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Tag: gaming ads

  • Krafton & Moloco shake up gaming ads with CTV blitz for Cookierun India

    Krafton & Moloco shake up gaming ads with CTV blitz for Cookierun India

    MUMBAI: For years, mobile gaming ads have tried to hook users through endless pop-ups, flashy in-app banners, and intrusive five-second videos that you just can’t skip. But Krafton and Moloco had a different game plan—Connected TV (CTV) advertising. And judging by the numbers, they just cracked the next big marketing play.

    Krafton, the publisher behind Pubg: Battlegrounds and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), went all-in on CTV ads via LG channels to launch Cookierun India, a localised version of Devsisters’ globally popular Cookierun series. Why? Because while mobile ads target app users, CTV taps into a much bigger screen with an audience that’s notoriously hard to reach. And as it turns out, when you see a fast-paced, sugar-fueled game running on your TV, you’re far more likely to download it.

    Krafton realised that while traditional TV commercials (TVCs) build brand awareness, they lack precise performance measurement. Enter Moloco’s CTV ads, which not only put Cookierun India in front of TV audiences but also let Krafton track how many users installed the game after seeing the ad.

    By integrating Moloco’s CTV platform with LG Channels, a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service, the campaign strategically placed ads on major Indian channels like NDTV and India TV. That meant Cookierun India wasn’t just reaching gamers—it was reaching families, casual viewers, and people who never considered downloading a mobile game before.

    The results? CTV didn’t just work—it outperformed expectations:

    ●    22 per cent of users acquired through Moloco’s mobile app campaigns were also exposed to CTV ads—and these users showed two times higher D1 retention than those who only saw mobile ads.

    ●    14 per cent of CTV viewers were entirely new users, proving that smart TV ads bring in fresh audiences.

    ●    Users acquired through CTV ads had 20 per cent higher D1 retention and 37 per cent higher D7 retention than those from mobile-only campaigns.

    Retention in mobile gaming is the holy grail, and CTV just schooled mobile ads in keeping users engaged.

    Krafton head of the India performance marketing team Sangbum Kim summed it up, “Moloco’s CTV advertising maximises campaign efficiency through a data-driven approach and differentiates itself from traditional TV advertising by enabling performance measurement. The users acquired through the CTV campaign have shown high retention, proving its potential as a new and effective marketing channel. We expect it to have a positive impact on our future campaign strategies.”

    Moloco Korea country manager JaeKyun Ahn added, “This collaboration has demonstrated that CTV advertising is an effective way to reach TV audiences that are difficult to access through mobile app ads, while also enabling advertisers to accurately measure performance. By leveraging CTV channels alongside mobile app campaigns, advertisers can further expand their reach, and this can also serve as a key marketing strategy to acquire high-value users, especially when launching new games.”

    With CTV proving its worth, expect more game publishers to take their campaigns beyond mobile screens. Krafton and Moloco’s partnership just set a new standard for game launches in India.

  • Game over for misleading gaming ads: ASCI

    Game over for misleading gaming ads: ASCI

    NEW DELHI: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has introduced guidelines to make real-money gaming advertising safer and more responsible. The advisory has been developed to ensure that such advertising makes users aware of financial and other risks that are associated with playing online games with real money winnings.

    Real money gaming (RMG) platforms gained traction during the Covid2019 pandemic-induced lockdowns, when users took to online gaming in a big way. From rummy and poker to fantasy gaming, there are multiple categories involving real money, with firms such as Dream11, Mobile Premier League (MPL), RummyPassion and Ace2Three gaining popularity by advertising and sponsoring important events.

    The rapid growth of the online gaming sector, and the real danger of the negative impacts of RMG advertisements has prompted ASCI to develop advertising guidelines to ensure users are aware of the financial and addiction risks in the face of potentially misleading and harmful ads.

    The guidelines, devised with the backing of the MIB, MEITY and department of consumer affairs, will be effective from 15 December 2020 and apply to ads that are legally permitted.

    The guidelines:

    1.      No gaming advertisement may depict any person under the age of 18 years, or who appears to be under the age of 18, engaged in playing a game of ONLINE GAMING FOR REAL MONEY WINNINGS, or suggest that such persons can play these games

    2.      Every such gaming advertisement must carry the following disclaimer:

    a.      Print/static: This game involves an element of financial risk and may be addictive. Please play responsibly and at your own risk

    i.        Such a disclaimer should occupy no less than 20% of the space in the advertisement

    ii.       It should also SPECIFICALLY meet disclaimer guidelines 4 (i) (ii) (iv) and (viii) laid out in the ASCI code

    b.      Audio/video: “This game involves an element of financial risk and may be addictive. Please play responsibly and at your own risk.”

    i.         Such a disclaimer must be placed in normal speaking pace at the end of the advertisement

    ii.       It must be in the same language as the advertisement

    iii.     For audio-visual mediums, the disclaimer needs to be in both audio and visual formats

    3.      The advertisements should not present ‘Online gaming for real money winnings’ as an income opportunity or an alternative employment option.

    4.      The advertisement should not suggest that a person engaged in gaming activity is in any way more successful as compared to others.

    ASCI secretary-general Manisha Kapoor said that not only are these games highly addictive but also end up being misleading and harmful to individuals and society. “We have observed gaming advertisements target youth and families by suggesting that these can become sources of income and livelihood for them. We have noted concerns about such advertisements, both from consumers as well as the government. The key fact that is completely suppressed in most of these advertisements is the real possibility of losing money. Millions of users of these apps come from lower-income families, who can ill afford to lose their hard-earned money. The frequent use of celebrities in many of these advertisements make them more attractive to consumers, and consumers tend to trust their heroes and role models blindly.”

    The idea of framing specific guidelines for the advertisement of such games is to inform advertisers as well as members of the public what criteria will be uses to scrutinise advertisements against which we complaints have been received, thereby making the industry safer and more transparent.

    As per a recent KPMG study, online gaming grew 45 per cent in FY20 with the user base surpassing 365 million by March 2020 on real-money games. The card-based and fantasy segments both achieved strong traction. As India is a mobile-first country, more than 90 per cent of online gamers play games on their phones. The online gaming market, worth more than $500 million now, could be worth $1.1 billion by 2021. In 2019, around 5.6 billion mobile gaming apps were downloaded in India – the highest in the world and representing nearly 13 per cent of gaming apps globally. Internet penetration in India is 31 per cent and KMPG expects it to reach 53 per cent by 2021 – which would give over 700 million people access to the internet and its wealth of gaming options.