In between whacking some zombies on their smartphone game Into The Dead, mobile gamers have been watching 15 second video spots for the premiere of AMC’s The Walking Dead.
PikPok, the developers of mobile zombie-basher Into the Dead, designed the video interstitial in collaboration with Kiip, a native mobile advertising company. Users were shown the video whenever they leveled up or beat their high score. Those who watched it earned extra in-game currency.
The Walking Dead campaign was part of a beta test of Kiip’s new video rewards product. Kiip announced today that it would be rolling out video to all clients that use its mobile rewards advertising platform.
Kiip CEO Brian Wong said in a release that the new video reward product succeeds in driving engagement because it “respects users and gives them the choice to engage with the video. Brands can reach mobile users during moments of happiness, when users are most receptive to brand messaging, instead of with impressions that lack the context necessary for meaningful engagement on mobile,” he said.
Kiip’s reward ads target users during “mobile moments,” when they’ve achieved something in a game, task manager or fitness app. It claims that being rewarded by a brand during these highly-engaged moments creates a positive association.
A study of Kiip rewards ads run by IPG in June found that they boosted brand favorability and purchase intent significantly – 31% of the study participants who saw a Kiip reward ad expressed desire to purchase, compared to only 18% who saw display ads and 17% who saw no ads.
Already the video ads are seeing a lot of demand. Kiip says they have generated CPMs of up to $30, much higher than the Q2 industry average for pre-roll at $9 per thousand (according to TubeMogul).
“Video is a powerful mechanism that provides a win-win-win situation for ourselves, our players, and advertisers,” said Mario Wynands, managing director of PikPok, developer of Into the Dead.
Introducing Kiip Rewarded Video from kiip on Vimeo.
