“It feels such an obvious idea! So why has nobody thought of it before?”

We get this a lot. It’s typical of the response game developers and advertisers give us when they first hear about AudioMob. There are many reasons this idea simply couldn’t exist before, But before we get into that, what is AudioMob exactly? 

What is it? 

We deliver non-interruptive audio ads into mobile games. 

It really is that simple. But to give you a little more detail, we deliver audio ads in a way that empowers game developers to monetise their players at an awesome CPM, while the gamer keeps full control of their game experience. Our flagship format, rewarded audio, lets the player opt in to listening to an audio ad rather than watching a video ad. The sweet spot is that we monetise players during gameplay, in a different area of the game to where a full-screen video ad comes in. This means we provide incremental revenues for game developers, while letting users continue to play a game while an audio ad runs.

How did we come up with the idea?

Our founders love music, audio and gaming. Our CEO also designs mobile games and makes hip hop and jazz in his spare time. And our core team brings advertising expertise from their time at Google and Facebook. It was perhaps inevitable we'd find ourselves combining games, audio and advertising. With some luck, powerful insights and great timing, AudioMob was born. Speaking of timing, that leads us to the next point... 

Why didn’t it exist before? 

Very simply, it couldn’t have existed before. A lot of this is down to timing and the advancement of two primary markets:

Audio Ads:

Recently it was revealed that audio ads are an $18BN opportunity in the US alone. It’s actually one of the fastest growing media segments. This has largely been driven by Spotify, Pandora and other streaming platforms. Meanwhile, the adoption of consuming podcasts and music on the go has increased exponentially over the past three years. More people listening to music and podcasts on mobiles means more audio ads, and a more advanced ecosystem to deliver these ads. Now, more than ever, audio ad demand is primed, abundant and exceedingly healthy.

Mobile Gaming:

Mobile gaming has been the fastest growing digital medium on the planet over the last five years. With over 2.5BN-plus players across the world, gaming is now truly mainstream, and touches every demographic. The advancements of handsets also mean a much wider pool of games from the simple to the highly polished are available on smartphone. Casual games still do very well indeed, but now titles like Fortnite and PUBG thrive on mobile. There are more games for more audiences. And, of course, game designers have learned how to make deeply compelling, engrossing titles.

High numbers of users - 25%-to-40% - play with the audio on, and over 70% hate their gameplay being blocked. So these days you have a primed market. There are a tonne of players, and a large enough segment - up to 960 million of them - enjoy games with the audio on, and don’t like being blocked from gameplay by traditional ads. Our lightbulb moment had come. 

Why AudioMob is Awesome

We saw the opportunity in combining one of the fastest growing media segments (audio ads) and the fastest growing digital medium (mobile gaming).

When a user listens to an ad on a music platform like Spotify, they are blocked from their primary motive; listening to music. When a gamer is presented with a video or static ad, they are blocked from their primary motive; playing the game. 

But what if we took the audio ad concept, and made it work for mobile?

• That approach enables the game developer to earn incremental revenue.
• It gives audio advertisers and brands access to the largest untapped audience in the world.
• It doesn’t stop the player in their primary motive; playing their chosen game. 

Achieving that would essentially deliver a new advertising medium. So we did it. We developed the technology to deliver audio ads in a way that maintains gameplay purity while meaningfully serving brands. We’ve been able to embrace contemporary methods to address issues such as players who usually mute their phones, but want in-game rewards without being blocked by video ads, and players who listen to background audio while playing a game. It’s all to do with understanding the audio state of a mobile device. For instance, our technology can detect, pause and then resume background audio, taking the listener back to the point of pausing, which is a true first.

AudioMob has also developed methods necessary for publishers to adopt this solution seamlessly and at scale. That’s enabled us to establish a beta program with our easy-to-use Unity plugin.

And that’s why we’re awesome!

Do reach out if you’d like to join our beta and explore the potential of audio ads with us. Or you can register to join our waitlist (which is gamified!) and get early access and shape what we’re building.