This is for anyone who wants to promote their game through video advertising, playable advertising, ASO, YouTuber tie-ups, and TV commercials.
In this article, we will the characteristics of each method, the market price, and the points for effective promotion as it will help you to know which method to choose when conducting your game promotion.
table of content
Reference Cases of Game Promotion
- Examples of Video Advertising
- Examples of Playable Ads
- ASO Case Study
- Examples of YouTuber Collab
- Examples of TV Commercials
Cost Rates for Game Promotion
- Video Advertising
- For Playable Ads
- In the Case of ASO
- To Collab with YouTubers
Tips for Effective Game Promotion
Summary
Reference Cases of Game Promotion
Video advertising refers to all advertising that uses video. Although it also includes TV commercials and taxi advertisements, this article will limit its discussion to web and SNS advertisements only.
Unlike TV commercials, the major feature of web and SNS video ads is that users can be analyzed immediately using tools.
By verifying if the video is fully watched to the end (complete viewing rate), the part when the viewer is leaving, and the number of conversions for ad links, it is possible to make improvements such as changing the length of the video.
Therefore, practice and verification can be repeated frequently.
This SNS video advertisement for the RPG game “Kotodama Brave” was provided by Peace Co., Ltd.
Unlike most RPGs, this game is unique in that “the character you create changes depending on the name you give it.
For example, you can enter “Oda Nobunaga” and see how a samurai is born. It conveys the fun of “naming” that is not found in other RPG games, and makes people who see it want to try it, “What will happen if you use your name? “
In this way, if you deliver video advertisements that convey the “uniqueness of the game,” users will be interested in it.
SNS video advertisement for the sound game “Dancing of Cho-Aniki” provided by LIG Co., Ltd.
“Dancing of Cho-Aniki” is a re-release of “Cho-Aniki”, which was originally released as a shooting game on the PC Engine in the 1990s.
In this ad, instead of the content of the game itself, the content of “The big brother who took the world by storm is back!” is placed at the very beginning of the video. The bolded message is emphasized with the same characters as in the past games.
This makes the viewer think, “It’s that game I used to be addicted to! I want to play it again after a long time! and this video can lead them to install the app.
In this way, it is important to identify the target audience and make the content interesting to them.
Anyone can post video ads on YouTube or Twitter by opening an advertising account and uploading ads.
However, to successfully manage your ads, you need to know about targeting and other aspects. If you want professional support because you do not know, we recommend that you ask a company that manages advertisements to manage your advertisement.
Playable ads are a type of video advertising that allows users to actually play the game in the ad and are often placed on social networking sites such as Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.
The fact that “users can actually play” is a major difference from general video ads.
This allows users to experience a part of the game, which is more interesting than video ads, and encourages downloads of the game. It is said that this makes it three times more advantageous than general video advertisements.
Playable advertisement for “Courtesan – Nurture the Strongest Villainess”, an RPG game for women offered by FUNALL TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.
The system allows scenes from the game to be played on the ad. Specifically, it is a scene where the main character chooses one of two types of clothing, which can be selected by tapping a button.
The major point of this ad is that it is simple. There are only two choices, and the setup of the “choose your clothes” scene is immediately understandable. When the playable ad is simple and easy to understand in this way, it is easy for people who see the ad to think, “Let’s give it a try.”
In addition, after the choice is made, the results are displayed, such as “The messenger’s heart has been drawn. This stirs up the interest of those who have seen the ad, making them wonder “What will happen next?” or “What would have happened if I had chosen the other option?” and so on, making them want to download the game.
Compared to before and after the introduction of playable ads, 210% of the traffic was obtained, and the CTR improved to 150%. It contributed to the further appeal of the work.
Thus, the key to creating effective playable ads is to make them simple and easy to understand and to generate interest in the rest of the game.
“Tofu Shoujo” is a game with unique content in which players tap the screen to make a girl character jump and land on blocks of tofu that appear one after another. The same thing you play in the game can be experienced in the ad.
The point of this advertisement is that ” you can immediately understand the fun of the game in a short time. ” Since all you have to do is jump the girl at the right time, you can understand how to play the game in just a few seconds.
As a result, people who have played the game through the ads naturally feel that they want to play more because they have gotten the hang of it.
Compared before and after the introduction of these playable ads, both CTR and CVR increased. In particular, CVRs were tripled compared to non-playable ads (image ads and video ads).
Games like this one, where the original game itself is simple and easy to understand, have a particularly high affinity with playable ads.
*Reference source: DIGIDAY “Possibilities of ‘Playable Ads’
ASO stands for “App Store Optimization.” It refers to taking measures to ensure that your game appears at the top of the list when users search for your game in the app store, thereby increasing the install rate.
The biggest point of this ASO is that you can practice by yourself without spending money. If you understand how search engines work and get the hang of it, you can do it yourself.
So how does a search engine determine search rankings? In a nutshell, it comes down to whether the game is what users are looking for.
There are multiple criteria by which search engines judge this, one of which is “Does the title and text contain keywords? ” Search engines will judge games that include keywords entered by users in the title and text as “games that users are looking for” and display them higher in the search results.
In addition, “several downloads” and “ratings and reviews” are also important criteria for determining search rankings. In devising game titles, the number of downloads will begin to rise and high ratings will increase as a result of such devising, and this will finally be reflected in the search rankings.
Therefore, it will take some time for the app to appear at the top of the app store after taking measures. It is important not to rush too much and to make steady improvements.
Reference source: Repro “What is ASO?”
Here are some examples of how these efforts have yielded results.
This is a page in the Google Play Store for “Wooper Breeding Game” by mozukuapp.
It is a simple game of nurturing with the theme of “healing,” and this page conveys that theme at a glance.
First, the title of the game contains the keyword “healing“. For this reason, it is easy to be displayed at the top when searching for “game healing”.
(No. 1 as of February 2022)
The game title and icon are the first things users see when they search for an app in the app store . Therefore, it is extremely important to include keywords in the title that describe the characteristics of the game in order to achieve high rankings in search results.
Also, the screenshots also convey a “healing” feeling. The image of a axolotl staring at you makes visitors to the site feel that they will really be healed by the axolotl if they play with this application.
Thus, in ASO, it is important to first “include keywords in the title” and “convey the game’s world view with icons and screenshot images. By devising pages on the app store in this way, it will be easier to interest users who search for the game.
The feature of this page is, “It is an image based on the user’s psychology.” Specifically, the images clearly show the dynamic characters and weapons based on the psychology of users who “want to enjoy the exhilaration and power that only a battle game can provide. Therefore, it is possible to attract users who visit the app store through a search.
In fact, after changing the app store image to this image, the number of organic installs increased by more than 160%.
*Reference source: GAME ASO
In this way, it is important to analyze ‘what the user is looking for and reflect it in the screenshots and icon images”. Include points in the image that users find attractive.
A YouTuber collab or sponsorship is when a company pays a YouTuber to produce a video introducing its products or services.
Unlike advertisements, these videos can introduce products and services without feeling uncomfortable in the YouTuber’s original plan. The main feature of this is that it adds a sense of entertainment and eases the PR.
Another advantage is that even people who were not interested in the game until now or didn’t know about it can easily get interested in it, saying, “If this YouTuber says it, it might be good.“
You can use the popularity of YouTubers to expand your recognition.
A collab/sponsorship video between YouTuber “Wai Wai no Game Jikkyou Channel” that distributes game commentary videos and the RPG game “Black Knight and Shiro no Maou” provided by Mynet Game Inc. While actually playing on a smartphone, they explain interesting points and tricks.
The point of this video is that “Wai Wai’s Game Live Channel” uses his skillful talking skills to explain the game in the style of a mail-order program. He explains in a light-hearted manner, saying things like, “There are also scenes like this! Many viewers were drawn in by the lighthearted commentary. Many viewers commented, “Interesting,” “I’ll go download it,” and so on.
One of the advantages of a YouTuber tie-up is that it adds an element of entertainment, as shown in this video. By adding an element of fun, even viewers who were not originally interested in the game can become interested in playing it.
A tie-up video of “Zukkun ch.”, a VTuber (virtual YouTuber) that distributes live games, and “Ash Tale -Kaze no Tairiku-” provided by XLEGEND.
While playing the game, the virtual character explains how to proceed with the game.
Another feature of this YouTuber is that he has a dedicated fan base because of his interesting talk. As soon as a video is uploaded to his channel, he is immediately greeted with comments such as, “It’s funny!”, “I’m rooting for you!”
Even in this video, there are many enthusiastic comments about downloading the game, such as “It’s fun! I want to try it” and “I just pre-registered”.
In this way, when you tie up with a YouTuber who has a dedicated fan base, fans who think, “I’ll buy it because my favorite Mr. XX is introducing it! and then purchase the product or service. Therefore, if a YouTuber has a solid core fan base, tie-ups can be expected to have a certain effect.
This type of YouTuber is recommended if you want to increase sales on a small scale without fail.
There are mainly 3 ways to make a request
- Direct request to YouTubers
- Requests can be made through YouTuber-matching platforms.
- Request through a YouTuber casting company
The upper ones are less expensive but require more time and effort. On the other hand, the lower ones are less time-consuming but more expensive.
Unlike web advertisements that are targeted, TV commercials are viewed by an unspecified number of people regardless of age or gender. Therefore, it is suitable for a promotion aimed at “expanding recognition.”
Another feature of TV commercials is that they “easily uncover latent interest.” Compared to the Internet, which is a “proactive” media that is often used to actively gather information, TV is a “passive” media that is often watched “casually”.
Therefore, on the Internet, people on the internet often feel “disturbed” when they see advertisements they are not interested in and tend to ignore them, whereas, on TV, many people somehow glance at them and watch them even if they are not interested.
Therefore, it is easy to attract the interest of people who were not previously interested.
A TV commercial commemorating the 6th anniversary of “Nyanko Great War” provided by Ponos Co., Ltd.
“Nyanko Great War” is characterized by the surreal and amusing feline characters that appear in the game. In this commercial, many of the characters appear in a real city.
For example, the sight of a cat appears in the window of a clothing store and lifts the skirt of a mannequin, or appears in a bowl of oden and is dunked by a human with chopsticks. This is so comical, that you can’t laugh but smile and laugh a little.
It can be expected that some viewers who see this and think it looks interesting will open their phones and install the game after the commercial.
TV commercials have a short air time. Therefore, as in the case of this commercial, it is important to clarify the “point to be conveyed,” and make sure that this point is conveyed to the viewer even in a short period through the composition and direction.
There are two ways:
(1) an advertising agency can be requested to handle everything from commercial production to “frame acquisition” for airing commercials
(2) an advertising agency can be requested to handle only “frame acquisition” and another advertising production company can be requested to handle the production of commercials.
In the case of requesting everything from an advertising agency, the agency is a one-stop shop, so there is no need to request and communicate with other companies. On the other hand, since commercial production is sometimes performed by a group company or subsidiary of the advertising agency, careful coordination is necessary to convey your wishes.
When outsourcing commercial production to another company, it is easier to communicate smoothly because there is no agency in between. However, in addition to requesting the agency, it takes time and effort to request the production company separately.
Cost Rates for Game Promotion
The cost of video advertising is divided into production cost and placement costs.
The cost of outsourcing to a video production company is approximately 300,000-1,000,000 yen.
- Will you create a new video from scratch or use materials prepared by the company?
- How many videos will be produced?
- whether narration will be added to the videos, and what other factors will affect the cost?
Rates for placing video ads on social networking sites and other platforms are bidding-based, where ad spaces are auctioned off. Of the platforms used for video ads, this section describes YouTube and Twitter, which are compatible with game-related video ads.
YouTube advertising costs
Charges for advertising on YouTube are incurred when the following actions are taken after a video ad is served.
- When the video is viewed for more than 30 seconds without being skipped immediately
- When a user clicks on the ad link.
Example: If 1,000 users watched for 30 seconds or more and the bidding unit price is 10 yen, the cost of the ad is 10,000 yen.
Twitter advertising costs
Ads on Twitter are charged when the video ad is delivered and the following actions occur.
- When the video is played for more than 3 seconds
- When the video is played for 6 seconds
- When the video is viewed in full-screen mode
Actions and engagements other than those listed above (display of video ads, replies, likes, etc.) will not be charged. The advantage is that you will not be charged for ads that are viewed after they are spread.
There are not that many production companies that can handle the production of playable ads yet, and the specific “market price” is not yet clear.
However, it is said that production costs are higher than general video advertising.
If you do everything yourself, it will cost you nothing.
If you are not confident that you can take the measures yourself, you can outsource the work.
However, there are still few companies offering ASO as a service, and the “market price” for outsourcing is not clear.
There are multiple ways to calculate costs. Here are the two main patterns.
This pattern is calculated based on the number of YouTuber channel subscribers you want to request.
In this case, the approximate cost is the “number of subscribers x 2 to 4 yen.”
For example, if a YouTuber has 500,000 subscribers, the request cost would be 1 to 2 million yen.
*Reference source: Insta Lab
This pattern is calculated based on the average number of views of the videos uploaded by to YouTuber to their channel over the past 30 days. In this case, the approximate cost is “average number of views x 2-10 yen.
For example, if a YouTuber has an average of 500,000 views, the request cost would be approximately 1-5 million yen.
*Reference source: Market Driven
Tips for Effective Game Promotion
We have reviewed several promotion methods, each with different characteristics and market prices.
It is important to choose them well to have a successful promotion.
The appropriate promotion method depends on the purpose of the promotion.
For example, if the objective is “to expand awareness in a short period even with a large budget,” you can work with big-name YouTubers or TV commercials may be appropriate.
On the other hand, if your goal is to steadily increase downloads while keeping your budget as low as possible, small-scale advertisements or ASO may be appropriate.
To select the best method that suits your company, it is important to first clarify “what is the promotion for” and “how much can you spend”.
To increase effectiveness, it is key to consider the actions taken by users in steps, and combine the right promotion methods for each step.
For example, there are cases where a user leaves an app store after placing a video ad because the app store page that the user visited after clicking on the ad was difficult to understand. In this case, the action that the user takes after viewing the ad, “click on the ad and visit the app store page,” is not taken, and this does not lead to an increase in the number of downloads.
To prevent this, it is important to perform ASO well together with the publication of advertisements.
In this way, it is important to consider the actions taken by users who “recognize” a game through advertisements and other means until they actually “download” the game, and combine promotional methods that match each step to achieve even greater results.
Especially with video ads and playable ads, multiple types can be distributed and the effectiveness of each can be measured. Therefore, it is a good idea to prepare two or more materials to conduct such A/B testing and operate the more effective one.
It is also smoother to envision more than one strategy. This is because there are times when the promotion method you initially planned may not work.
For example, there may be a case where you have decided to do a tie-up with a YouTuber, but you just can’t find a YouTuber that meets your needs. In such a case, it is a good idea to have multiple candidates for promotion methods in mind beforehand so that you can take other measures as soon as possible.
Summary
In this article, we have introduced case studies of game promotion and the characteristics and costs of each promotional method.
There are two important points for effective promotion.
The first is to clarify the purpose and budget of the promotion . Once this is clarified, it will be easier to choose a suitable promotion method.
The second is to combine promotion methods for each user action . User actions are often divided into several stages, so it is effective to combine promotion methods that suit each stage.
These two points are important regardless of which promotion method you choose.
