There’s a lot to like about offerwalls: an eCPM as high as $1,500, 5x-7x higher retention, and ARPDAU up to $0.45 are just a few reasons why it’s an appealing ad monetization strategy. And, the offerwall can benefit your app’s entire monetization ecosystem, from boosting IAPs to increasing ad engagement rates. There are certain instances where the offerwall is more effective, so let’s see what kinds of games the offerwall performs best with to help determine if it’s the right ad unit for you.
Offerwall benchmarks in the US:
Does your app have a deep in-app purchase economy?
An offerwall gives users rewards for completing tasks, and in order for this to work, the reward needs to be appealing. Games with a complex economy that includes hard currencies - currencies that are difficult to accumulate and are often paid for using real money - do well with an offerwall because their rewards are highly valuable for users. The types of games that usually have these deep in-app purchase economies tend to be those with long-term retention and high engagement, like RPG, simulation, and strategy.
With a deep app economy that lets you offer hard currencies as rewards, offerwalls can encourage users to make in-app purchases . In fact, offerwall users are 10-14x more likely to make an in-app purchase because as they earn rewards, they get to enjoy premium resources that often improve gameplay or lead to advantages that they want to maintain as they keep playing.
In a webinar with game developers Kongregate about their experience using the ironSource offerwall, they discussed how integrating the offerwall across a dozen different titles led to an increase in IAPs from both paying and non-paying users. In 2019, the offerwall made up 19% of their total ad revenue, lifted IAP revenue from non-paying users by 10x-14x, and significantly increased the ARPU of paying users.
Can your product team implement the offerwall creatively?
Engagement rates tend to be high with offerwalls, so developers are able to achieve a high eCPM and boost revenue when it’s optimized. Take the fact that the offerwall eCPM for Android in the US can be more than $1,500 and ARPDAU can be higher than rewarded video:
Games that can get creative with the placement, timing, user segmentation, and promotion of offerwalls can achieve these boosts to eCPM and ARPDAU. For example, product teams on RPG games can adjust the traffic driver icon for special promotions, otherwise known as currency sales, and they can segment users by their progressions in the game and offer higher rewards for experienced players. These creative approaches help optimize the offerwall and maximize revenue without affecting the user experience.
DomiNations is a MMO combat strategy game that shows how a creative strategy using offerwall promotions can drive up ARPDAU and eCPM while giving their other monetization strategies a boost. They previously ran 2x credit promotions on their offerwall and then increased the payout to 4x during the US holidays. These offerwall promotions increased user engagement and subsequently led to a 50% increase in rewarded video revenue, 3x-5x higher ARPDAU, and a 50%-200% boost to eCPM.
Do users tend to stick around for a long time?
There’s a good chance that users who engage with an offerwall once will continue to use it as they earn rewards that encourage them to keep playing. The longer they play, the higher the retention rates, and offerwall user retention is 5x-7x higher than non-offerwall users at D7, D14, and D30:
If your game has long-term retention already, an offerwall can give you an added boost that enhances your overall monetization strategy. As users play your game for longer, you have more monetization opportunities, like showing rewarded videos.
Square Enix, the developers behind the simulation game WAR OF THE VISIONS FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS experienced the benefits of the offerwall for retention and engagement, which led to higher incremental ad revenue and eCPM. They already implemented rewarded video and had a deep in-app purchase economy - then they implemented the ironSource offerwall. The offerwall helped preserve IAP rates while boosting ad revenues 2x, increasing ARPDAU 5x, and achieving an eCPM 2x the industry benchmark as users played the game longer and engaged with more rewarded videos.
Can you check all of these boxes?
If your game and team fulfill the criteria we just laid out, an offerwall could be a great fit with your existing monetization strategy. Driving incremental ad revenue and boosting in-app purchase rates - all while keeping users playing your game - are major benefits this ad unit offers to the right kinds of games. So take a second look at your app economy, consider your team’s creative strategies for implementation, and check your retention rates - is an offerwall right for your game?
For further reading about the offerwall, check out our offerwall eBook.
Learn more by checking out our other blogs, including ‘Mobile Gaming Industry Trends in 2021’, ‘What Is K Factor?’, and ‘Best Practices for Idle Game Design & Monetization’
