLovin ranked No. 7 with a 9.6% share of ads. In terms of categories on AdMob, Puzzle, Casual, Simulation, Strategy, and Action saw a large number of ads, with a higher share of lightcore & midcore categories.
02 Most Advertised Games
In February, China's Mainland held steady as the No. 1 region among mobile game developers. It accounted for 33.7% of Ad Volume and 21.6% of App Volume, a small drop from last month. Vietnam ranked No. 2 in terms of Ad Volume, but its share dropped to 10.1%. Meanwhile, it ranked No. 3 in terms of App Volume.
Among the Top 10 most advertised developers in February, SayGames retained its No.1 position, with HOMA, Azur Games, Matchingham Games, and Playrix rounding out the Top 2-4.
Here's the list of the most advertised mobile games. The list for Google Play is dominated by lightcore & midcore games. Social Ludo mobile game with voice chat, India vs Pakistan Ludo Online, topped the list. It was followed by IGG's Lords Mobile, which released a massive ad campaign with supercar brand Pagani in February. miHoYo's two main games, Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, also made it into the Top 15. During the New Year's version in February, their ad campaigns scaled up significantly.
On App Store, Dream Mania - Match 3 Games, a "Home Decoration + Match 3" mobile game, was ranked No.1, while Top Games' Evony was ranked No.2. Overall, the list was dominated by hardcore categories with a lot of newcomers, such as the female-oriented My Gentlemen's Club and Fashion Catwalk Star. SPGame's two new RPGs also made the list. 『Land Arcana-ふしぎの大陸- (Land Arcana -The Mysterious Continent-)』 for the Japanese market came in at No.7. 《潘朵拉：命運先知 (Pandora: Oracle of Destiny)》 for the Hong Kong & Taiwan of China market took No.13.
In Top pre-registrations, 《潘朵拉：命運先知 (Pandora: Oracle of Destiny)》 took No.1 on App Store. This is a new MMO game with a fantasy theme published by SPGame, targeting overseas Chinese audiences. On Google Play, SPGame again won the No.1 spot. The [세라:이터널스] is the Korean version of 《源進化 (Source Evolution)》.
03 Mobile Game Advertising Case Analysis
Case 1: 『Land Arcana-ふしぎの大陸-』
According to AppGrowing, SPGame's new game 『Land Arcana-ふしぎの大陸-』 was pre-registered and mass-advertised in Japan on January 26th. The game took the No. 1 spot on the January App Store Top Pre-registrations, and then officially launched on February 19th.
『Land Arcana』 is an anime mobile MMO with a Japanese fantasy theme, and is SPGame's first product to enter the Japanese market. In terms of market performance, according to diandian.com, the game has topped the Google Play Top Free in Japan for 5 consecutive days, which can be considered as its first success.
Let's break down the game's advertising strategy before and after launch. The data shows that the creative format of 『Land Arcana』 during the pre-registration period was mainly video, with 62.1% of them being horizontal and square.
During the pre-registration period, SPGame utilized the creative strategy of "benefit attraction" that it specializes in. Yet it adjusted the creative format to better fit the preferences of Japanese anime users. Take the following video for example. It begins with a phone call, adding a sense of immersion. The character then introduces the game's features and rewards, attracting players to download the game.
After the official launch of the game, the share of video creatives increased further and remained mostly horizontal and square.
The creative content focuses on gameplay, highlighting the high quality of art and technology. The following video places the game graphics and gameplay in a real-life scenario. High-quality combat scenes run smoothly on a mobile phone, increasing credibility.
Case 2: Dream Mania - Match 3 Games
Match is one of the most popular casual categories in the world in recent years. Especially in Europe and the US, it has a huge audience. Chinese developers such as Microfun and BOKE have achieved excellent results. Dream Mania, the "Home Decoration + Match3" mobile game that topped App Store's list by ad volume in February, is also a game from China.
Dream Mania is mainly advertised in mature markets, with the TOP 5 regions being Australia, the USA, Japan, Singapore and the UK. Its creative type preference is quite different from other similar games. Html accounts for more than 99% of the total, with video making up the rest.
In terms of creative content, Dream Mania favors female-oriented videos, most of which feature live-action. For example, the following creative attracts viewers with live action. The content starts with the common scenario of "suspecting boyfriend cheating" to arouse interest. The conversation leads to the game, which is more appealing to a wider range of users than just showing the gameplay alone.
Emphasizing the easy gameplay and great rewards is a common idea for casual games. The video shows the match gameplay. The "gacha reward“ and "START" buttons at the beginning enhance the sense of involvement. The rich diamonds and props rewards make viewers pleasant. Combined with the gameplay, the video conveys an image of fun and high rewards.
