Best Mobile Ad Formats for Display Advertising Campaigns

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  • Post last modified:October 19, 2023

Wherever you go, your mobile device follows. Inevitably, mobile has become so ingrained in our lifestyle than any other medias.

As reported in Mary Meeker’s report mid of this year,

  • 29% Of people’s daily screen time are spent looking at smartphones
  • Global mobile data traffic grew nearly 70%
  • Mobile commands 24% of media time spent in the US
  • Mobile media time spent  is higher at 51% compared to desktop in the US

Consequently, mobile advertising is significant for brands and advertisers (when it is done right). So, it’s expected for many to wonder: What are the best mobile ad formats for my marketing campaigns?

Let’s face it. There’s no such thing as a universal ad format. So instead, let’s look at the available types of ads for mobile—traditional and trending. Understand how each works. Learn how to select the best mobile ad format to monetize your mobile marketing campaign.

Interstitial Ads

mobile ad format interstitials
Samples of mobile interstitial ads: (1) video interstitial (or videostitial) best for branding, (2) with image hotspots to show product info when tapped, and (3) with image slider enable users to compare effects of the featured product

Interstitial ads are visuals that cover the entire mobile screen at the size of 320 x 480 pixels. This is the most popular size as it allows for more context, clearer call-to-action, and more creative content like videos, store locator, and many others. This allows you to encourage more engagement hence lifting your SAR for better brand performance and recall.

Here are the interstitial sizes available but not limited to the following.

ad format interstitial size

It usually, appears at crucial moments during navigation, like the opening, browsing between pages, or in between games. It requires user action; typically click a button to close the ad or swipe to navigate to the desired content.

Interstitials are adopted straight from the web that fits perfectly on mobile. Its ability to grab a user’s undivided attention; especially fullscreen on mobile is incredibly appealing to advertisers. You don’t have to worry about mistaken click-throughs, as it only appears in between pages while an app is in use.

Advertisers can create beautiful and engaging content with high-quality artwork and compelling copy. This can reduce the disruption factor for users.

According to many experts, interstitial ads are best placed within games with levels. The natural break in gameplay between levels allows interstitials to appear unobtrusively. It is advised not to interrupt user experience. So, publishers should not push an interstitial ad in the middle of a game.

Interstitials’ performance has been reportedly good. InMobi’s interstitials have a 2-3x higher click-through rates compared to banner ads. On overall ad spending for interstitial is high. According to AppFlood, interstitial mobile ads accounted for 70% of mobile ad revenue globally in Q1 2014.

Pros of Interstitial Ads

  • Larger space
  • Broader message, exposure and memorization rate
  • Visually compelling
  • High impressions
  • High conversions
  • Can offer animated and interactive rich media content

Cons of Interstitial Ads

  • Can be highly intrusive—in the event of bad placement
  • High CTR may result from the difficulty to close the interstitial
  • Requires more design work and thought on proper placement
  • Will affect search engine rankings in Google (credit to Growth.pro, Malaysian SEO company)

Video Ads

mobile ad format video ads

Samples of mobile video ads in different display modes for varying purposes: (1) autoplay video, (2) square framed video, and (3) verticle video with an image overlay.

In-App video advertising has been steadily gaining traction. As mobile becomes the dominant ad channels, advertisers are devoting their ad spends on video. According to VentureBeat, mobile video ad spending triples in 2015, where global ad spend on video rise to 71 percent of total mobile ad spend in Q3. The expanse of video ads reach on mobile is mind-blowing. The engagement rate is high. This makes them suitable for advertising games and well-established brands.

A typical video ad runs 15- or 30-second when a user tap to play. While some advertisers invest in higher budget video ads that play automatically when in view. Video on mobile is pretty appealing. Unlike desktops, users are focused on video ads whenever they are engaged with the device. They don’t get to multitask around a video ad.

However, advertisers must be careful as it may backfire. A poorly made ad or placed inappropriately will frustrate users and cause them to close the app. So it’s important that video ads should be short (as mentioned in 15 to 30 seconds range). And, as we’ve said with previous formats, ad placements must be at a natural break in users’ app journey.

Brand advertisers should ensure that there’s an enticing screen grab to encourage users to play the video. They should think creatively when introducing a video to the users. Given its natural tendency to disrupt the user experience, advertisers should consider only reveal the video after a banner is clicked. Also, to minimize the risk of frustrating the users, autoplay video should be fired without audio and allow users the option to turn it on or off.

Mobile video play rates are higher on in-app (14.0%) compared to mobile web (8.3%). While video completion rates are slightly higher on in-app (53.3%) compared to mobile web (52.7%).

Pros of Video Ads

  • Users like them
  • Focuses attention
  • Good for brands

Cons of Video Ads

  • Expensive to produce
  • Can be intrusive when poorly placed
  • You cannot force viewership—if one has seen it before, chances are they wouldn’t want to watch it again. However, if your ad is fantastic, you might get more viewings. So best to allow users to share that video and hope for viral social shares.

Rewarded Video Ads

Rewarded Video Ad Formats

A rewarded video ad sample

Rewarded video ads offer users a value exchange- a free in-app reward for watching a video advertisement. For example, in a mobile game, a player can watch a skippable video to gain some in-app currency. Awards can also consist of an extra-life, hints, or other content that can help the player in the game.

The popularity of in-app purchases has been strongly linked to Rewarded Video Ads being one of the most preferred ways of mobile advertising. In 2017, global sales from in-app purchases had already reached $37 billion. On the other hand, studies show that 71% of players prefer watching in-app video ads rather than spending money on in-app purchases. Additionally, 52% of mobile game developers admit that rewarded video ads are their most popular form of in-app advertising.

Rewarded Video Ads aren’t only for games. The idea is that your application needs to offer a benefit to the watcher. For example, Spotify lets you watch a video ad to get up to thirty minutes of music without interruptions.

People should only be able to watch a Rewarded Video Advertisement if they opt to do so. The ad can be skippable, but the user should be informed that they won’t get the rewards if they close it.

The length is between 15 to 30 seconds for most of the platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. On the other hand, Google can allow a Rewarded Video Ad to be up to 60 seconds.

Typically, the longer the video, the more the user gets rewarded. As a publisher, you should remember that your advertisement gets 15 to 30 seconds of undisrupted play, and if you do it right, that time is more than enough to convince someone to tap on the link and download your application.

Just like the general video ads, rewarded video ads should be creative and fit the context.

Pros of Rewarded Video Ads

  • High engagement
  • High completion rate
  • High viewer satisfaction, as users get prizes after watching the video.

Cons of Rewarded Video Ads

  • Traffic is of low quality because the people watching the video aren’t necessarily interested in the ad. For many, the only purpose of watching Rewarded Videos is the reward they will get.
  • Many will watch the video but hardly may take action. Thus, there’s low interactivity.
  • Rewarded video ads don’t help with the Lifetime Value for the advertising party.

Expandable Ads

mobile ad format expandable

Sample mobile expandable ad with a combination of rich media like video, photo gallery, and social feeds.

The expandable ad is a type of rich media ad, but can be seen as a combination of banner and interstitial ads. It typically starts with a 320×50 pixels banner (teaser banner) and increases in size usually at 320×480 pixels following a tap. The expanded ad offers a large area for advertisers to deliver the intended advertising message. It is less intrusive as the expansion appears right on the app itself, rather than bringing users to a landing page.

Here are other expandable ad sizes you can explore.

mobile ad format expandable ad size

Expandable ads are a high-impact marketing strategy that helps to overcome banner blindness. Some advertising experts advised limiting the frequency of expandable ads on a website. Their rationale was that most visitors would likely tolerate occasional expanding ads that disrupt their experience. Also, if they encounter this constantly, it may get them frustrated.

However, on mobile apps, expandable gives different ad experience. Users are more likely to accept a full screen expanded ad on their app than being led to a website. Where it will disrupt the activities on the app itself. As rich media ads are designed to catch the eye and engage this may also pose an extremely intrusive threat. Therefore, it is imperative that the creative must not go overboard.

You may think that implementing high impact ad units may seem like an enormous task. But, it’s quite straightforward. Many ad platforms accept expandable ad units as third party tags. Meaning the process of implementing this is substantially similar to other banner ads. As explained in our previous article on HTML5 ads, you’ll just need to get reliable vendors to do the rendering during ad serving.

A study from John Lewis and the IAB found those exposed to expandable banners were 25% more likely to recall an ad than those exposed to static banners.

Pros of Expandable Ads

  • More information opportunities with the expansion unit—i.e. videos and interactivity
  • Obtain valuable tractions—through action-driven expansion where you can measure the number of times users view the ad content

Cons of Expandable Ads

  • May frustrate inexperienced users—as they missed the option to close the ad

Playable Ads

Playable Ads Sample

Playable ads, 1) flipping cards to get an offer on Amazon, 2) a game to complete, or ‘remind that the user wants to eat a burger so they open McDonald’s App 3) playable preview showing how easy it is to list items on Carousel, a buy-sell app

Playable ads are interactive ads that stimulate the actual app or a game. In a ‘try before buying’ kind of unit, users can know how the app works within an advertisement before deciding to install it.

Some may refer to Playable Ads like ‘micro-games,’ as they provide tiny snippets of the games for users to try. The ad may last between 15 to 60 seconds, depending mostly on how much time the user takes to ‘complete’ the task on the ad. Finally, there is a call-to-action, with the download being totally opt-in.

In some cases, apps that aren’t actually games can create simple games for ads and generate leads. Refer to the image above.

Here is the basic structure of a playable ad:

  • The tutorial: It should be between 3 to 5 seconds. During this time, you should also make it apparent to the people that they are playing on an ad and not the actual game.
  • Gameplay: The gameplay should be complete between 15 to 50 seconds. Remember, the controls may not be as complex as the original game, and you may omit some graphical elements to make the ad simple and sleeker.
  • A Call to Action: As soon as the ad is complete, you can ask the user if they are interested, and lead them to the associated app store.

A Playable ad should be skippable. You should add a close button on the top of the screen to keep the user experience positive.

As people interact with playable ads more than other adverts, the publishers get more insights on how to make it better. For example, an advertiser may report more conversion rates when they decrease or increase the difficulty.

In August 2018, the US Agency Professionals conducted a survey among 200 high profile respondents at Media Agencies and brand advertisers to find the most effective in-app ad format. Playable ads topped the list with 28% voting for it, followed by Interactive ads, which got 12% of the favors.

According to Ad Colony, 46% of ad developers are excited mostly by Playable ads.

Pros of Playable Ads

  • High interactivity.
  • High conversions.
  • High user lifetime value. Before installing the application, people are 100% sure they like it, so the uninstall rates are low, and the users are more likely to open the app again.

Cons of Playable Ads

  • Playable ads need high production and iteration time. This also increases the cost.
  • As the elements on a playable ad are simpler, it may not always fully replicate the actual user experience of the application.

Standard Banner Ads

mobile ad format banner

mobile ad format banner

mobile ad format banner

Samples of standard banner ads with practical design and clear call-to-actions

The 320 x 50 or 300×50 pixels banner ads; static or animated, usually clutter the top or bottom of the screen. It is the most popular advertising format to date. Before, these ads produced mostly ineffective, accidental clicks. Now, it can be rather effective if implemented in the proper context. It is passive, non-intrusive and does not interrupt the user experience.

Unfortunately, this also makes it easily fall into “banner blindness” (a syndrome where users developed an unconscious resistance to the banner).

The success of banner ads pretty much depends on brand recognition. Big brands can leverage its minimal space without the need for additional information as they are known. Unlike emerging brands, they need to stuff additional information into the tiny space, which ended up with cluttered content.

Banner ads are versatile and simple. You can quickly produce and deploy. However, this doesn’t make up for its terrible effectiveness and low CTRs. It generates the least earnings among all ad types. But, it’s not all doom and gloom. It can still be effective, sometimes, during the engagement phase when users are active within the app and fully attentive.

According to various experts, banner design needs a careful balance with subtle eye-catching content yet not too distracting from the app experience. Advertisers should highlight key features or offerings with a clear, concise call to action. Avoid bright colors, too much text or mediocre graphics.

Some interesting findings by InMobi are that on Android, banner ads delivered the best conversions for lifestyle content (2.02%); on iOS, banner ads worked best for classified content (2.7%).

Pros of Static Banner Ads

  • Available on all screens
  • Can be executed in large volumes
  • Cheapest format
  • Very quick to deploy
  • Easy to integrate

Cons of Static Banner Ads

  • Limited space
  • Quickly fall into the “banner blindness” syndrome
  • Despite fighting the lack of space and users’ “banner blindness” syndrome with an animated content display. It is still not as efficient as its other counterparts (as you will see more below).

Native Ads

mobile ad format native ads

Source: Mobyaffiliates, Sample of native ads that have the same look and feel like the app itself.

Native ads come in various forms and sizes. It combines advertising message with user-centric content. Meaning instead of giving publishers the ad, they will be given the components of the ad. It is up to them to display the element in ways that fit well with its app. So, the ad will appear as a part of the app’s content—thus the name, “native”.

It is similar to banner ads, but they don’t take up a particular screen space or the full display. Users can still browse the content while viewing the ad, but because of it’s “native” look and feel, it’s less of an eyesore and non-disruptive. Your ads will appear contextually appropriate. Thus, making native mobile advertising highly effective. For instance, an ad for cosmetics placed in the middle of a makeup tutorial article in a blog reader app.

Many people deem that native ad format is by far the best mobile ad format. This is so because native ad leverages the context and relevance of the content on which it appears. Users treat the ads as a new content in their information flow. It makes much more sense for them too. These contribute to them being more likely to click on the ads.

That’s why the CTR is splendid with static content. For example, native advertising on Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads, or Instagram Ads. The targeting possibilities for these platforms are extremely accurate. It enables advertisers or brands to find the right people for your product or service.

Some stats on native ads.

  1. Native ads are viewed 53% more than banner ads. (Source: Dedicated Media)
  2. Heineken Light reached 54% of audiences — 35 million people — in just three days using video ads on Facebook. (Source: Facebook)
  3. 32% of consumers said they would share a native ad with friends and family, versus 19% for banner ads. (Source: ShareThrough)

Pros of Native Ads

  • Less intrusive than other formats
  • Higher click-through rate (10.6%)
  • Better ad engagement rate (14.0%)
  • Improved user experience

Cons of Native Ads

  • Require more work to adapt the advertising on myriads of possibilities—due to its flexible format

Most Popular Display Banner Ad Sizes

These are the most popular display banner ad sizes available in the market

  • 300 x 250 – Inline rectangle
  • 320 x 50 – Mobile leaderboard
  • 320 x 100 – Large mobile banner
  • 250 x 250 – Square banner
  • 200 x 200 – Small square banner

Best Mobile Banner Ad Sizes

These banner ad sizes are the most recommended for mobile advertising

  • 300 x 250- Inline Rectangle
  • 320 x 50- Mobile leaderboard
  • 320 x 100- Large mobile banner

Things to keep in mind while placing Mobile Ads 

When it comes to placing and designing mobile ads, you need to consider several factors such as ad type, size, demographic selection etc.

Here are some of the essential steps you could follow to place your ads more effectively.

1. Select the best ad size

Selecting a proper ad size is vital as you will have to consider a lot of factors. Full-screen advertisements won’t be an issue since the chances are rare that the viewers might miss it.

On the other hand, if you are going for mobile banner ads, care should be taken to ensure that the ad won’t block the reader’s screen. This might harm the reader’s experience.

Thus, in short, the most suitable banner will be that which doesn’t interfere with the users browsing experience.

2. Select the right display ads

Mobile ad design is another critical factor to consider for the placement. Some methods require large spaces that might not be appropriate as it hampers the reader’s viewing experience.

Make sure to choose a design that is equally captivating and adjustable.

3. Make sure not to create false footers

Iit is often noted that if a banner ad is placed in the middle of an article, the reader might think that the item is over. He might think that the article is over and move on to the next.

In short, it will create a negative impact on the reading experience. Ensure that you do not put a large advertisement in the middle of an article/content to avoid creating the impression that the article is completed.

Which mobile ad type is the best?

When it comes to mobile ads, each type provides its unique benefits depending on the user’s specific requirement and need of the campaign.

There are no hard and fast rules to say that one campaign is better than the other.

Below are some essential points to keep in mind while selecting an ad for your campaign:

  • If a particular brand is interested in static ads,  full-screen interstitial ads will produce a better engagement level and create more conversion. Interstitial ads will be a better alternative for advertisers who are planning to push their ad campaigns to the next level.
  • Studies have shown that banner ads have a low interaction rate mainly because of a phenomenon called” banner blindness”. The viewers unintentionally ignore the ads popping up on top of their screen. However, when working with a skilled mobile app developer malaysia, you can optimize your ad content and placement to improve engagement and reduce app development cost.
  • Banner ads are not very expensive and are a practical option for advertisers to spread product awareness as much as possible. Even though the conversion rate won’t be that high, you can still ensure that your ad gets maximum exposure.
  • The best performing ads in the advertising world are rich media ads. Various studies have shown that rich media ads scores high in improving brand awareness(23% remembered the message on the ad,18% on brand recall,43% more attention-grabbing).

How to Choose a Mobile Ad Format

There’s no rule of thumb when it comes to choosing the right ad format for your mobile campaign. To find the ad format that works best for you, you’ll have to experiment. With the myriad of ad formats and rich media components, there is room for loads of creativity.

However, you’ve got to start somewhere. So perhaps the following few questions will help you in identifying a proper ad format for your mobile marketing campaign.

  • What are your campaign goal and monetization objectives?
  • Who is your target audience?
  • Are you looking for pure user experience (UX)? Or to balance UX with revenue?
  • Do you want less invasive ads?
  • Are you looking to run performance or branding campaign?
  • What inventory and platform are you targeting?

Conclusion

We are bound to see more creativity and innovation in mobile advertising. There will be new formats emerging as the industry evolves. Currently, video ads and interstitials for mobile look promising (data wise). However, given that we are all trying to reach varied audiences, it’s important to think about what works best with the user’s experience. Start from there and experiment with various mobile ad formats. Continually gather data and analyze your results. Then, tinker with effective mixes of ad format, placement, and frequency for your mobile campaigns.

Essentially, what’s more important is to work with the right partner who can help you optimize the ad content that works for your target consumers. This will help you get better response rate from your users.

For brands, the best practice is to provide a good experience with the ad, either through interactions, giving useful information, entertaining or generating a positive feeling. This will engage users and deliver a strong impact on brand recall, which increases brand affinity.

All statistical data found in this article is curated from MarketingLandSmartInsights, MobyAffiliates, VentureBeats, and eMarketer.

Related Sources to Read:

When to Consider Mobile App Development for Your Business
Why Mobile Apps Are Important for Your Business
Factors to Consider When Hiring a Mobile App Development Company
Mobile App Development Cost Estimate in Malaysia

Looking for a top-notch Mobile App Developer Malaysia? Your search ends here! Contact us now to bring your app idea to life with expert developers.

Alvin

Alvin is the Founder and CEO of MobileAds.com. He is a go-getter, and adventurous guy who believes in working smart to gain success in his business ventures and in life. He also founded RichMediaAds.com and MobileLanders.com.

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