The average sales expense ratio of major listed Chinese gaming companies fell to 21.8% in the first half of 2025, a 2.9 percentage point decrease year-over-year, marking the first notable decline in five years. This shift is attributed to a greater focus on deep marketing metrics, which strengthen the link between marketing investments and revenue generation, thereby improving returns. Data shows that among companies with reduced sales expense ratios, 77.8% saw increased net profits, while 63% reported higher revenues, indicating improved performance despite lower marketing spending.
**Key Trends in Mobile Marketing** 1. **Declining Sales Expense Ratio**: The 21.8% average reflects a strategic shift toward quality over quantity in ad spending. 2. **User Preferences**: 60% of users prefer discovering games through short video ads, while content marketing (e.g., livestreams, IP collaborations) gains traction for user acquisition and retention. 3. **Channel Dynamics**: Mobile app stores remain the primary download channel (74.3%), followed by video platforms (33.3%) and content platforms (16.8%).
**Shift from Volume to Quality in Ad Buys** App game ad volumes dropped to 2023 levels as companies prioritized high-quality creatives over quantity. Despite fewer ads, spending rose, indicating a focus on ROI. Factors include: - Adoption of deep targets (e.g., user retention, paid conversions). - Reduced reliance on ad-dependent IAA (in-app advertising) games due to hybrid monetization models.
**Competitive Landscape** - **Cross-Industry Pressure**: Games’ share of total ad spend fell to 12.8% (down 7 percentage points YoY), partly due to competition from short-form video platforms. - **Intra-Industry Stability**: Top 100 games increased their share of ad spend marginally, with resources concentrated on high-potential titles.
**Genre Insights** - MMORPGs led ad volumes (29%), buoyed by nostalgia and IP strength. - Casual genres (e.g., idle, simulation) showed growth potential, with rising ad investments.
**Mini-Program Games** - **Tencent Dominance**: 87.6% of mini-program gamers use Tencent’s ecosystem (e.g., WeChat). - **Monetization**: IAA games dominate (81.9% of titles), but IAP/hybrid games drive 80%+ of ad spend. - **Puzzle Games**: Top performers (56.9% user penetration) thrive on easy gameplay and ad tolerance (76.4% accept in-game ads).
**Marketing Takeaways** - **Performance Ads**: 62.6% of puzzle game users discover titles via ads, with in-game promos and short videos being most effective. - **Ad Incentives**: Players engage with ads for power-ups, revives, and unlocked content, enhancing retention.
*Data sources: Gamma Data (CNG), AppGrowing, Tencent Marketing Insights (TMI).*
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