Indonesians receptive to ads during gaming with 62% recall

The pandemic-driven ‘shelter in place’ advisories have caused 46% of Indonesians to turn to mobile gaming for the first time, resulting in its emergence as the new face of entertainment and relaxation for consumers. According to InMobi’s "Mobile Gaming Through the Pandemic and Beyond in Southeast Asia 2021" report, the number of unique mobile gamers has doubled and app usage has quadrupled in Indonesia from January 2020 to January 2021.

The report also found that Indonesian gamers are familiar with and receptive to ads during gameplay, with over two-thirds of respondents preferring to watch ads to progress in games instead of paying.

At least 62% remembered the ads they had seen when playing mobile games because it catered to their interests, was immersive, or provided them with in-game rewards.

“Gaming is among the biggest opportunities for advertisers across Southeast Asia today. What it provides is not just huge reach, but the ability to access an audience that is highly engaged and receptive to ads in an environment that is completely brand safe and impactful. This, in combination with the richness of mobile, ensures that every brand can drive relevant ad experiences at scale,” Rishi Bedi, general manager and vice president of Southeast Asia, Japan, And Korea at InMobi said.

Within the wider Southeast Asian market, smartphone gaming experienced triple growth momentum during initial lockdowns in April 2020. This also translated into a long-term behavioural shift beyond the pandemic as gaming usage more than doubled year-on-year on average since January 2020 – significant as Southeast Asia is home to 250 million mobile gamers.

Based on a survey of over 1,000 smartphone users across Indonesia, the report saw nearly a third increasing the time they spent on gaming and downloading more games over the last year.

According to the survey, over 80% of Indonesian gamers are ‘committed’ as they play once to several times a day, and the 35-44 years old bracket has a higher overall percentage of committed gamers. The gamer demographic is split nearly equally between females and males. This increase in mobile gaming frequency has also caused permanent behavioural shifts.

Peak gaming times have shifted, with 8am seeing quadruple growth in gaming app engagement compared to pre COVID-19 times.

About 54% of Indonesian respondents have three or more games installed, and 46% of committed gamers download games several times a week. Approximately 24% of respondents spend over an hour gaming, while the average mobile gamer spends an 11-30 minute ‘snack-sized’ playtime per session.

“As a microcosm of the Southeast Asian gaming market, Indonesia has demonstrated that there is significant growth potential for mobile gaming in the region due to better accessibility and affordability, as well as the need for ‘snack-sized’ entertainment,” Bedi said.

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