Gismart’s Mobile Games Find Monetization Success in Asia with Pangle

Founded in 2013, Gismart is a major player in mobile app development and publishing, primarily focusing on hyper-casual games, third-party game publishing, and entertainment apps. Gismart’s apps have racked up over 500 million downloads in total, and include chart toppers such as Cool Goal, Domino Smash, and Oil Tycoon. On the 2020 Financial Times list of Europe’s fastest growing companies, Gismart ranked sixth overall, and first in the games industry.

Venturing into the unfamiliar

Having achieved success in many western countries, Gismart set its sights on Asian markets. Gismart knew that this cross-continental foray would be challenging, and was looking for a local partner with strong expertise in video advertising, a wealth of resources, and extensive experience. Pangle checked all three boxes. Together, Pangle and Gismart set out to improve eCPM and revenue for Gismart’s mobile games.

A splash of local flavor

Being new to the Asian market, Gismart relied on Pangle as a guide to Asian user behavior. All along the way, Pangle guided Gismart in placement setup, format selection, waterfall optimization, and more.

As a primary strategy, Gismart incorporated Pangle’s rewarded video ads and interstitial video ads into its games. To monetize non-paying users while also enriching experience, Gismart especially favored rewarded video ads in games that had previously relied on in-app purchases alone.

The Gismart team strategically placed these ads where users would naturally expect them. For example, upon level completion, some Gismart games feature rewarded ads that players can choose to watch in return for in-game currency or an extra life. To help prevent mis-clicks and loss of users, Gismart also avoided placing ads during intense in-game moments.

To follow local conventions, Gismart incorporated Pangle’s splash ads. Splash ads are skippable full-screen ads that appear when an app is launched. Many Asian users are accustomed to seeing this ad format, and it is less disruptive to user experience than, say, frequent interstitial ads during app use. What s more, splash ads yield high conversion rates, eCPM, and fill rates.

Beyond ad placement, Pangle’s monetization team also leveraged its expertise in mobile gaming to provide Gismart with advice on user acquisition (UA).

Pangle-powered success

After partnering with Pangle, Gismart saw a 20% increase in eCPM with a high, stable fill rate. Eventually, Pangle ads came to generate the biggest portion of Gismart’s revenue in Asia. The strategic use of rewarded video ads and interstitial video ads also ensured high LTV for Gismart’s games. Lastly, Pangle’s advice on UA enabled Gismart’s games to acquire not only more users, but higher-value users.

Following this initial success, Pangle has now become Gismart’s global monetization partner for both iOS and Android apps. Looking ahead, Gismart is planning to incorporate Pangle into its apps in even more countries.

"Pangle offers all the resources publishers need to thrive, and we feel fortunate to have their support. Wherever we implement Pangle ads, we have strong faith that we’ll see improved performance and higher LTV."

-- Irina Krivets, Head of Monetization in Gismart