Facebook Brings Game Demos to the Newsfeed with New ‘Playable Ads’

In an effort to allow gamers to try before buying or downloading a game, Facebook is introducing new ‘playable ads’ that let gamers experiment with a game right from their Newsfeeds. These ads will also help advertisers drive “higher-intent installs” from people who have tried with the game and are therefore more likely to play after installing.

Game developers such as Bagelcode and Rovio are already seeing results using this new format. Bagelcode tested playable ads and saw a 3.2X improvement in return on ad spend on Android and a 1.4X improvement in return on ad spend on iOS. And Rovio saw a 40% lower cost per paying user and a 70% lift in day seven return on ad spend.

The new playable ads will be available to all advertisers using the app install objective for ads in Facebook Newsfeed starting today. At the same time, Facebook is also testing “retention optimization” with select app advertisers to help them reach highly engaged players. 

With retention optimization, gaming marketers can deliver their ads to the people most likely to play their game, eventually helping the developers better monetize their apps. Beijing Fotoable is already seeing a 30% higher return on ad spend using retention optimization, compared to optimizing for installs.

Lastly, Facebook will also roll out “minimum ROAS bidding” over the next few weeks, that will let advertisers set a minimum spend to find the players most likely to make in-app purchases and eliminate spend on connecting with players less likely to engage.

To learn more about optimizing your gaming ads on Facebook, click here.