Global
Report
Mobile Ad Creative Index: 2023
The Mobile Ad Creative Index for 2023 demonstrates that mobile advertising continues to expand despite macroeconomic headwinds and evolving privacy regulations, with creative innovation remaining a primary driver of growth. Across five key verticals—gaming, entertainment, finance, e‑commerce, and dating—the index identifies playable ads as the most cost‑effective format for gaming installs (CPI $1.31), while native and banner ads dominate entertainment, finance, e‑commerce, and dating categories. Banner advertising delivers the lowest CPA for e‑commerce purchases ($4.13), whereas interstitials achieve the highest Day 7 ROAS in dating and social applications. Platform disparities are pronounced; iOS campaigns incur higher CPIs, particularly for video formats—over three times the Android cost in finance ($10.66 vs $3.33). Video remains less efficient than native or banner formats across most verticals, yet multi‑page experiences that combine video, playable elements, and endcards can lift install rates by approximately 20%. Playable ads, traditionally associated with gaming, are increasingly effective in finance, dating, and e‑commerce when gamified or personalized. The index also highlights the strategic value of interactive formats that collect audience data and align with user motivations such as competition or exploration. Longer mobile video ads (31‑60 seconds) can boost conversions by up to 50%, and authentic user‑generated content focused on problem‑solution narratives performs strongly in programmatic in‑app campaigns. These findings underscore the importance of data‑driven creative strategies, storytelling depth, and format experimentation for maximizing mobile ad effectiveness in 2023.
LiftoffJan 2023
Financial
Gaming Deals Report: Navigating Turbulence (H1’23)
The first half of 2023 marked a significant downturn in gaming industry deal activity, characterized by a sharp contraction in total deal value across private investments, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and public offerings. Total private investment fell to $1.5 billion across 239 deals, representing a fivefold decline in value compared to the same period in 2022. M&A activity saw an even more dramatic 31x drop in value, falling to $0.9 billion as strategic investors shifted focus toward internal restructuring, layoffs, and cost optimization rather than aggressive expansion. The venture capital landscape remains dominated by early-stage activity, as pre-seed and seed rounds are less susceptible to macroeconomic volatility. While the number of early-stage deals remained relatively stable, the total capital raised shrank by more than half to $269 million. Late-stage investments have largely paused due to a closed IPO window and a lack of viable exit opportunities, leading to a disconnect between investor expectations and startup valuations. Geographically, North America led early-stage VC activity with 24 deals, followed by Western Europe and the MENA region. Public markets remained muted, with companies increasingly choosing to postpone listings or engage in share buybacks. Despite the general market cooling, artificial intelligence has emerged as a resilient niche; investments in AI-related gaming companies rose to $214.1 million across 19 deals in the first half of 2023. Analysts anticipate a potential recovery in the latter half of the year, driven by the closing of major pending deals, such as the Savvy Games Group acquisition of Scopely and Microsoft’s pursuit of Activision Blizzard, alongside a significant amount of unallocated venture capital waiting to be deployed.
InvestGameJan 2023
