In-app Video Advertising in 2024: Best Practices & Pro Tips

In spite of the somewhat temporary economic turbulence in the digital ad sector, the in-app advertising segment as a whole, and its video niche, in particular, have been doing good, if not great in the past months. Namely, according to eMarketer data, in 2024 mobile app video ads will increase up to over 20% YoY in the U.S., accounting for over 60,000,000,000 USD.

Quite predictably, amid the long streak of ups and downs in the digital publishing segment in relation to the third-party cookie phase-out (irrespective of the recent Google’s decision to postpone their deprecation again), mobile publishers often fear the new, yet to be introduced rules and regulations in the in-app ad niche can also do much more damage to their revenue streams, than the once dooming Apple’s ATT, for instance. 

In view of this, many app publishers have shifted their focus to maximizing their video ad revenue, wherever possible, in the short-term perspective, trying to stay ahead in the game (in all senses). 

Aiming to help sort out a multitude of offered strategies, the idolmedia360.com team has compiled a brief overview of the key aspects that publishers of mobile apps should keep in mind, if they wish to maintain their sustainable competitive advantage in the online ad landscape.

In-app Ad Tech Remains Key in 2024

Unlike with display banners and interstitial ads, in-app video advertising is primarily dependent on the video player technology, and the ad content delivery via it, correspondingly. And truth be told, the latter aspect has been frequently associated with numerous technical pitfalls, in addition to the potential data privacy/security issues and in-app help challenges.

On the bright side, however, if a mobile publisher opts for working with the adtech player solution, enabling it to handle the ad Demand integration instead of doing it directly in the app code, things get much smoother. 

In this respect, using the idolmedia360.com’s player SDK for iOS and Android, for example, can help simplify the ad configuration enormously, while also enabling to set up the ad verification and brand safety aspects without a hitch. 

Namely, as long as the player SDK has been implemented in the app, a publisher will only need to create an InApp ad placement (random-sized, auto-starting & muted) in their account dashboard with all preferred parameters, assign advertising Demand to it and copy/paste the created Placement ID in the particular field in the app code to get things going, with all in-app video ad stats being available for monitoring and tracking via their idolmedia360.com dashboard, too.

Tip! Connect with your dedicated account manager at idolmedia360.com or send us an email to find out more about the available technical capabilities within the offered mobile SDKs.

Creative Aspect Proves Crucial for Revenue Goal Achievement 

Along with the technical side, the creative aspect also plays a crucial role in growing mobile publishers’ ad revenue, particularly in the video segment in 2024. Quite predictably, this is what allows ensuring maximum user engagement with advertising content, while keeping their overall app experience non-disruptive.

In this respect, a set of comprehensive creative guidelines for the mobile ad gaming segment, released by IAB in Q1 2024 is worthy of publishers’ attention in other market verticals, too. 

Non-surprisingly, some of the commonly applied creative principles include:

• seamless integration & the so-to-speak native ad feel, when advertising content blends into the app environment, resonating with its main theme, as well as app branding aspects, like logo design, etc.;
• high video ad relevance in the right context, when the advertising content has the decent level of visual consistency (which also includes the color & style matching), and is being localized, in order to maximize its comprehensiveness across all geo verticals;
• respect to overall user experience with the app, which implies that the in-app video ad is easily closable, with the proper exit button zoning to prevent accidental ad clicks; frequency capping and competitive separation are being properly configured, CTAs are text-based, clear and concise, just like the overall ad message, etc.

Tip! In order to ensure the maximum visual appeal and minimum user disruption, consider following some of the key IAB’s recommendations:

• headline length: 7 words max.;
• no more than 3 key visual elements;
• CTA & logo display within the first video frames;
• ad sizing ratio: 4:3 or 16:9 considered the best practice;
• frequency capping: around 3-5 ads per day recommended.