Founded in 2008 in Hong Kong, 6waves is a leading developer and publisher of social and mobile games, with over 28 million downloads in the past two years. Its titles include Age of 3 Kingdoms, a high-quality strategy game that is especially popular in Hong Kong, Japan and China, as well as the viral sensation Emoji Pop.
Trying to get the most from a hybrid model
6waves uses a hybrid business model to drive revenue, which includes a blend of in-app purchases (IAP) and ad monetization. Given the popularity of its games, 6waves wanted to make sure it was maximizing its revenue from this hybrid model.
6waves’ goal was to reach a wide user base while also tailoring its ads based on whether or not a user was likely to make an in-app purchase. That’s why 6waves decided to start using Google AdMob for ad monetization. It gave the company global reach and high fill rate across various ad formats and also provided them with IAP house ads that would help them customize the ad experience based on a user’s likelihood of making a purchase.
Optimizing revenue with IAP house ads
With AdMob now at the center of their monetization strategy, 6waves introduced interstitial and video ads for casual games, tapping into real-time ad demand from millions of Google advertisers, and the Ad Exchange platform.
But 6waves still needed to optimize revenue from its paying users, which represented 10% of the user base. To do this, 6waves started using AdMob IAP house ads, which automatically predict likely spenders based on Google’s proprietary data and models. AdMob then shows them customized messages to promote specific purchase options for users. For the rest of the users who are unlikely to spend, AdMob shows regular ads to help maximize ad revenue while not interrupting the user experience.
Quick, impressive growth
After integrating AdMob IAP house ads, not only did 6waves’ AdMob revenue grow 8X over two months, but results from IAP house ads were also strong. It found that 60% of users who made an IAP as a result of ads were first-time payers, and that 20% of inactive users had returned to the game. Of users who had made a first-time IAP, 15% went on to make further purchases.
Impressed by the results, 6waves plans to adopt AdMob IAP house ads across the rest of its game portfolio.
6waves also found AdMob IAP house ads to be easier to manage than its previous in-house IAP system. “Adding IAP house ads is easy and the process is not difficult,” says Andrew.
Interested in taking your monetization strategy to the next level? Request a consultation with one of our AdMob specialists today.
