Maybe you won’t hate in-app ads so much if you could play them

A lot of people hate ads, but making them interactive could turn them into something more palatable.

Mobile programmatic DSP (demand-side platform) CrossInstall today announced PrePlay, playable ads that let users try a game before an app directs them to the iTunes or Google Play stores. The mobile gaming industry was worth $34.8 billion in 2015, according to market research firm Newzoo, but attracting customers to a new game can prove difficult as user acquisition costs rise. Ads are often the solution, but they can annoy people just as often as intrigue them. A playable ad could have an easier time grabbing a potential customer’s interest.

“CrossInstall’s PrePlay ads are designed to be interactive, playable ads that are tailored to the individual user, from casual to hardcore gamer, creating a fun and dynamic engagement,” said Jeff Marshall, CrossInstall cofounder and chief executive officer, in a press release sent to GamesBeat. “For users to return to a game, they have to experience and enjoy the first session. Playable ads remove this first step so the first point of contact happens before the download.”

In a beta test, CrossInstall noted that 30 percent of users that clicked on PrePlay ads ended up installing the advertised app (it did not specify for which games).