Idle games, also known as “clicker” or “incremental” games, have been around for some time. You’ve probably even tapped, clicked, or flipped your way through one of these casual games, enjoying how easy it is to play and rewarding experiences. While not new, they offer opportunities. Advertising with idle games could be a big win for you.
The popularity of these games can be a huge benefit to advertisers. Idle games offer undemanding sessions and simple mechanics, driving long-term retention. So, how can you tap into the advertising potential of idle games to drive quality traffic at scale? First, let’s get to know a little more about idle games.
All About the Idle Games Genre
What makes the idle genre different from others in the casual vertical? With idle games, users receive rewards for leaving the game while it continues to run by itself. Traditionally, these games were primarily about tapping to generate revenue or accomplish another goal. Now, they evolved to focus on the management of revenue and growth decision-making.
Because in-game resources and currency continue to grow while you’re away, players often switch between multiple idle games. When players return, they get a reward, no matter how long they were away. These mechanics create player loyalty and drive retention.
It sounds like a genre ripe with opportunities! Let’s look at critical tips for advertising with idle games.
Test Your Targeting
Don’t assume your idle game has niche appeal. These games have become increasingly popular, and unnecessarily narrowing your targeting will hurt acquisition costs and scale potential.
One way to test your assumptions is to take a geographic area where your game is available and break the geo out into two ad sets. Build one ad set of people you think your game appeals to most. Then target the rest of your geo in another ad set. This way, you’re targeting an entire geo.
If your assumptions are correct, you can always narrow in on that ad set. However, in many cases, you may find that both ad sets perform equally, and your game has more mass appeal than you thought.
Promote Your Perks
When players return to their favorite idle game, bonus in-game currency welcomes them back. This model makes it unique compared to other categories. In your ads, promote those perks to attract players. Use visuals that focus on how rewarding the game can be. Those rewards could be a sprawling city you built over time, a massive amount of accumulated cash, or a cool character you created.
Advertise Inside Other Idles
Targeting players while they’re playing other idle games is the final tip. With idle, users check-in, play for a bit, and then wait. These users are more receptive to watching ads to speed up wait time. In general, they’re likely to install another idle game since they’re already fans of the genre.
Idle players will juggle a handful of idle games at once, switching back and forth during key wait times. This scenario presents another reason why targeting idle players is smart. We even offer premium idle inventory if you’re interested in driving quality idle traffic at scale.
Advertising with Idle Games: Big Rewards Ahead
Idle games are not only rewarding for users but also for advertisers. Long-term retention from idle players, coupled with their desire to play multiple idle games at once, offer benefits to advertisers looking to tap into the idle market.
If you’re interested in learning more about advertising with idle games and our solutions, contact our team of mobile experts today.
Anna is a writer for the HighSpeedOptions team focusing on streaming. She started her career as a content writer in 2017, working one year in the fintech industry before joining the mobile ad tech space with HighSpeedOptions’ parent company, AdAction.
