Skai’s “Mobile App Advertising Trends Report” finds Instagram ads effective for app advertisers; gaming leads in install rate

San Francisco (March 1, 2016) Skai (www.Kenshoo.com), the global leader in agile marketing, today released its latest Mobile App Advertising Trends Report, benchmarking key metrics for mobile app marketers. Among the key findings, total spending increased 155% year-over-year (YoY), while mobile app installs increased 196% YoY, resulting in an overall decrease in the cost per install (-14%) YoY. Other findings from the report related to mobile app advertising include:

  • Impressions increased 187% YoY
  • Clicks increased 280% YoY
  • Cost per thousand impressions (CPM) decreased 11% YoY
  • Cost per click (CPC) decreased 33% YoY
  • Click-through rate (CTR) increased 32% YoY

Instagram ads proving effective for mobile app advertisers
Advertisers’ share of both clicks and app installs obtained through Instagram since the introduction of its advertising API in Q3 2015 exceeded the share of total ad spend, and all three metrics showed considerable improvement over the last two quarters. In fact, app install ads on Instagram delivered more than 20% of all app install ad clicks in Q4. Instagram provides an opportunity for app advertisers to acquire new customers at a lower cost than other social ads, because Instagram ads have been consistently lower in price than other Facebook ad placements, while delivering nearly identical click-through rates.

Gaming apps’ click to install rate dwarfs consumer apps’
App install ads for gaming apps were priced higher for CPM and CPC than their consumer counterparts ($6.18 and $0.67 vs. $3.15 and $0.28, respectively) but once consumers click on a gaming app ad, they are much more likely to install (39% vs. 11%) resulting in a drastically reduced cost per install (CPI) ($1.73 vs. $2.70) justifying the investment in garnering impressions and clicks.

“Marketers have embraced the influx of new ad types, publishers and tools to tailor their mobile app campaigns for success, but the evolution of the ecosystem is just beginning,” said Chris Costello, director of marketing research for Skai. “Incorporating additional elements of the app experience like in-app engagement and lifetime value are the next steps for marketers in optimizing app campaigns to their specific goals and maximizing the app marketing opportunity.”

According to Business Insider, U.S. mobile app install ad revenue will hit $5.4 Billion in 2016; as consumers rely more on mobile apps and devices for everyday activities, focusing on primary cost and engagement metrics enables marketers to achieve a greater understanding of how the pieces fit together in this fragmented world. The Skai Infinity Suite provides marketers with the tools necessary to build, target, optimize, and manage mobile app marketing campaigns.

Visit Kenshoo.com/Mobile-App-Trends to download Skai’s latest Mobile App Advertising Trends Report.

Methodology
The report includes five quarters of data from October 2014 through December 2015, and reflects spending and performance specifically on the Mobile App Install ad type from advertisers across the Skai Gaming (formerly Skai Apps) and Skai Social platforms on the Facebook Audience Network. The resulting data set comprises over $85 million (USD) in advertiser spend, and over 45 million app installs, targeted across over 100 countries worldwide.

About Skai
Skai is the global leader in agile marketing. Brands, agencies and developers use the Skai Infinity Suite to direct nearly $350 billion in annualized client sales revenue through social, search, mobile, and display advertising. Skai provides leading native API solutions for ads across Facebook, FBX, Instagram, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, Yahoo Gemini, Yahoo Japan, Bing, and Baidu. Skai powers digital marketing campaigns in more than 190 countries for nearly half of the Fortune 50 and all 10 top global ad agency networks. Skai clients include CareerBuilder, Expedia, Facebook, Havas Media, John Lewis, Resolution Media, Sears, Starcom MediaVest Group, Tesco, Travelocity, Walgreens, and Zappos. Skai has 27 international locations and is backed by Sequoia Capital, Arts Alliance, Tenaya Capital, and Bain Capital Ventures. Please visit www.Kenshoo.com for more information.

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