• New adtech offering monetises mobile games by placing audio ads that run in the background.

• Format creator AudioMob completes £1.5 million funding round through global pandemic.

• Audio advertising is booming, with Spotify identifying an $18 billion opportunity in selling audio ads. 

• Warner Case Study: In-game Audio Enhanced Banners increases CTR by over 1000% 

Gaming and adtech startup AudioMob has secured £1.5 million in Seed funding this month, as they continue to demonstrate the commercial impact of its platform in the $77 billion global mobile game industry.

Free-to-play mobile games can generate tremendous revenue, with numerous individual examples clearing billions in lifetime revenues. Free to the player at the point of download, many such titles monetise by displaying video ads that offer in-game rewards in return for a view. While successful, video ads can be seen to intrude on the experience of playing a game, meaning they can push users away.

AudioMob created an alternative that is as simple in principle as it is technologically nuanced. The solution lets developers integrate audio ads that run in the background of mobile games, leaving the user to continue playing – negating the challenges video ads introduce.

And AudioMob’s approach is already delivering impressive gains to the brands adopting the platform to connect with the huge mobile gaming audience – with some 2.4 billion people playing mobile games in 2019.

Top-10 streaming musician Joel Corry’s new single ‘Head & Heart’ featuring MNEK, for example, was recently promoted through AudioMob ads, leading to a 1000% uptake in click-through rate compared to standard in-game banner ads.
An entirely new technology, AudioMob is part of a trend where audio as a means to connect brands with consumers is booming – with Spotify’s CEO this year predicting an $18 billion opportunity in selling audio ads.

The investment, with participants such as Supernode Global, the first global MediaTech platform and Andy Davis as part of Atomico’s Angel Program, will be used to expand the core team, further an R&D effort, and build on AudioMob’s sales capacity. Google is also supporting AudioMob’s efforts as part of their Google for Startups Immersion Programme, led by Marta Krupinska, Mariama Boumanjal, Rachael Palmer and Anika Henry.