Playable versus video CPI charts are selected supply, not a format law
Liftoff’s Creative Index CPI-by-format figures describe Liftoff inventory in a dated window—refuse “playables are X% cheaper” without sample and OS.
Liftoff’s 2024 Mobile Ad Creative Index reports gaming CPI by format from 602 billion impressions on Liftoff inventory in 2023, including playables at $0.60 CPI on Android versus higher iOS native costs. That is selected network supply in a dated window—not a law that “playables are always cheaper than video.” Release.
Sample and OS before the percentage
The same materials note that video or playable elements are far more likely than banners to drive gaming installs, while native and banner can still lead Day-7 ROI. Android and iOS CPI ranks differ. A slide that collapses those rows into “playables beat video by X%” without naming Liftoff, 2023, OS and the comparison format invents a format law.
Production cost, completion rate and post-install quality are outside this CPI extract unless separately measured.
Refuse unmatched format slogans
Our recommendation is to require publisher, period, OS, formats compared and inventory source before accepting a playable-versus-video efficiency claim. If any field is missing, leave it blank rather than filling with an industry average.
Inspect the evidence
Download the source-population and comparability card. The extraction separates documented facts from our analysis and unknowns.
| Field | Evidence or limit |
|---|---|
| Report / publisher | 2024 Mobile Ad Creative Index / Liftoff |
| Period | 1 January 2023 – 1 January 2024 |
| Population | Liftoff internal gaming (and other vertical) inventory: 602B impressions, 49.4M clicks, 144M installs |
| Metric under review | Gaming CPI by format (e.g. playables $0.60 Android; native $3.09 iOS); install likelihood vs banners |
| Aggregation | Network-sample averages by format and OS; not a cross-network census |
| Critical limit | Selected Liftoff supply and a 2023 window cannot establish a universal playable-versus-video CPI law for 2026 plans. |
| Comparable with | A matched network, OS, period and format pair |
| Not comparable with | An unmatched network mix or a production-cost argument dressed as CPI |
Further reading in the existing archive: Playable ad file size budgets by network; related Liftoff casual-report data-origins card. These links provide background; this check does not independently verify their full contents.
