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Vungle – a source of high-quality in-app traffic
WakeApp is back with its “Source of the Month” – an educational guide for mobile app marketers.
According to information gleaned from Statista, app stores are currently swamped with applications: Google Play includes 2.6 million apps while there are almost 4.5 million in the Apple App Store. So, what does it take for an app to rise to popularity among its users? It surely is no longer the case of simply creating a unique, analogue-free program capable of connecting clients to a service. This is where our highlight tool of the month comes in.
At WakeApp, we’re always ready to lend a helping hand to novice marketers, partners and specialists in the mobile app promotion market to be aware of the latest GEO trends, traffic sources and promotion features. This time, we’re introducing our readers to a popular traffic source and tool that specialises in promoting mobile applications. Say hello to Vungle.
Vungle is an advertising network that specialises in promoting short videos within apps and games. Ads are played without reloading or buffering – just like on YouTube – and are stored in the cache and played without any pauses. Vungle offers a loyal moderation system as well as the ability to work on the CPI model. Through Vungle, developers can monetise mobile applications, and marketers can successfully promote products and attract large volumes of high-quality traffic through modern ad formats which are broadcast within programs connected to the network.
Following Vungle’s merger with Liftoff, another major market player, all Vungle products, services and accounts are now available on liftoff.io.
Liftoff is a worldwide advertising network that has been providing in-app traffic monetization opportunities since 2012. The ad network is well known for its large selection of payment models and affordable ad formats, and is considered as one of the most accessible and easy-to-use ad networks amongst marketers, media buyers and traffic specialists. This has made Liftoff one of the most effective and popular sources of in-app traffic.
Advertisers promoting their products through Vungle (or Liftoff) can successfully drive traffic from popular advertising spaces with flexible targeting. This will ensure that ads reach only their relevant audiences and that budget is spent more efficiently.
Some Vungle facts:
- Year of launch: 2011
- Average annual income $200.0M – $500.0M
- Ad Formats: Banners, Interstitial, MREC, Rewarded Video
- Payment Model: CPC, CPM, CPL, CPI
- Apps Included: 1800+ apps
- Impressions: +396B
- Annual Clicks: +6.2B
- First Time Events: 7.7M
- Installs: +275M
- Minimum deposit amount: $50 for PayPal, $1000 for bank transfers
- GEO coverage: WorldWide, Tier1
Vungle makes it possible to broadcast commercials within the products of the world’s leading brands, and to a wide audience. What’s more, Vungle allows you to successfully promote iOS and Android apps, as well as programs from the Microsoft Store and Amazon ASIN.
Vungle benefits
- Low percentage of rejections and bans for ad creatives. The platform adapts well to the promotion of any type of vertical.
- Possibility to promote iOS on CPI. By comparison, only the CPM format is available in Unity.
- High-quality traffic. Vungle has established itself in the market and confidently holds its position among the most effective sources of in-app traffic.
- Modern advertising formats. The platform allows you to promote products using advertising formats such as banners, Interstitial (full screen advertising), MREC (medium sized rectangle), Rewarded Video.
Disadvantages of Vungle
- High bid rate. The average ad network bid is typically 30-40% higher than competitors.
- Difficulty in scaling. The volume of quality traffic on Vungle does not guarantee the scaling success of the advertising campaign. Users who have not reached the stage of installing the application are blacklisted, requiring further optimization for traffic monetization.
- The minimum amount for the first deposit is $1000.
Advertising campaign targeting is configured according to all the main parameters: GEO, device type, OS, and screen resolution. It also provides the ability to set up smart targeting by optimizing impressions and selecting a relevant audience. In fact, advertisers promoting their product through Vungle can choose which category of apps to place their ads on.
Vungle’s main advertising format is video advertising. Users are provided their own SDK (Software Development Kit) with detailed instructions to integrate video into the application. What’s more, advertisers needn’t go to the trouble of creating or filming ads themselves. Rather, they simply can place an application in Vungle and indicate the main points of the product that they’d like to highlight, as well as select one of the suggested voice templates. The design studio, Vungle Creative Labs, will independently develop a unique promotional offer for any request.
How can marketers use Vungle?
In order to start using the advertising network, start by registering here.
1. Select Monetization as Job Position
Verify your account via email and head over to your Vungle Dashboard.
2. Create a new Vungle app
Go to Dashboard and click Add Application. If your app supports both Android and iOS platforms, you’ll need to add each one separately.
Choose a platform for your application, specify the name and its presence in the Store. If the app is available in the store, select My app is live and use the search box to add a link.
Important! If your application is designed for children under 13, select Disagree – COPPA settings will apply.
3. Create a placement for your application
Select the ad type and enter the name of the placement. For rewarded videos, select No in the Skippable field.
Click Continue, and I’ve already integrated the most recent SDK. On the next page, click Sounds Good.
After adding your application, you can add a new placement in its settings. To do this, click Add Placement.
To launch an advertising campaign in Liftoff:
1. Select Direct as Job Position
Click Add Campaign and Add New Application.
Specify the OS of your application and its App ID.
2. Specify the name of the advertising campaign and the timing of its launch.
3. Provide a link to the postback tracker, if necessary.
4. Specify targeting settings: GEO, device type, OS, screen resolution, as well as the ability to download ads over a mobile connection.
5. Enter your cost per click and daily budget. The minimum daily budget is $1,000.
6. In the creative field, upload the finished video or leave a request for its creation in Vungle Creative Labs.
In the creative field, upload the finished video or leave a request for its creation in Vungle Creative Labs.
Vungle is one of the 30+ sources our media buyers use to promote WakeApp.
Here at WakeApp, we are proud to say that we have been using Vungle as a traffic source for over 10 years. Vungle has proved to be a massive convenience for our clients in their goal to attract a young and solvent audience.
About our guide: Every month, we publish helpful promotion guides where we discuss promotion features in a particular region according to traffic sources and GEO traffic. We also seek to keep our readers up-to-date on tips, as well as restrictions and bans about promoting on certain sources.
Think of it as a mobile marketer’s desktop guide!
About us: WakeApp is an international mobile marketing agency with over 9 years of experience in the market, and is leading the development and promotion of gaming and non-gaming mobile applications in the e-com, video streaming, food delivery, sport, utilities, and finance verticals. In 2022, WakeApp received The Media Agency of the Year at the SiGMA Asia Awards, and in 2021, WakeApp placed in 5 categories in the 13th edition of the AppsFlyer Performance Index XIII.
BMM
BMM TESTLABS PROMOTES SACHA MCLAUGHLIN TO VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL QUALITY ASSURANCE

BMM Testlabs, the world’s original gaming test lab renowned for exceptional product compliance and certification services, today announced the promotion of Sacha McLaughlin to Vice President of Global Quality Assurance.
BMM’s President of Land-Based Gaming & Inspections, Kirk White, said, “Sacha has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, operational excellence, and a customer-first attitude. Her experience and passion will be critical as we continue to grow our QA services to meet the always-evolving needs of the global gaming industry.”
With over 18 years of experience in software implementation and seven years in the gaming industry, McLaughlin brings extensive knowledge of both agile and waterfall development methodologies, test planning, project management, and cross-regional team leadership. She is recognized for her ability to build and scale QA organizations that deliver quality, speed, and value to customers.
McLaughlin joined BMM in 2018 and has held roles of increasing responsibility within the Company, most recently serving as Senior Director of Quality Assurance. Throughout her tenure, she has been instrumental in expanding BMM’s QA capabilities and helping customers launch products into the global gaming market more quickly, with a focus on regulatory compliance, functionality, fairness, and security.
The post BMM TESTLABS PROMOTES SACHA MCLAUGHLIN TO VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL QUALITY ASSURANCE appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Eastern Europe
Totogaming Joins Cernica Pantelimon RunFest: Not Just Present, But Fully Participating

“We weren’t just present — we were participants of Runfest. And that’s one of the most important aspects,” said Artak Ashkhatoyan, Deputy CEO of Totogaming.
On July 6, Totogaming joined the Cernica Pantelimon Runfest in Romania, once again emphasizing the importance of promoting amateur sports and a healthy lifestyle.
“Supporting such initiatives is a priority for TotoGaming. First, 50% of the proceeds from RunFest will be donated to the CLOVES Romania Foundation, supporting children affected by CLOVES Syndrome. And second, we’ve always believed in showing our passion for sports through actions, not just words. Have you noticed how we’re constantly rushing through life, yet when we look back, it often feels like we haven’t moved at all? It’s important for us to lead by example and show the importance of participation. This is exactly the message we’re promoting through our team’s active involvement in the marathon. After all, there can never be too much sport in our lives,” said TotoGaming’s Deputy CEO, Artak Ashkhatoyan.
A Simple Concept, a Powerful Impact
The concept of this sports event is straightforward: choose a distance between 1 to 21 kilometers and run. The goal? Make sport an integral part of everyday life. The crowd certainly embraced that, gathering as early as 8:30 a.m. — on a Sunday morning.
Totogaming contributed in two distinct capacities: as an official sponsor and as an active participant. A dedicated team of 13 employees represented the company at the Cernica Pantelimon RunFest, with 7 of them proudly taking part as runners.
More Than Just a Run
It wasn’t an easy challenge — especially because among Totogaming’s runners were people for whom running isn’t a daily habit, or even part of their life at all. Yet they couldn’t miss the opportunity, not least from the perspective of corporate responsibility.
“We just finished the 7.5-kilometer race!” shared Petrut-Adrian Toea from the Totogaming team.
“It was amazing, honestly. Around the 2-kilometer mark, I had this little battle with myself — I told myself I had to finish the race, no matter what. And I did it! I came in around 60th place out of over 100 runners, which for me is a really good result.”
“I see my participation as a small contribution toward promoting a healthy lifestyle. In my close circle, everyone knows I’m not exactly the sporty type. I’m not athletic, and I usually prefer having fun in other ways. But showing up here, early in the morning, in this intense heat, and completing almost 8 kilometers with just one short break — I think it set a good example.”
“I hope seeing someone like me finish this challenge motivates my friends to try something similar for their own health. I believe that’s a meaningful contribution”, – added Petrut-Andrea.
Totogaming also made it possible for every attendee to bring sport into their lives — quite literally. At the Totogaming tent, participants could ride stationary bikes and receive prizes based on the number of points they earned through their efforts.
Whether they were running, cycling, or simply cheering for friends, the goal for everyone was the same: to reach the destination of champions — by bringing sport into everyday life.
The post Totogaming Joins Cernica Pantelimon RunFest: Not Just Present, But Fully Participating appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
AI
Liftoff’s 2025 Mobile Ad Creative Index Reveals UGC Is a Key Differentiator for Top Apps

Major findings from the newly launched report include playable ads having the potential to deliver impression-to-install rates 16 times that of non-playable formats for emerging gaming apps and a 20% increase in spending on interactive ads year over year.
Liftoff, a leading AI-enabled growth platform for the mobile app economy, has published its seventh annual Mobile Ad Creative Index. The report explores top creative trends that are attracting and scaling in ad spend across consumer apps and games. It also highlights the expanding role of AI in creative production, testing, and optimization.
This year’s Mobile Ad Creative Index specifically analyzes creative concepts that have excelled in scale for Liftoff’s highest-spending advertisers over the past 12 to 48 months. It is based on findings from over 4.7 trillion impressions, 263 billion clicks, and 1.1 billion installs between 1 January 2023 and 31 May 2025.
Highlights from the report include:
Top consumer apps are investing in interactive ads to compete for engagement
In 2024, the share of spend on interactive ads for top apps increased by 20% year over year. The share of spend increased by 2% for spenders outside the top tier. Top-spending apps differentiate their campaigns by adding innovations to evergreen concepts such as social scrollers, carousels, and scratch-offs.
Playable ads deliver returns across ad budgets for mobile game advertisers
In 2024, the share of spend on playable ads for top games averaged 35% higher than other games. Across all ad budgets, however, playable ads delivered higher conversion rates. Impression-to-install rates were 8 times that of non-playable formats for top spenders and 16 times that of non-playable formats for other game advertisers.
Tailoring “metaplay” elements to motivations can improve performance
“Metaplay” elements—gameplay that diverges from an app’s core design to appeal to a broader audience—are widespread, but top games gain an edge by tailoring their metaplay ads to the publisher audience. The report found that aligning “metaplay” creative with publisher audiences resulted in a 93% increase in installs-per-mille.
UGC is becoming a key differentiator in driving scale for consumer apps
The share of spend on user-generated content (UGC) increased 11% for top-spending apps, with social and utility apps seeing the most significant jump of nearly 30% between 2023 and 2024.
Widespread adoption of Gen AI leads to more customized ad experiences
Creative teams increasingly leverage AI to enhance top-performing assets with 3D and motion and to create and test variations. Top advertisers also use AI to recombine their assets in customized ad experiences that break away from standard video to playable formats.
Yann Zeller, Chief of Staff, Creative at Liftoff, said: “Today’s creative landscape is shaped by a single, powerful truth: attention is the commodity, and brands, games, and influencers are all vying for it. Great mobile ad experiences can earn attention by aligning context with behavior. As ad formats become richer and AI expands our ability to personalize and adapt creatives at scale, we’re able to unlock new insights into user behavior and motivation. We see users spend meaningful stretches with the right content, sometimes 60 to 90 seconds when the ad feels personal or prompts meaningful participation. This isn’t just a better way to advertise—it’s a better way to tell stories and the most exciting brief we’ve had in years.”
Soren Steelquist, Director of Creative Production, said: “The proof is in the data—more and more consumer apps are incorporating UGC into every stage of their marketing, and programmatic is no different. UGC works because it’s authentic and relatable, and users are more likely to be influenced by ad when it’s coming from a trustworthy source. To see higher impact from UGC creatives, work with a partner that can match the right creator with your brand and develop winning concepts that resonate with audiences.”
The post Liftoff’s 2025 Mobile Ad Creative Index Reveals UGC Is a Key Differentiator for Top Apps appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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