Facebook announced that it is adding video functionality to its desktop app ads so advertisers can encourage people to install and play Facebook desktop games. According to the company, over 130,000 new Facebook-connected games launched last year alone.
“We strive to ensure that developers and marketers alike have the best tools to build, grow, and monetize their games,” says Facebook’s Robby Banks. “This new advertising offering reflects Facebook’s continued investment in desktop games, and it makes it easier than ever to reach the 445 million people that play Facebook-connected games across desktop and mobile every month.”
Facebook is adding the ability to use video creative in desktop app ads. They launched similar functionality for mobile ads in Power Editor last year. Now, the company is seeking to create a more consistent experience across mobile and desktop.
“This means that selected partners can start using video creative for desktop app ads in Power Editor and Ads Create Tool,” says Banks. “The video unit has similar functionality to our mobile app ads: it’s eligible to play automatically in News Feed, there is a persistent call-to-action (CTA) over the video pop-up for ads rendering on the right-hand side of the page, and all videos now have an end card that appears after they finish with options to replay it or install the game.”
Right now, video for desktop app ads is in limited release, but it will be made more broadly available soon, the company insists. You can fill out an application here.
Michael Velkes, VP of marketing at early partner Plamee, said, “The desktop app ad unit is the best converting non-incentive ad unit available in the industry. Adding this with video is a game-changer for the quality and loyalty of players.”
A new study from Advertiser Perceptions and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) found that 68% of marketers and agency execs expect their digital video ad budgets to increase over the course of the next year.
Another found that for brands that post their campaigns on both Facebook and YouTube, Facebook dominates viewership immediately following a campaign’s release.
Image via Facebook