Mobile advertising solutions provider Tap Me launched an in-game mobile ad platform, promising developers and marketers the tools to interact with consumers within the context of gameplay instead of removing them from the experience. According to Tap Me, rival ad solutions are too disruptive and ineffective, occupying excessive screen space and resulting in accidental clicks--the startup's answer is incorporating sponsor branding into power-up opportunities, in-game rewards and other game features. Developers can meta-tag and classify game content and achievements to increase advertiser relevance--for example, companies like Nike and Gatorade would be naturals to sponsor "endurance" or "speed" power-ups. In addition, advertisers can award player progress or integrate social media to communicate with consumers--for example, sending a message to a user's inbox, encouraging them to retweet messages in exchange for points and other game rewards.
Tap Me provides developers with both a turnkey solution to drop ads into their games as well as an API enabling custom GUI integration. For now, the Tap Me platform is limited to iOS, but the firm promises other operating systems are on its radar, specifically citing Android. For more information, click here.
More than one third of all adults in the U.S. and the U.K. now play mobile games at least once per month, with almost a quarter playing a mobile title in the last week, according to a new survey conducted by Information Solutions Group on behalf of casual game publisher PopCap. In all, 52 percent of respondents have played a mobile game at some point in their lives--73 percent of U.K. adults have now sampled mobile gaming, compared to 44 percent of their U.S. counterparts. Smartphone owners are by far the most avid mobile gamers, the study finds--93 percent of smartphone users who've embraced mobile gaming say they play at least once each week, and 45 percent play daily. As of a 2009 PopCap/ISG survey, only 13 percent of mobile gamers stated they played daily, and just 50 percent said they played weekly or more often.
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