Meta games are the most effective way to drive installs and return on investment in cross-selling promotions, according to a new report.

Social casino developer KamaGames and ad monetisation firm Appodeal have conducted a study across Android and iOS delving into which ad formats offer the highest returns in terms of app installs during cross-selling promotions.

Meta ads

It found that meta games drove better results than banner ads, rewarded video and social hooks.

Meta Games are methods used to encourage a player to perform a specific action such as trying another game and are a range of triggers linked to gameplay, such as daily challenges, personal achievements or quests. Another example is that players receiving a notification that their friend is playing another game.

While the report noted that rewarded video is typically recognised as the highest performing ad format for in-app advertising and tends to deliver the most revenue compared to other ad formats, but stated that things are different for cross-selling promotions.

Though rewarded video remains a “highly effective tactic” and can put unsold advertising inventory to good use, the report stated meta games yield the largest return on investment while also being the least intrusive form of advertising during gameplay.

It should be noted that the report only offered an overview of the research results, and did not disclose specifics on how well or badly each type of ad format performed.