A Candy Crush Case Study:Measuring the Emotion Connection to

Premium Mobile Gaming

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Activision Blizzard is the largest gaming company in the western

world

Source: Gamasutra, ‘Earnings report roundup: Game industry winners and losers of the last quarter’, Nov 2017. 2

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#1mobile gaming publisher

in the US

#1franchise globally for 8 of

the last 9 years

#1most popular PC multiplayer

RPG of all time

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King is building an advertising model that respects the time and attention of users via value-exchange media, which is additive to the experience of players across King games.

King makes high quality games

• Multiple top-grossing games

• 37m daily time-spent

• Top reaching Mobile Game maker in the US

King’s Ad Model

• Values the player experience

• Enhances gameplay experience

• Value exchange media is the preferred ad unit among consumers

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5 Total Mobile Apps Tested

Natural Ad Content & Ad Load

EEG and Galvanic Skin Response

N = 125

Ages 25-54

Neurological and Biometric Testing Methodology

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Neural and Biometric Impact

Lower GSR

High GSR

More“Avoid”

More“Approach”

Ads and experiences are visualized on a 2x2 matrix, displaying emotional relevance and

behavioral motivation as the two dimensions.Electroencephalography (EEG)

Measures cognitive-affective processing, in the absence of overt behavior

Indicates a consumer’s approach motivation towards an experience or advertisement

Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)

Measures the emotional relevance elicited by an ad or experience

Helps identify peak moments within an experience or advertisement

Neural and biometric techniques provide deeper insights into how individuals think and feel about an experience beyond potential biases inherently tied to self-response survey data.

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Neural and Biometric Impact

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Candy Crush ads elicit a more favorable emotional response than other premium platforms

18% Higher emotional arousal than social and entertainment ads

20% Higher approach motivation than social and entertainment ads

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Candy Crush ads create emotional lift for whole experiences, compared to other platforms where ads detract

Cognitive Principle

When individuals are in a heightened state of arousal/motivation, they may be more receptive to experiences or content around them.

In this study, Candy Crush ads may receive a “halo effect” of high arousal and motivation

Neural and Biometric Impact

Gameplay Ad

Thank you!

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