Key Points

  • Rewarded video ads can boost revenue for desktop software, but app publishers must overcome some inherent challenges.
  • Playwire's RAMP platform is built to beat those challenges and help publishers amplify their ad monetization opportunities.
  • There are three common use cases for rewarded video ads in desktop applications.

Why is monetizing software through advertising so hard?

More importantly, does it have to be?

Even as high-converting app monetization tools like rewarded video ads have taken hold across industries, desktop software has lagged behind. 

Sure, there are inherent challenges to using tools like rewarded video to monetize software that other formats don't face. But we believe that struggling publishers simply haven't found the right partner. Until now.

Here's everything you need to know about the challenges of monetizing desktop apps and how Playwire's revolutionary platform can help you overcome them.

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Rewarded Video Ads: The Complete Guide to Using Rewarded Video on Web, App, and More

Challenges of Monetizing Desktop Apps with Rewarded Video Ads

App monetization has long been a major mountain to climb in the world of desktop applications. Most solutions are built around monetizing websites, which rely on domain names and cookies to track users. But desktop apps don't have access to these tracking methods, making it difficult to connect with standard advertising demand sources. 

Throw in the fact that fraud monitoring challenges mean most demand sources don't want to work with desktop apps at all, and you're left with software applications that struggle to monetize programmatically. 

At Playwire, we've developed a full suite of solutions specifically for the desktop app ecosystem, developed directly into our RAMP Platform. These solutions provide a better way for desktop apps to monetize with advertising.

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Use Cases for Software Monetization with Rewarded Video Ads

While the sky's the limit when it comes to incorporating rewarded ads into your software platform, there are three very common use cases that pop up again and again.

Mixing Subscription and Ad Revenue Models with Rewarded Video Ads

Rewarded video ads offer a versatile way to generate revenue from your app. By allowing app users to watch a playable ad in exchange for a reward, you can create a revenue stream from both advertisers and users. 

This approach also lets you mix and match subscription and ad-based models, giving you the flexibility to cater to different types of users. 

For example, you could offer a subscription that includes access to premium content, along with the option to watch ads to unlock additional features. This would let users willing to watch ads support the app while also providing an incentive to upgrade to a paid subscription. 

Gate Access with Rewarded Video Ads

Anywhere you might charge a fee in exchange for access to - well, anything - you can swap in a rewarded video ad instead. You still gain revenue by gating off premium features, but your users don't have to make in-app purchases.

Here are some popular examples of potential gated rewards for video ads:

  • Access to exclusive software features
  • A temporary or permanent ad-free user experience
  • Entry into a contest or sweepstakes
  • A discount on a subscription or in-app purchase
  • Access to a free WiFi network (for brick-and-mortar businesses)

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Rewarded Video Ads in Gaming

The use of rewarded video ads for monetization is most mature in mobile gaming. The same principles can be applied to desktop gaming, too. If you've ever been promised an extra life or exclusive power-ups in exchange for watching a short ad, you've experienced rewarded video ad monetization as a user.

From a gaming app publisher's perspective, rewarded video ads are a win-win-win. Publishers monetize their games, users access premium features without paying, and advertisers deliver their messages in a format with an extremely high completion rate. What's not to love?

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The Complete Rewarded Video Ads Resource Center

RAMP: Playwire's Solution for Rewarded Video Ads and More

Interested in learning more about the holistic platform successfully serving ads in a desktop application environment? Allow us to introduce you to RAMP.

RAMP stands for Revenue Amplification Management Platform. That's just a fancy way of saying we've created one platform that does everything necessary to boost your revenue through advertising. 

Trusted by thousands of web and app publishers worldwide, RAMP is backed by machine learning and AI that combine in what we call RI: Revenue Intelligence®. This helps us maximize yield on every ad impression, ensuring you always get the highest bids possible. 

RI learns your product, adjusting thousands of unique settings and continuously improving over time. This process has increased ad revenue for our customers by as much as 200%.

Here are four features that make RAMP an essential monetization platform for software developers:

Ad Formats Built for Desktop

RAMP provides custom ad format options built for desktop apps, from gamified ad units and rewarded ad units to standard display and video units. The best of the best in the ad space, fully tailored to your unique user experience.

Close Relationships with Demand Partners

We already mentioned one of the biggest hurdles facing software developers hoping to monetize: getting demand partners onboard. That's where our deep relationships with ad partners open doors for publishers.

Get approved on key programmatic platforms and access the same level of demand as website publishers thanks to RAMP and Playwire's decades-long relationships with the top demand partners.

Simple, Scalable, and Built for Software

We've applied fifteen years of hard-earned ad tech experience to RAMP. The result is a platform that's simple and endlessly scalable for your business. Open new revenue streams, get strategic about your operations, build more content, and grow your audience network - all while focusing on the core elements of your business that matter most to you.

Powered by RI (Revenue Intelligence)

We mentioned our proprietary Revenue Intelligence®, but how does it work?

RI is an algorithm we developed to bring together the best of human and machine intelligence. Ad monetization through RAMP combines human intelligence and artificial intelligence in a perfect blend. 

The result? Our people can be creative in the way only people can, while our automation constantly refines and perfect the technical aspects of your monetization strategy in the way only robots can.

RI provides yield experimentation at scale, tracking user data points, capturing effects of even the most minor variables, and proactively adjusting settings across hundreds of metrics - from price floors and refresh rates to timeouts and bidder order.

It all adds up to a platform that not only optimizes your ad revenue but constantly finds new ways to amplify it.

The Platform and Partnerships to Boost Your Revenue

At Playwire, we combine our proprietary RAMP platform with the most comprehensive set of demand sources on the market. Rewarded video ads are just one of the many powerful ways we help you monetize your software.

Ready to find out more? Contact us online today.

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