This presentation covers what are rewarded video ads. It also walks through what rewarded video ads mean in terms of user acquisition and monetization.

1. Succeeding with Rewarded Video Ads
Murtza Manzur, Developer Evangelist at InMobi
Presented on April 23, 2015

2. About InMobi
● Largest independent mobile ad network
● 1 billion unique devices
● Enable brands, developers, and publishers to engage mobile
consumers globally

3. Agenda
● Explore rewarded video ads
● Understand rewarded video ads in terms of user acquisition and
monetization
● Discuss best practices for integrating rewarded video ads

4. Ad Monetization Is Challenging
● Banner and text ad units are
frequently used, but have low
eCPM and engagement
● Integrating newer ad formats can
increase eCPM and engagement
○ Video ads
○ Rewarded video ads
○ Native ads

5. Rewarded Video Ads: Opt-In, Non-Skippable, Short
● User opts-in to watch the
video in exchange for a
reward
○ Virtual goods
○ In-app gifts
● About 15 seconds long
● User cannot skip ad

6. Rewarded Video Ads: Replay, Sound On, CTA
● Replay button
● Always on sound
● End card with a call to
action

7. Gaming Case Study: Subway Surfer
● Subway Surfer uses
rewarded video ads to
unlock features in the
game.

8. Non-Gaming Case Study: Spotify
● Spotify uses rewarded video
ads in exchange for 30 mins
of streaming time without
ads to non-premium users

9. Video vs Rewarded Video
Metric Video Ads Rewarded Video Ads
Method Video is pushed to user User opts-in to view video
Skippable Yes No
User Retention Low High
LTV of Users Acquired Low High
Video Completion
Rates
Low High due to non-skippable format

10. Benefits of Rewarded Video Ads for User Acquisition
● Provides high quality, engaged users to advertisers
● Increases brand recall through guaranteed video completes,
leading to increased organic downloads
● Incentivized-view only, leading to informed clicks and high
quality downloads

11. Benefits of Rewarded Video Ads for Monetization
● User-centric experience
● Encourages users to engage longer with an app
● Provides higher eCPMs versus other ad formats
● Nudge non-paying users towards IAP

12. Implementation: Where to Place Ad
● Placement of an ad influences how a user interacts with an app
● Many possibilities
○ Storefront
○ During gameplay
○ Elsewhere in non-game app

13. Implementation: What Reward to Offer
● Offer users options
● A/B test what works better
● Personalize based on user type
● Similar to IAP, which can influence users to buy IAPs later

14. Implementation: How Often to Offer
● What should be the frequency of the ad?
○ Optimize frequency to increase app usage

15. Implementation: Choosing the Ad Platform
● Do the ads load fast?
● Is the video experience in HD?
● What does the end card look like?
● Is there global demand?
● Is the ad format flexible?

16. Integration Checklist
● Two part integration
○ Display interstitial to show ad
○ Setup callback mechanism to notify app to give reward to user

17. Takeaways
● Rewarded video ad format is user-centric
○ Opt-in, short, CTA
● Rewarded video ads for monetization
○ Higher eCPM & better user engagement
● Rewarded video ads for user acquisition
○ More engaged users

18. Murtza Manzur
Developer Evangelist
murtza.manzur@inmobi.com
Questions?