Playable ads

What a playable ad is.

A playable ad is a short interactive experience that runs inside the ad itself. Someone sees a prompt, tries a small piece of the experience with a tap or a swipe, and then reaches an end screen that asks them to take the next step.

The format grew up in mobile game advertising, because the most direct way to sell a game is to let someone try it. It can also work for other products when the idea can be shown through a small action, such as trying a feature, solving a tiny problem or making a choice and seeing the result.

A playable ad is also a different thing from a branded game. A branded game is a destination that people visit and may return to. A playable ad lives inside a paid placement, lasts a very short time and has one job, which is to get someone to the next step.

When a playable ad makes sense.

Playable ads tend to suit products that are easier to understand by trying them. Mobile games and apps are the obvious case, and any offer with a simple, satisfying action can be a candidate. They also make more sense when the campaign has enough budget to test a few versions, because a single playable tells you very little.

They're a weak choice when your product can't be reduced to one small action, when your audience isn't on placements that accept the format, or when a good video would tell the story for far less production effort. In those cases we'd recommend the simpler ad.

Where playable ads can run.

Support varies by platform and network, and it changes over time. Some placements accept playable units and some don't, and those that do set their own rules on file format, file size, how the click-through works and what has to appear on screen. We confirm the current requirements for your specific platforms and networks in the scope, before any design work begins.

A unit made for one network may need to be adjusted for another, so we plan the versions up front.

What makes a playable work.

The opening moment carries most of the weight. People didn't ask to play, so the first screen has to show them what to do at a glance, often with a simple visual hint. If it takes reading to understand, most people won't try it.

The experience should be short and should end with a clear next step. The end screen is where the click happens, so it gets as much attention as the interaction.

It also has to be honest. A playable should show something close to what the person will actually get. An ad that shows an experience the product doesn't offer can attract people who leave immediately, and it can run into platform policies and advertising rules. Your qualified reviewer stays responsible for the legal questions.

Why the same team builds and buys.

Playable ads are expensive to learn from if the people building them never see the delivery data. When the same team buys the media, the numbers from each placement can go straight into the next version. We can see whether people dropped off at the first screen, played but didn't click, or clicked and then failed to convert, and each of those points to a different fix.

Ad budgets are identified separately from the build. If you already have a media buyer or agency, we can build the units for them and agree on how the data gets shared.

How we measure a playable ad.

We look at the sequence of steps. That means how many people saw the ad, how many interacted, how many reached the end screen, how many clicked and how many went on to install, sign up or buy. For apps, installs per thousand impressions and cost per install are common measures, and we follow what happens after the install wherever your data allows it.

What a platform can report varies, so we agree on the measures for each one in the scope. We also judge a playable against another format running under comparable conditions, such as a video, so you can see whether the extra production effort paid off.