3 Ways Advertising in Apps Levels the Playing Field for New Businesses  

The journey to become a household name can be daunting for up-and-coming Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) and consumer app brands. They face limited budgets, intense competition for eyeballs, and an advertising climate that always seems on the verge of an existential crisis. Finding cost-effective yet impactful ways to grow their customer base can be incredibly difficult. But there is one way these brands can capitalize on consumer trends: advertising in apps.

According to our recent Consumer Mobile Trends Report, consumers spend a lot of time in apps—about a quarter of their waking time each day. This presents an incredible opportunity for brands to meet their users where they are most engaged—within their favorite apps.

As high-intent shoppers prime their digital wallets for a spending frenzy, we’ll share how in-app advertising can deliver the edge needed to tap into new growth.

Stand out from the crowd

It’s no secret that marketers are flocking to social media platforms to find their dream audiences—elusive Gen Xs, influential Gen Zs, and community-active Millennials. And because it’s not a secret, many consumer brands—big and small—are actively advertising there. These same audiences are also using apps beyond social – managing their finances with apps like Mint, learning new languages on Duolingo, staying informed with SmartNews, and playing games like Words with Friends during their commute. (Fun fact: all of these apps are ad-supported)

By advertising in apps, marketers can reach their ideal customers in a less crowded environment. In 2024, there were over 4M apps across the major app stores, compared to a handful of social media apps, where much of the advertiser spend is consolidated.

These brands can engage larger audiences through the scale that in-app ads deliver—over 5B users worldwide with a mobile subscription. Marketers don’t need to abandon social media; it remains a key part of the channel mix. However, mobile offers additional touchpoints to engage customers, increasing brand and product familiarity.

Breaking from the pack will enable marketers to skip past the competition during the holidays and make an impact.

Scale by targeting consumer behavior

One of the major advantages of in-app advertising is the ability to use advanced targeting, which helps DTC and consumer brands focus their reach on the most valuable users. Larger brands may cast a wide net, but for emerging players with limited budgets, the ability to target effectively is key to achieving better ROI.

Advancements in technology, including AI-based advertising, enable brands to run campaigns that target consumer engagements across various apps, taking the guesswork out of who and where to target. Instead, performance campaigns optimize toward specific business goals such as first-time orders, opening an account, or connecting with new users based on the projected revenue they’ll generate. Marketers can run campaign types with different down-funnel goals simultaneously, opening the door to discovering new, incremental audiences that may have previously been untapped. 

Another benefit of AI-based advertising is automation, which significantly reduces the need for manual optimizations. This allows marketers to focus on higher-level strategy instead of daily campaign management. AI ensures that ad spend is directed where it will generate the best results, helping marketers identify and reach high-value users globally. This approach also simplifies scaling, eliminating the complexity of managing multiple geo-targeted campaigns and enabling more efficient expansion across diverse markets.

Smaller brands can adopt a highly efficient, data-driven approach to user acquisition, enabling them to compete with larger brands in a more agile and cost-effective way.

Compete through innovative ad formats

In-app advertising levels the playing field for newer brands through innovative ad formats that were once only thought to be used in mobile game advertising. Full-screen formats like playable ads to rewarded videos create immersive experiences that resonate with users and can even outperform traditional ad formats in terms of engagement and conversion rates.

Rewarded Ads: Users opt to watch a video or engage with an ad in exchange for in-app rewards, such as extra lives in a game or premium content in an app. This voluntary engagement typically results in higher brand recall and positive user sentiment—ideal for smaller brands looking to make a lasting impression.

Playable Ads: Interactive ad formats—like quizzes, swipeable galleries, or ads that leverage gamification—allow smaller brands to create a memorable user experience. These formats not only boost engagement but can also help drive more qualified leads by allowing users to actively interact with the brand before making a conversion decision.

Wholly Owned Screen:  Video and playable ads have 100% on-screen share of voice (SOV) — meaning ads aren’t competing for mindshare with other brands or appearing alongside other content, which increases brand safety.

Those acquired through in-app ads are also more engaged than those from other marketing channels for consumer app brands. In the fintech sector, for instance, in-app ad customers open their apps nine times a month on average, compared to 5.8 times for social media-acquired customers, according to Adjust data. 

This increased engagement leads to more repeat transactions, driving higher revenue and allowing marketers to reinvest in user acquisition and enhancing product features. This cycle improves user experience and retention, creating more revenue opportunities for consumer brands.

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As more consumers spend time within apps, brands that want to beat the competition and are leveraging in-app advertising in their channel mix will find themselves well-positioned to scale in an increasingly mobile-first world. 

Check out our Consumer Mobile Trends Report for more insights on how to unlock the full potential of your multi-channel strategy through advertising in apps.