Why Interstitial Ads Are Making a Comeback in Mobile Advertising

Wasn't there a time when everyone thought interstitials were a thing of the past? That full-screen takeovers were the worst thing to ever happen to mobile before we realized pop-ups made it a game to dodge ads every split second.

Think again. They are back. But not in a desperate, last-gasp attempt. In reality, they're performing better than the more "user-friendly" implementations that sought to replace interstitials. The ad unit that advertisers decided was not worth it a few years ago is now quietly outperforming standard banner units, and in some cases, even native ads, but in certain situations.

Why? Not nostalgia. Not because people are lazy in unit selection. Because of intelligent implementation, for sure, but more importantly, due to a different way people use their phones now than in 2015. The interstitials of 2023 are not the page-closing, now-I-want-to-throw-my-phone-across-the-room ads of 2015. They're faster. They're contextual.

A History of Invisibility

So, what happened over the past ten years? With mobile as everyone championed "no intrusiveness" to the point where ads were invisible. I'm not talking about not paying attention to ad units; I mean units became so small, they were an afterthought. Standard banner ads never got larger than thumbnail size; native ads became so popular that they blended in so well that people never saw them again. The pendulum swung too far toward user-friendliness where campaigns were dying slow but sure deaths without impression value.

However, this trend did get advertisers stuck with impressions they had to pay for that no one ever saw. That standard banner at the bottom of an article? Most people never scroll all the way down. That small square in the far right corner? Good luck getting anyone under 40 to even glance near the edges of the screen anymore.

But interstitials? Impossible to ignore. They come up at full-screen view most often between content - when someone finishes an article and closes their device, levels in a game, and they reach an end screen or when crossing through application categories. However, users must acknowledge them, if only temporarily, by closing them with the annoying little "X" in the right corner. That acknowledgment is what's bringing interstitials back.

Changing Times

The format works differently on mobile than ever before on desktop, and that's a huge part of why interstitials are experiencing a resurgence. On computers, a full-screen takeover seems aggressive. If I'm trying to read an article or get something done, my entire screen shouldn't be filled with something I don't want it to be.

But mobile is different. People use phones in short bursts, as they're waiting in line, on a bathroom break, during commercial breaks, between desired sections before doing the next task on their list. Those impulsive boundaries allow for interstitials between segments without being interrupted during work flow because they're changing gears anyway.

App developers figured this out first: game developers began showing interstitials between levels, and users rarely complained because it was when they were already stopping for a moment that the ad appeared. News apps began showing interstitials between articles when readers had already finished one and decided to select another piece for consumption; the timing made all the difference.

Statistics Don't Lie

What also brought the love for interstitials back is performance statistics. When advertisers tested other formats against interstitials, consistently, higher engagement rates appeared with click-through numbers and conversion rates supporting efforts attributed to successful interstitial campaigns.

Not by any small percentage. One campaign reported interaction rates 200-300% higher than standard display units.

It makes practical sense. If this is what users are told to pay attention to with nothing else on their screens, they'll read it. Users have learned to ignore standard banner ads while reading; using native ads in an effort to imply creativity means competing with everything else available on that web page; interstitials come at those stakes without a doubt since they own the full screen for whatever seconds they have.

The interstitial ads CPM rates corroborate effectiveness over price; higher prices are granted compared to standard banner placements per interested advertisers willing to offer ad impressions for the guaranteed attention. It's better than being nice about it when paying for impressions; when it gets seen, people are happy.

This is especially true for mobile app monetization where screen size is limited and user sessions are small; many publishers found they could receive more CPMs from fewer but well-placed interstitials than cluttering their pathways with multiple banner placements that garnered few impressions anyway.

Respect Is Key

The bad reputation interstitials once had was not necessarily unwarranted; back in the day, bad implementations ran rampant; poor loading times made users wait; they interrupted at random times for people; exit buttons were miniscule or invisible even if they did exist. Some forced users to watch for a minimum amount of time before dismissing it. It felt like there was an idea to maximize frustration through this format.

But modern interstitials learned from those mistakes. Loading times are drastically improved; advertisers learned to respect user usage and only show them at natural transition points; exit buttons are prominent right away; frequency caps prevent the same person from seeing too many over an extended period.

Technical improvements are good, but creative use matters just as much; the best interstitial campaigns don't super-size what's just a standard size banner design; they use the entire screen well, concise messaging, better visuals, stronger CTAs. When you have someone's full attention, even if it's only for a few seconds, it would be lazy not to take advantage of it.

When Interstitial Ads Work Best

Not every situation calls for interstitials. They're horrible for content-dense situations where people are reading long-form articles and hoping to get something done during that time. They're not great e-commerce shopping where flow is interrupted leading to conversions getting killed if someone intended to buy something but lost their attention. They're frustrating informationally where people can't find certain answers quickly because their searches are interrupted unexpectedly.

But when mobile app usage, interstitials thrive; game apps use them beautifully between levels or after accomplishments; social apps present them when people finish scrolling through one feed section, and await news posts about to refresh.

Ultimately, it's about matching the user's mindset with format expectations; if someone's in task mode, set on accomplishing a specific task, interstitials become roadblocks. But if someone's in browse mode, exploring casually with no determined intent, interstitials fit seamlessly into their behavioral pattern.

The Balance

What makes good strategy vs. annoying strategy comes down to frequency and respect; publishers who show one interstitial every 15-20 minutes of app usage report far better user retention than those who bombard them every few minutes; it's not complicated math; no one quits using an app over one full-screen ad; they quit when it feels unrelenting.

Some platforms now have smart frequency controls based on how long someone has been using something before showing them an interstitial; some use engagement signals, meaning they only show someone an ad who is clearly active and engaging and not someone who just opened something to find out information and left immediately again.

These small changes make big differences in how welcomed this format is received.

There's also length of creative measured welcome factor; five-second skippable ads that reach greater engagement bring about far greater metrics than 15-second forced views, albeit advertisers gain less guaranteed exposure, because users appreciate having control over time and goodwill translates into greater engagement when there's potential overlap.

The Future with Interstitials

This isn't a temporary trend; it's a resurgence based on social correction through valuable insights per implementation and transformed reality; as more advertisers get engaged with CTR statistics and publishers see valuable monetization potential from above, expect more moments like these to enter the digital mobile experience.

The format will continue evolving, interactive interstitials are currently playing well into arenas showing users mini-games they can play between swiping galleries for products or engaging content versus static images or text.

The video format is also becoming more frequent, especially for app install campaigns where gameplay visuals help convey a better message than static images.

And it's not that intrusive advertising wins out overall; it's visibility that matters most - and if you provide a format that helps respect one's time but requires their full attention at just the right time, they'll respond.

Interstitials rediscovered that balance, it's no longer a format people love to hate.