In spite of the economic uncertainty in many markets, the mobile advertising industry is experiencing rapid growth. According to data.ai, the amount spent on mobile ads is projected to reach 362 Billion in 2023, an increase of 51% in just three years.

In this article we will explore how Apple and Google only appeared to prioritize privacy when they recognized the potential profit generated from it.

The Big Squeeze

Game studios and developers are being forced to invest more than ever before to acquire users, and large advertising platforms such as Google and Apple are gaining the most benefit.

A shocking stat is that mobile gaming consumer spend decreased from its peak of 115.8 billion in 2021, with a 5% drop to 109.5 billion in 2022.

Ad spend is going up, consumer spend is going down. Put simply, it’s never cost more to monetize a mobile game and ad platforms are squeezing more money from the market than ever before.

Ad Tracking Blocked by Apple and Google

One of the biggest shifts in mobile advertising was Apple’s ATT that took effect just over two years ago. A privacy feature that requires app developers to get user consent before tracking user data across apps and websites owned by other companies for advertising purposes.

Due to this feature, adverts are now far less relevant, so more need to be shown in order to find the desired target. This means more money being spent on adverts and Apple is reaping the rewards. So much so they now appear to be doubling down on ads and plan to show more inside its services giving less traction to organic App Store Optimisation (ASO) practices.

This extra privacy and monetization has come at a cost to gaming companies, and without huge budgets, it is often not profitable to ensure their advertisements reach enough appropriate users. According to Pocket Gamer, a renowned international mobile gaming conference, an alarming 75% of developers recently expressed their concern that their business is now in danger.

With Google recently announcing that it will stop the use of third-party cookies by the end of 2024, as they want to move towards a more privacy-first web, gaming studios are now left with little choice but to start looking to pivot to more sustainable ways of promoting their games.

Lower your Advertising Cost

Many advertising agencies are trying to come up with creative ways to reassure studios, however it is clear that significant transformation is necessary and fresh avenues must be explored in order to achieve success. Cere Network’s new process provides game studios and developers with a more efficient way to optimize their advertising budgets and maximize ROI.

We are not an advertising agency, this approach is distinct and provides a unique solution. To learn more, our second article in this series will demonstrate how to potentially increase Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) by over 50%.