- 80% of mobile gamers play more during the holidays, with 30% estimating 3+ extra hours per day - 72% intend to download new games, most estimating 2-4 but over 25% anticipating 5+ - 57% are more likely to watch ads and complete offers for rewards during the holidays - Movie trailers and entertainment ads are the most appealing to gamers, with 32% likely to click them

1. Presented by:
Modern Mobile Gamer:
THE MARKETER’S GUIDE
TO HOLIDAY GAMING TRENDS

2. 2TAPJOY•THEMARKETER’SGUIDETOHOLIDAYGAMINGTRENDS
Table of Contents
3. Executive Summary
16. About Tapjoy
4. Introduction
5. Key Findings
contact@tapjoy.com
To talk to a Tapjoy
representative,
please contact:

3. 3TAPJOY•THEMARKETER’SGUIDETOHOLIDAYGAMINGTRENDS
Executive Summary
80% of mobile gamers report that they play
more often during the holidays. 30% estimate
that they play an additional three or more
hours per day.
57% of gamers report that they are more likely
to watch video ads and complete other rewarded
offers during the holidays.
72% of gamers intend to download a new
game during the holidays. Most estimate
they will download 2-4 new games, but more
than a quarter anticipate they will download
at least 5.
Movie trailers and entertainment ads top the list of
mobile gamers’ most preferred holiday ads, with 32%
stating that they would likely click on one.
72% of these respondents report that they are also
more likely go to a movie theater during the holidays.
Holiday downtime drives spike in
mobile game engagement
Engagement with in-app ads also
climbs during the holiday season
Most gamers will download and try
out new games during the holidays
Movie trailers and entertainment ads
strike a chord with mobile gamers

4. 4TAPJOY•THEMARKETER’SGUIDETOHOLIDAYGAMINGTRENDS
School or work breaks mean additional leisure and
downtime for many, while most B2C businesses
ramp up for their biggest quarter of the year.
We wanted to know how these trends might affect
mobile gaming behaviors and moreover, what it
means for marketers seeking to target that audience.
Introduction
Ah, the winter holidays: otherwise known as “the most wonderful time of the year”.
Do gamers play more often during the holidays?
Are they more likely to download and interact with a new game?
Are they more likely to engage with in-app ads? And what
types of ads appeal to them most during the holiday season?
To explore these questions and more, Tapjoy surveyed 20,929
mobile game users in the US and EMEA during October, 2017.

5. Key Findings

6. 6TAPJOY•THEMARKETER’SGUIDETOHOLIDAYGAMINGTRENDS
80% of mobile gamers report that they play
more often during the holiday season.
30% estimate that they play an additional
three or more hours per day; 11% report
an additional five or more hours per day.
During the holidays, mobile gamers
play more hours per day
During the holiday season, how many more hours
(on average) do you play mobile games per day?
Up to an hour
1 - 2 hours
5 or more hours
3 - 4 hours
I don’t play more
during the holidays
11%
28%
21%
19%
20%

7. 7TAPJOY•THEMARKETER’SGUIDETOHOLIDAYGAMINGTRENDS
72% of gamers intend to download a new
game during the holiday season.
Most gamers estimate that they will download
2-4 new games, but more than a quarter
anticipate they will download at least 5.
90% of those who intend to download at least
one new game will play at least an hour more
per day during the holidays. 36% will play an
additional three or more hours per day.
The majority of gamers will download,
try out new games during the holidays
How many new games are you likely to
download during the holidays?
0
1
2 - 4
5 or more
28%
28%
12%
31%

8. 8TAPJOY•THEMARKETER’SGUIDETOHOLIDAYGAMINGTRENDS
Gamers are most likely to download new
Action or Puzzle titles
Women are slightly more likely than men to download
a new game during the holidays. Of those who intend
to download at least one new game, 52% identify as
female and 48% as male.
Action, Logic/Quiz/Puzzle and Adventure
games take the cake as the most popular game genres
among all respondents.
When pivoted by gender, the rankings shift slightly:
Women are most likely to download a Logic/Quiz/
Puzzle game, while Men are mostly likely to select
an Action title.
What type of new game are you most likely
to download during the holiday season?
2 Logic/Quiz/Puzzle
1 Action
3 Adventure
4 Strategy
5 Simulation
6 Casino/Card
7 Educational
8 Role-Playing/RPG
9 Sports
Most popular genre for women:
Logic / Quiz / Puzzle
Most popular genre for men:
Action

9. 9TAPJOY•THEMARKETER’SGUIDETOHOLIDAYGAMINGTRENDS
Users who are likely to watch video ads and
complete other offers during holidays:
57% of gamers respond that they are more likely to
watch video ads and complete other rewarded
offers during the holiday season.
This group is about evenly split between
men and women, but skews slightly younger.
These findings are validated by Tapjoy’s user
behavior data. During Q4 2016, the ad platform
noted a steady increase in the total number of
Monthly Unique Ad Viewers (the unique count of
device IDs that viewed an ad during a particular
month) – a 4% lift between October and November,
and a 13% lift between November and December.
Holidays drive lift in
in-app ad engagement
Female
51%
Male
49%
18 - 24
Age Breakdown
25 - 34
35 - 44
45 - 54
55+
34%
29%
19%
9%
9%

10. 10TAPJOY•THEMARKETER’SGUIDETOHOLIDAYGAMINGTRENDS
Rewarded video ads and surveys
appeal most to mobile gamers
The survey presented respondents with a list of
various ad and offer types and asked them to check
all that they would be willing to complete in exchange
for an in-game reward (e.g. coins, speed-ups).
“Watching a video” ranked highest among respondents,
followed by “completing a survey” and
“downloading a new app”.
Top offers that mobile gamers are
willing to complete in exchange
for an in-app reward:
2 Completing a survey (CPA)
1 Watching a video (CPV)
3 Downloading a new app (CPI)
4 Downloading and completing the
first level of a new app (CPE)
5 Signing up for a new service (CPA)

11. 11TAPJOY•THEMARKETER’SGUIDETOHOLIDAYGAMINGTRENDS
Gamers are most interested in ads for
movie trailers and entertainment,
games and apps
The survey presented respondents with a list of ad
types and asked them to check all that they would
be likely to click on during the holiday season.
Overall, movie trailers and entertainment took the top
spot, followed by ads for other mobile games or apps.
This trend held consistent for women, but for men,
ads for mobile games or apps took the top spot.
Among different age groups, the top-ranking ad type
varied, with retail-shopping ads appealing to mobile
gamers 45 and older.
During the holiday season, which type
of ads are you most likely to click on?
Most popular ad types by age group
2 Ads for other mobile games or apps
25-34: Movie trailers and entertainment ads
1 Movie trailers and entertainment ads
18 - 24 Ads for other games or apps
3 Retail/shopping ads
35-44: Movie trailers and entertainment ads
4 Food/grocery ads
45-54: Retail/shopping ads
5 Children’s toys or entertainment ads
55+: Retail/shopping ads
Movie trailers &
entertainment ads
Most popular ad
type for women
Ads for other mobile
games or apps
Most popular ad
type for men

12. 12TAPJOY•THEMARKETER’SGUIDETOHOLIDAYGAMINGTRENDS
Movie trailers and entertainment ads topped the list
of mobile gamers’ most preferred holiday ads, with
32% of all respondents stating that they would
likely click on one.
61% of mobile gamers report that they are more
likely to go to the movie theater during the holiday
season. Among those who specifically stated that
they would click on an entertainment ad, this figure
is even higher – at 72%.
Movies and entertainment hit
the sweet spot with mobile gamers
Are you more likely to go to the movie
theater during the holiday season?
Yes
No
61%
39%

13. 13TAPJOY•THEMARKETER’SGUIDETOHOLIDAYGAMINGTRENDS
Tapjoy’s Maximum Impact PlatformTM
provides mobile engagement and monetization
services for leading advertisers and app developers. Advertisers rely on Tapjoy’s
diverse suite of rewarded InterplayTM
ads, including video and rich media, to
impact performance.
Developers utilize our technology and mobile expertise to acquire and monetize
users. The Tapjoy SDK is currently embedded in over 20,000 mobile apps, reaching
more than 600 million monthly active users. A 2016 comScoreTM
study confirmed
that Tapjoy Interplay®
ads deliver an unprecedented 3x lift across all brand metrics.
The company works with Fortune 500 brands, as well as the Top 200 grossing app
developers.
Founded in 2007, Tapjoy is a global organization with more than a dozen offices
worldwide and is headquartered in San Francisco.
About Tapjoy
125MM+
Monthly active users
North America
600MM+
Monthly active users
Global
20K+
Active apps
contact@tapjoy.com
To talk to a Tapjoy
representative,
please contact:

14. THANK YOU