Published on: June 10, 2026
Eric Jangor is a seasoned and insightful veteran of the AdTech world with over twenty years of experience leading growth for heavyweights like LOVOO and MatchGroup. Currently the Managing Director at adjoe, Eric is a collaborative leader who operates at the messy intersection of brand, performance, and human behavior. In this conversation, he explores the delicate balance between high-tech acquisition and the “human magic” of habit formation; he argues that for apps to survive today, they must move past the transaction and start building genuine value exchanges.
Q: Rewarded advertising is still mostly associated with gaming. Why should app marketers outside gaming care about it now?
Because the broader app market is running into the same problem gaming has dealt with for years, acquisition has become highly sophisticated and expensive, but keeping users engaged after the install is still much harder. Last year, global app marketers spent $78 billion to acquire users; at the same time, the average day-30 retention still lands around 6-8%. That gap!
“The industry has become very good at buying users, but what’s next?”
The industry has become very good at buying users, but what’s next? Rewarded addresses that gap more directly than many mainstream channels; it not only drives discovery but also creates a clearer value exchange that keeps users engaged for longer. Our newly added non-gaming advertisers prove that they can keep twice as many acquired users after D30.
What makes rewarded fundamentally different from traditional channels, and is this just a gaming lesson being carried over?
The difference is in the nature of the interaction. Mainstream channels are often built around interruption, persuasion, and speed; rewarded is built around user choice. That changes the quality of attention you get and the kind of relationship you can build. Long before the wider app market, mobile gaming had already refined the mechanics now shaping modern growth; I am talking about daily rewards, streaks, and habit-forming return loops. This isn’t just about carrying over a lesson; it’s about acknowledging that rewarded is better aligned with how loyalty and long-term value are actually built.
Q: But who are the users in rewarded spaces really? Are they still just “mobile gamers”?
That is the misconception; the audience is much broader than that. Our latest research shows that rewarded users are deeply active across everyday app categories. In the U.S. sample, about 79% use finance apps, 76% use retail apps, and 49% use grocery apps. We also see 42% using QSR apps and 33% using delivery apps. That is not a niche gaming audience; that is a mobile-first audience already living inside the kinds of app ecosystems non-gaming marketers care about most.
The question should not be whether rewards can reach people outside gaming. It clearly can. Those users are already relevant to your category and already active in adjacent services.
Q: What makes rewarded users behave differently once they install? The best rewarded systems are not optimised around the install. When rewards are tied to engagement, users are not just completing a transaction and disappearing; they are progressing through an experience. That change is major
“Rewarded advertising turns acquisition into the start of a relationship rather than the end of a campaign.”
This is also why the format is becoming more relevant for categories like retail, fintech, and mobility. These businesses do not only need downloads; they need users with a higher likelihood of staying active. Rewarded supports that because the acquisition path already selects for users who are willing to engage over time, reach milestones, and keep going in exchange for clear value.
Q: How should marketers think about rewarded versus mainstream channels?
Not as a replacement for everything else, but as a distinct system with different strengths. Rewarded becomes especially valuable when marketers want a different kind of user relationship and a more incremental source of growth.
It is also about reaching users others are not reaching. We put a huge importance on exclusive global supply; that is one reason rewarded is getting more attention right now. It is not only a format conversation; it is an incrementality conversation.
Q: Do you see rewarded becoming a standard growth channel for apps beyond gaming?
Yes, because all the conditions are already there; the market just needs to catch up. Non-gaming spend is growing faster than gaming. Teams are under more pressure to prove quality, not just volume. More marketers are realizing that the gap between install and habit is where growth is either built or lost.
“The next chapter of the app economy is about connecting acquisition with loyalty much more directly.”
Rewarded is well positioned for that next phase because it respects user choice and creates a clearer value exchange. Gaming showed the market that this works; the next chapter is about applying that same human principle more broadly.
