2020 Could Be the Year When Android Pulls More in Revenue Than iOS, Shows Liftoff Report

Liftoff, the leader in mobile app marketing and retargeting, today unveiled its second Mobile Ad Creative Index. Effective mobile advertising is now essential, as the platform in 2019 dethroned television for consumer’s attention. Liftoff’s latest report gives crucial insight into this new landscape including a shift in the platform wars and analysis on which ad formats offer the highest ROI throughout the consumer lifecycle. 

Liftoff’s latest report analyzed 353 billion ad impressions across 4.86 billion clicks,189 million app installs, and over 245 million first-time events in about 1,400 apps between November 2018 and October 2019 to find the following: 

2020 is the year of Android advertising 
App marketers need to capitalize on the 74% global Android user base. Install costs for banner ads are $1.26 on Android, down 11.3% from the previous year, compared to $3.84 on iOS. Video ads on Android, at $2.27, are almost 55% less expensive than iOS and deliver similar engagement rates. The biggest sticker shock comes from interstitials, full-screen ads that appear during app transitions, which are three times more expensive on iOS than Android.

“While the assumption that iOS users spend more than their Android counterparts still holds some truth, the gap is quickly closing,” explained Liftoff CEO and co-founder Mark Ellis. “As Android devices become increasingly advanced, marketers have an opportunity to take advantage of low acquisition costs while still reaching an engaged and extensive user base.” 

Video drives 60% higher purchase rates than banners for mere pennies more
At nearly one-third of the price of video and 60% higher registration rate, banner ads have maintained a price to performance ratio 120% higher than that of video. But at the all-important purchase stage, we see a surprising swap, as video overtakes banner ads as the biggest bang for your marketing buck. 

For just pennies more ($42.80 compared to banner ads’ $42.55), mobile video drives purchase at nearly 60% higher rates. Further still, at the in-app purchase stage, banner costs skyrocket to $97.07 while engagement remains low. Meanwhile, video proves 42% more cost-effective at this stage, driving 27% higher conversions. Noting these findings, marketers should consider experimenting with different formats along the consumer journey to optimize engagement at the best price.

Gamers are the prize when it comes to ad engagement 
2019 was a breakout year for mobile games, sparking 60% of global gaming revenue. While gaming app users may be pricier to convert, they generate higher returns. Across all ad formats, gaming app users are jumping to register -- with an average 73% registration rate, it’s the highest of all app categories. These users also clock in at a mid-range purchase rate of 4.15%. 

Marketers looking to appeal to gamers at the purchase stage should draw on native and video ads, which perform highest in this category. To earn the highest ROI, experiment with native ads, which see the highest engagement (70%) at the lowest cost ($5.73).

For more information on Liftoff and to download the full report, visit: https://info.liftoff.io/2020-mobile-ad-creative-index-report/

Methodology
The 2020 Liftoff Mobile Ad Creative Index Report draws from an analysis of internal data from November 1, 2018, through October 31, 2019, spanning 353 billion impressions, over 4.8 billion clicks, 189 million installs and 245 million five-time events in about 1,400 apps to deliver key takeaways on how banner ads, interstitials, video, interactive (also known as playables) and native ads perform.

About Liftoff 
Liftoff is a complete mobile app marketing platform that helps companies acquire and retain high quality app users at scale. Liftoff uses unbiased ML to find all best users for your app, creative testing to deliver the most engaging ad experience and a unique cost per revenue model to optimize for your LTV goals.

Liftoff is proud to be a long term partner to leading brand advertisers and app publishers since 2012. Headquartered in Redwood City, Liftoff has a global presence with offices in New York, London, Paris, Singapore, Seoul, and Tokyo.

Contact Information

Kathryn Ryan

Senior Account Executive

VSC

Contact via E-mail