Study shows mobile game developers are seeing success with TV ads

farm heroes tv

With more and more users moving to smartphones these days, some major mobile game publishers have taken their advertising business to television in an effort to cast a wider net. Chances are you’ve seen one of these commercials within the past month, including this one for Clash of Clans.

And you’re probably going to start seeing a lot more of them, because apparently they’re working. According to new data from analytics firm App Annie, some mobile game developers are seeing significant boosts in App Store and Google Play Store rankings for their titles following TV campaigns…

Here’s an excerpt from App Annie’s report (via AppleInsider):

Television advertising appears to be becoming an increasingly common marketing channel for mobile game publishers. While successes have been evident in Japan for some time, including titles such as パズル&ドラゴンズ (Puzzle & Dragons), the practice is now spreading to Western markets. In February, Farm Heroes Saga, Big Fish Casino, and Clash of Clans all saw gains in rankings following TV commercials aired in the United States.

Farm Heroes Saga made major gains in iOS revenue in February, giving publisher King three of the Top 10 positions. This will be good news for King as it seeks to demonstrate its longevity to support its upcoming IPO. The expected share price at this IPO is likely to value King at around $7.6 billion. Farm Heroes Saga received extensive TV and print campaigns in the United Kingdom and United States, and performed strongly in both markets.

Another app receiving extensive TV commercials in the United States in February was Big Fish Casino, which made significant gains to join the Top 10 games by iOS revenue. 

And here are a few examples of television spots for mobile games:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSdJtNen-EA

It’s crazy to think mobile games have become mainstream enough and profitable enough to warrant their own TV commercials. And no one probably knows more about that than developer King, who went public earlier this week. Thanks to its mega hit Candy Crush, it’s now worth some $7 billion.

So what about those who can’t afford to advertise on TV? There’s a trend developing in that space as well. App Annie doesn’t mention it, but over the past several months, app developers have been turning to social media celebrities with large follower counts on apps like Vine for alternative marketing.

On a related note, Apple is rumored to be working on a new TV product that will allow iOS devs to take their mobile games to the big screen. Seems like good timing.