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Global White Paper on Mobile Advertising & Marketing Game H1 2022
1 Jan 2022191 pages~193 min full read
The mobile advertising ecosystem contracted in H1 2022, with the total number of advertisers falling 5.79% to approximately 83,400 and creative volume dropping 27% to 40 million assets.
Mobile-game advertising costs remain high in key markets, with the U.S. and Japan recording average CPMs of $27.54 and $25.93, while iOS campaigns command a 15% price premium over Android.
While playable ads offer the lowest cost-per-install (CPI), banner formats currently generate the strongest return on ad spend (ROAS).
Audience targeting premiums are significant, with impressions for female users and the 55–64 age demographic costing 13% more than other segments.
Consumer interest in emerging tech remains low, with only 16% of players expressing curiosity about NFTs and 32% about metaverse features.
Influencer marketing is losing ground to social proof, as friend-based recommendations outperform celebrity influencers by a factor of four.
The Asia-Pacific region (excluding China) was the only market to experience a net increase in advertisers during the first half of 2022.
The first half of 2022 saw a contraction across the mobile‑app advertising ecosystem, with the total number of advertisers falling 5.79 % to a historic low of roughly 83 400 and creative volume dropping 27 % to 40 million assets. This downward pressure was most pronounced among mobile‑game advertisers, whose pool shrank to about 83 000 in January, while non‑game categories such as shopping apps retained the largest share of spend (≈12.5 % of advertisers and 17.2 % of creatives). Regional variation was stark: Europe and North America dominated non‑game advertising, whereas the Asia‑Pacific region, excluding China, was the only market with a net increase in advertisers.
Mobile‑game advertising displayed divergent cost dynamics. The United States and Japan posted the highest average CPMs at $27.54 and $25.93 respectively, with iOS campaigns costing roughly 15 % more than Android. Female users and the 55‑64 age cohort commanded a 13 % premium on impressions, while South Korea recorded the peak CPI at $13.90. Playable ads delivered the lowest CPI but suffered the weakest return on ad spend, whereas banner formats generated the strongest ROAS. Strategy titles leaned heavily on video‑only creatives (>90 %) and began integrating casual‑puzzle mechanics to broaden appeal; interest in emerging formats remained modest, with only 16 % of players expressing curiosity about NFTs and 32 % about metaverse features.
Creative strategies are shifting toward motivation‑driven, user‑centric formats such as rewarded video and playable ads to counter post‑IDFA fragmentation. Narrative‑driven ads are proving effective for simulation games targeting female audiences, delivering $12 million in revenue across key Western markets. AR‑enhanced placements on platforms like Snapchat achieve double the attention and 1.7 × the immersion of standard formats, while friend‑based recommendations outperform celebrity influencers by a factor of four. Regional opportunities are emerging in Tier‑2/3 India through vernacular campaigns and OEM inventory, and Turkey’s
