Ad Whales

Mobile game whales and ad whales

What is a whale in gaming?

In mobile games, whales are defined as the small group of players (usually 2%) who bring in the majority of the revenue - either via microtransactions or via ads. Dolphins bring in a bit less revenue, while minnows bring in the smallest amount of revenue. Depending on the game, whales can spend upwards of thousands of dollars a month for a game.

What is an ad whale?

Ad whales are a small percentage of app users who generate a great deal of mobile app revenue, simply by watching and engaging with ads.These users are a quintessential part of any app monetization campaign.

Targeting ad whales with proper strategies, such as in-app messaging and push notifications increases their likelihood of engaging with ads, proving to be very effective with these high-value users.

In order to boost app ad monetization, it is becoming clear to app developers that along with looking at average users, they should concentrate their efforts on high revenue targets such as mobile game whales as well as being conscious of how much money whales spend. Through better metrics and personalization, getting to know your ad whales demographic and focusing on their needs and interests could be the best use of your advertising budget. Microtransaction whales can become mobile game whales or ad whales with the correct targeting.

Mobile app user segmentation

What is mobile app user segmentation?

Mobile app user segmentation is the placement of app users in groups according to traits such as demographic, lifecycle stage, in-app behavior, technology and localization. This helps app developers customize their ad experience on their app, easily implementing ads to fit a specific audience and better understand the behavior of these groups of users.

If done right, mobile app user segmentation can lead to increased retention and conversions of mobile app users engaging in your app and ultimately generate more revenue.