Our smartphones are a gateway to games, news, entertainment and sports content online. Mobile is the first choice to answer any questions, accomplish any tasks, stay informed and be entertained for hours. Media consumption is growing as consumers gain access to their favorite content whenever and wherever they want. People around the world will spend an average of 122 minutes a day accessing the mobile internet via browsers and apps, an amount that has grown since 2010 when people spent only ten minutes a day on their mobile browser and apps.1
As consumers live their lives largely on their smartphones, they are spending increasing amounts of time with mobile apps. While brands know the importance of including mobile in their digital marketing strategies, apps continue to be a missed opportunity. We’ve heard some marketers say that apps offer limited opportunities to reach and engage audiences. However, new research from IPSOS, which looks at engagement across four prevalent app categories beyond social, found that apps provide something for everyone. Here are five key reasons why extending campaigns to the app environment can help brands reach relevant audiences.
5 reasons to appify your campaigns
Apps offer something for everyone - Around 9 in 10 smartphone users access apps regardless of age and gender – a major shift from when apps were thought to be the preserve of the young and tech-savvy.3
- Reach household shopper’s with apps - App users are just as likely as smartphone users to be employed, educated and affluent – 73% say they are the main shopper in their household, making them a valuable audience for brands.3
- Gamers aren’t who you think they are - Contrary to popular misconceptions, women are just as likely than men to play games via an app (40% of women compared to 41% of men).3 Game app usage among females spans all ages. It is highest amongst those aged 18-34 (50% do so), but there’s remarkably little decrease in older age groups.
- Apps are for leaning back - Two thirds of smartphone audiences use news, games, entertainment or sports apps (67%).3 Apps tend to be more of a laid back environment used for specific tasks or entertainment, whereas mobile web is used for browsing, research and discovery.
- Apps are a daily habit that keep us coming back - Users snack on apps throughout the day -- entertainment, news, sports and gaming app users tend to engage between 2-3 times daily. Around 60% (59%) of app users across the four categories come back daily.
Apps play an important role, but we often hear a wide range of questions from advertisers about in-app ads, including topics on brand safety, viewability, creatives and measurement. According to the new research, 66% of video ads are viewable on the web and apps (not including YouTube) across desktop, mobile and tablet — showing no change from 2016. At Google Marketing Platform4, our goal is to give brands the confidence to use mobile apps to reach relevant audiences.
With Google Marketing Platform App Verification and brand safety targeting, marketers can ensure their ads were delivered in the right context to the right users - making mobile app a smart and safe tool for digital brand advertising. ActiveView measurement is available in apps for more viewable campaigns. Brands can also take advantage of beautiful impactful creative that are less intrusive and more engaging with formats like native and mobile video in-app.
In the world of mobile apps, there is something for everyone. The amount and variety of apps, and the diversity of their usage, provides opportunities for brands to build meaningful relationships with their target audiences.
