Inside Tiny Tower’s in-game ads transformation

Stay Informed

Get Industry News In Your Inbox…

Sign Up Today

This article was authored by AdInMo’s COO, Joanne Lacey.

The classic mobile game Tiny Tower from NimbleBit has been on quite the journey since it was named iPhone game of the year by Apple back in 2011. 

Now, its latest innovation is exploring monetisation with in-game ad formats through a partnership with AdInMo and SuperScale. 

With a mature simulation game and loyal fan base, an iterative ‘test & learn’ approach was deployed with best practices emerging on how to monetise with immersive in-game advertising (InGamePlay).

Tip 1: Do no harm! 

InGamePlay ads add incremental value and create a non-interruptive experience. However, ad fatigue from traditional banners and interstitials means it’s important to test how players will engage with immersive ads and understand any impact by tracking key metrics from day one.

Across a series of tests, three core metrics were tracked:

• Ad engagement

• Player retention

• In-game spending

Tip 2: Segment your players 

NimbleBit first tested InGamePlay placements in Tiny Tower on new players only. The cohort was used to validate that the immersive placements did not have any negative impact on gameplay and to get a good handle on the player engagement potential and revenue generation. 

The exact same placements were then rolled out to existing Tiny Tower players. Player segmentation was maintained (existing players and new players) to understand any variances in behaviours on the agreed metrics.

After these initial results, the NimbleBit team updated the location of the placements by making them only visible if players who had opted in to see them were to refine the targeting based on player feedback. 

Going forward, this segmentation will be further optimised based on ad engagement and purchase behaviours for better targeting of different campaign types, e.g., brand campaigns vs. promotion of IAP packs, such as consumables or starter packs.

Tip 3: Engagement drives better monetisation 

Immersive ads need to be seamlessly integrated into the game world to ensure they feel natural and non-intrusive. Tiny Tower has a loyal and active player base, while the metrics in the testing phase did not show any negative impact on retention, players also fed back via the game’s Discord channel.

The Nimblebit team decided to create a dedicated marketing floor and combine rewarded mechanics with InGamePlay placements to make the player experience more engaging.

Players are able to opt in to decide if they want to build and interact with this special floor in their tower. 

By giving players choice, attention metrics were increased as they had purposefully chosen to engage with in-game ads. Players are rewarded with tokens and gems for visiting the Marketing Floor every two hours which in turn drives higher player dwell time and better monetisation. 

Outcomes

The initial A/B tests across the two player cohorts confirmed there was no negative impact on retention among either new or existing players. More significantly, the tests delivered a positive impact across all KPIs including ARPDAU, IAP conversion and retention.

Test 1: New players

• No drop in retention among new users, D7 retention actually improved by 4%

• 4% increase in overall ad revenue

• 10% increase in IAP conversion and a 2% increase in IAP revenue 

Test 2: Existing players

Test 3: Rewarded mechanics

NimbleBit Co-founder Ian Marsh explains: “Tiny Tower has a very loyal fanbase and while in-game ads are not disruptive, they needed to be introduced carefully and sympathetically. By introducing the marketing floor – we’ve both listened to players and improved uplift on IAA and IAP.

“With 1/3 of players opting in and continually getting rewarded for coming back to the marketing floor we think we’ve found the right mechanic to drive ARPDAU from InGamePlay in Tiny Tower and will look to replicate across the portfolio.”