Eado Hofstetter
Director of Publishing Account Management at Fyber, a Digital Turbine company
Where to hear and read about Eado Hofstetter1 episode or test
Eado Hofstetter is Director of Publishing Account Management at Fyber, a Digital Turbine company, where he advises game developers on ad monetization. The thing most worth learning from him is to test every part of the ad stack against ARPDAU and diversify formats, networks and brand buyers instead of assuming.
You need to test all the time. You need to diversify. You need to look for the new thing.
Mobile Game Ad Monetization
Eado Hofstetter: the story and the lessons
1How Hofstetter tests every part of the ad stack
Hofstetter says bidding must prove it raises ARPDAU. Networks are moving into bidding, but he does not treat that as proof of higher earnings. Fyber's multi-testing runs up to five variants, such as waterfall against bidders, and can split traffic by percentage.
His test question is "Are you actually increasing your ARPDAU when you go into bidding?" Bidding against non-bidding networks is its own test, since most networks were bought through the waterfall before bidding existed.
He tunes banner refresh time country by country. Refresh rate is a decision the data should drive, for example 10 seconds in one country and 11 in another. It applies mainly to banners.
Each refresh is a paid impression, so small changes add up.
He weighs the number of network instances against latency. Hofstetter suggests testing five instances against six or seven per network. More instances can lift fill and revenue but add calls and wait time.
Players want an ad at that moment, so ARPDAU and latency should be measured together.
He wants the waterfall automated, not run by hand. The waterfall has been managed manually for years. Tools now create the instances and monitor them.
He calls this one of the biggest recent changes and says "bidding is automation as well of the waterfall."
Hofstetter asks developers to demand transparency from mediation. Developers should get real reporting on what happens in the waterfall, not a black box. They should also ask whether the mediation partner owns game studios.
A mediation company with its own games could compete for the developer's users. His question: "Do I know if the mediation is competing with me?"
2Hofstetter on matching ad formats to game type
Hyper-casual games should try rewarded video, interstitials and banners. These studios often earn all or most revenue from ads, so he says to try all three formats. They are the easiest place for a new developer to start.
Rewarded video there is about continuity, such as another life after a player dies, since these games rarely have a proper virtual currency.
Casual games choose formats by how much play they will interrupt. Match three, card and word games vary in their reliance on in-app purchase. Some use the same three formats as hyper-casual, others only banners or interstitials.
In his words, "It depends how much they want to interfere with the game play."
In deep games, ads serve the players who never pay. Heavy mid-core and strategy games often take 80% of revenue from in-app purchase, sometimes 95%. About 5% of users spend and about 1% are whales.
He frames the question as what to do with the rest of the users so they can enjoy the game, progress past early levels and keep promoting it. He also puts the share who ever spend anything at about 10%.
He pairs rewarded video with an offer wall for non-payers. A rewarded video takes 30 to 35 seconds including the end card. An offer wall task takes longer but pays much more virtual currency.
Offers are labeled easy or hard and the player picks, for example downloading another app and reaching a level. Offer wall edge is Fyber's tool for this.
3Why Hofstetter says brand demand and banners are growing
Brand buyers are a new kind of demand in games. Food, jewelry and car companies now buy in-app, often with far bigger budgets than a large studio buying users. Brands often pay a little less than install buyers.
A player who sees a Coca-Cola ad is less likely to churn to a rival game. He says working with networks that carry brand demand is "a key for the success."
Brands are moving into rewarded video, interstitials and banners. Rewarded video is among the priciest formats and brands now buy it, along with video interstitials. Brand buyers on banners have long competed well with performance buyers.
Developers should make sure these placements are open to brand demand.
He calls banners a format that is coming back. Banners are cheap and stay out of the way, but in a long puzzle game they refresh repeatedly and each refresh pays. Many studios are now asking about them.
He cited a former Ketchapp CRO who said banners were their number two money-making ad unit.
4Hofstetter's rule: diversify first and keep moving
Diversification is the first test he would run. He tailors it to game type: many formats for hyper-casual, perhaps only rewarded video and an offer wall for a strategy or mid-core game. He also spreads across brands and networks.
He says slow movers fall behind in ad tech. Developers should keep trying new formats, networks and brand demand, because the industry changes fast.
As he puts it, "if you don't test, if you don't move on quickly, then in this industry things move very fast."
Mobile Game Ad Monetization
Mobile game monetization works best when you test everything in your ad stack, diversify formats and buyers, and match ad units to your game genre. Brand advertisers are moving into rewarded video, interstitials and banners, and banners are making a comeback.
Hofstetter says bidding must prove it raises ARPDAU. Networks are moving into bidding, but he does not treat that as proof of higher earnings. Fyber's multi-testing runs up to five variants, such as waterfall against bidders, and can split traffic by percentage.
His test question is "Are you actually increasing your ARPDAU when you go into bidding?" Bidding against non-bidding networks is its own test, since most networks were bought through the waterfall before bidding existed.
He tunes banner refresh time country by country. Refresh rate is a decision the data should drive, for example 10 seconds in one country and 11 in another. It applies mainly to banners.
Each refresh is a paid impression, so small changes add up.
He weighs the number of network instances against latency. Hofstetter suggests testing five instances against six or seven per network. More instances can lift fill and revenue but add calls and wait time.
Players want an ad at that moment, so ARPDAU and latency should be measured together.
He wants the waterfall automated, not run by hand. The waterfall has been managed manually for years. Tools now create the instances and monitor them.
He calls this one of the biggest recent changes and says "bidding is automation as well of the waterfall."
Hofstetter asks developers to demand transparency from mediation. Developers should get real reporting on what happens in the waterfall, not a black box. They should also ask whether the mediation partner owns game studios.
A mediation company with its own games could compete for the developer's users. His question: "Do I know if the mediation is competing with me?"
Hyper-casual games should try rewarded video, interstitials and banners. These studios often earn all or most revenue from ads, so he says to try all three formats. They are the easiest place for a new developer to start.
Rewarded video there is about continuity, such as another life after a player dies, since these games rarely have a proper virtual currency.
Casual games choose formats by how much play they will interrupt. Match three, card and word games vary in their reliance on in-app purchase. Some use the same three formats as hyper-casual, others only banners or interstitials.
In his words, "It depends how much they want to interfere with the game play."
In deep games, ads serve the players who never pay. Heavy mid-core and strategy games often take 80% of revenue from in-app purchase, sometimes 95%. About 5% of users spend and about 1% are whales.
He frames the question as what to do with the rest of the users so they can enjoy the game, progress past early levels and keep promoting it. He also puts the share who ever spend anything at about 10%.
He pairs rewarded video with an offer wall for non-payers. A rewarded video takes 30 to 35 seconds including the end card. An offer wall task takes longer but pays much more virtual currency.
Offers are labeled easy or hard and the player picks, for example downloading another app and reaching a level. Offer wall edge is Fyber's tool for this.
Brand buyers are a new kind of demand in games. Food, jewelry and car companies now buy in-app, often with far bigger budgets than a large studio buying users. Brands often pay a little less than install buyers.
A player who sees a Coca-Cola ad is less likely to churn to a rival game. He says working with networks that carry brand demand is "a key for the success."
Brands are moving into rewarded video, interstitials and banners. Rewarded video is among the priciest formats and brands now buy it, along with video interstitials. Brand buyers on banners have long competed well with performance buyers.
Developers should make sure these placements are open to brand demand.
He calls banners a format that is coming back. Banners are cheap and stay out of the way, but in a long puzzle game they refresh repeatedly and each refresh pays. Many studios are now asking about them.
He cited a former Ketchapp CRO who said banners were their number two money-making ad unit.
Diversification is the first test he would run. He tailors it to game type: many formats for hyper-casual, perhaps only rewarded video and an offer wall for a strategy or mid-core game. He also spreads across brands and networks.
He says slow movers fall behind in ad tech. Developers should keep trying new formats, networks and brand demand, because the industry changes fast.
As he puts it, "if you don't test, if you don't move on quickly, then in this industry things move very fast."