In the article, we look through the top mobile video ad networks in 2018. We will look at a number of different sources to find out what are the best video ad networks for your game. We’ll cover:

• Soomla’s Monetisation Benchmark Report from Q1 2018 (mobile game monetisation)
• Appsflyer’s Performance index from half two of 2017 (user acquisition)
• TUNE’s mobile advertising index tool at the time of writing Q2 2018 (user acquisition)

We also have an extensive section in our Mobile Free to Play Bible on making money with ads

We will focus specifically on mobile video ad networks that offer a video solution as this ad format is being used predominantly by the largest game developers and is a great solution for increasing mobile game monetisation and mobile user acquisition. If you want to read more on this please see our article on 4 ways Futureplay use mobile video ads to increase monetization

User Aquisition Vs Monetisation

This will be a combination of both mobile game monetisation and mobile user acquisition. The mobile video ad networks that are most effective at acquiring users for your games are often the most effective at monetising your games too.

Soomla’s Monetisation Benchmark Q1 2018

Soomla help game developers and mobile app publishers track revenue per user, per segment, per cohort and per traffic source. With the help of this data, they want to help facilitate better monetization and marketing decisions for their clients.

With their data, they have created their monetisation benchmark report for Q1 2018, which includes various performance breakdowns including ad network comparisons. We are going to focus on mobile video ad networks and how well they perform.

Top Networks for Rewarded Video in the US and share of voice

1. Applovin
2. Ironsource
3. Unity Ads
4. Tapjoy
5. Vungle
6. Adcolony

Share of voice rewarded Video ad networks in the US 1st impression compared to total impressions

As you can see there are a number of key video ad networks that are performing well for mobile game developers and app publishers with Applovin having a larger share of 1st impression

First Impression eCPM & Volume – Rewarded Video (US)

The following graph looks at the various different video networks that offer rewarded video and how their first impression eCPM (effective cost per thousands impressions) compared to one another. The graph also examines the volume that each of the video ad networks provide at this eCPM.

When choosing a video network or video networks for mobile game monetisation and video ad mediation you want to get a mix of both high eCPM traffic to add a premium to your first impressions, but you also want scale to make sure all of your impressions are paid for by an ad network and you don’t run out of ads.

First Impression eCPM & Volume – Rewarded Video (US)

Observations:

• Unity Ads: leads the pack with both a high eCPM and scale to go with it.
• Applovin and IronSource have high volume but their eCPM does not perform as well.
• Tapjoy has the most well-rounded offering, coming closest to the average crossover.

First Impression eCPM & Volume – Rewarded Video (ROW)

Similarly, with the US, the following graph compares the various networks on their eCPM across both the eCPM and the volume they offer, but this time the graph represents the rest of the world. The US is a great base to work with but with global growth for mobile video advertising revenues, it’s worth seeing how companies differ once outside of the US.

First Impression eCPM & Volume – Rewarded Video (ROW)

As we can see Applovin performs a little higher on the eCPM when outside the US compared to Unity ads which drops quite a bit.

If you would like to read further into Soomla’s Monetisation Benchmarks report for Q1 2018 you can find more information here

Appsflyer Performance Index

Appsflyer’s performance index analyses one of the largest data sets in this Ad network comparison. As such there are some networks that are included that do not have a mobile video advertising offering but most do. Here are the stats that the dataset it built on followed by the list of top performing ad networks.

• Period: H2 July – December 2017
• 250 mobile advertising networks evaluated
• 15 billion mobile sessions
• 6.5 billion installs
• 6,000 apps

Source: Appsflyer Index

Top 13 IOS Ad Networks by ROI (return on investment)

1. Facebook
2. Unity Ads
3. Vungle
4. Google Adwords
5. IronSource
6. Chartboost
7. Adcolony
8. Apple Search Ads
9. Applovin
10. Taptica
11. CrossInstall
12. Fyber
13. AdAction Interactive

Top 12 Android Ad Networks by ROI

1. Facebook
2. Unity Ads
3. Google Adwords
4. IronSource
5. Applovin
6. Vungle
7. Taptica
8. Adcolony
9. Chartboost
10. Appnext
11. Fyber
12. AdAction Interactive

Top 15 Ad Networks for Mobile Games by Week 12 Retention

1. Applovin
2. Adcolony
3. Facebook
4. Apple Search Ads
5. Vungle
6. Unity Ads
7. Google Adwords
8. Chartboost
9. Twitter
10. Taptica
11. Applift
12. Liftoff
13. IronSource
14. LeadBolt
15. YouAppi

Retention is such an important metric when looking at acquiring users. If the users that you are acquiring do not continue playing the game after install, there is very little opportunity to make a return on your investment. The longer a user stays in the game the higher their loyalty and the higher the return from either video ad revenue or from in-app purchases.

You can download your own copy of Appsflyers Performance Index here

TUNE Mobile Advertising Index Q2 2018

Tune’s Mobile Advertising Index allows you to quickly discover and evaluate the best advertising partners, so you can optimize return on ad spend, then strategically scale your user base. We used their site tool to find the best performing video ad networks for both Android and IOS.

Top Video Ad Networks for Android and IOS from TUNE by Adoption

1. Taptica
2. Tapjoy
3. Inmobi
4. Applovin
5. Liftoff
6. Adcolony
7. IronSource
8. Doubleclick
9. You Appi
10. Unity Ads

Name	Adoption	Install Volume	Conversion Rate
	1st	6th	97th
	2nd	10th	48th
	3rd	2nd	91st
	4th	3rd	61st
	5th	11th	13th
	6th	16th	28th
	7th	5th	24th
	8th	8th	2nd
	9th	4th	26th
	10th	18th	53rd

• Adoption: The number of TUNE clients currently working with the partner.
• Install Rate: Total number of installs driven by the partner.
• Conversion Rate: The rate of clicks that converted into actual app installs.

You can go to Tune’s website and use their mobile advertising index tool for yourself to find what video network is best for you. They allow you to filter by:

• Platform: IOS or Android
• Ad format: Banner, Interstitial, Video, Recommendation, App-of-day
• Region: Asia Pacific, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, South Asia, Western Asia, Western Europe
• Pricing: CPM, CPC, CPI, CPA, CPV

Conclusion

Who are the best video ad networks for your game?

With such a wide offering in the market, there are many providers to choose from, with so many offering video advertising options combined with strong performance both for mobile game monetisation and user acquisition, it can be hard to choose.

That being said, overall we believe the best video networks that you should take into consideration when adding videos to your games for monetisation or for using to drive more users through to playing your game, are the following:

• Applovin
• Ironsource
• Unity Ads
• Tapjoy
• Vungle
• Adcolony
• Google
• Facebook
• Mopub
• Chartboost

This comes down to the general adoption across the market, the eCPM’s that are generated, the simplicity of implementation and many other factors. As there are so many good providers of mobile video advertising, it is often the case that a game developer of mobile app publisher will use many of these networks through an ad mediation platform. And in the cases of user acquisiton, a UA lead will run campaigns across a number of networks in order to get the best return on investment overall.

If you use any of the above networks and find them useful please share your experience below, and if you work with anyone that is not mentioned or included, please also comment and share who they are.