Discord‘s year-old ad format distinguishes it from many of its competitors, and those spots seem to be delivering quality results. For the first time, an attribution and analytics company — AppsFlyer — has run a performance measurement test for Discord’s Quests ads.
AppsFlyer ran its Discord test in June, when it analyzed the results of a Quests campaign that promoted the Marvel Snap trading card game on behalf of developer Second Dinner. The topline numbers, according to Digiday, were quite strong. The Quests generated 15 million impressions, and 99% of the users who started a Quest received a reward for completing it. Second Dinner’s cost per install went down by 30% in the wake of the Quests campaign.
Discord has been steadily developing new ad formats since the start of the 2020s, when pandemic-era traffic led to increased user numbers for the server-based chat client. The first form of monetization to arrive was the server membership feature that debuted in 2021 and rolled out across the U.S. a year later.
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Quests joined Discord’s array of ad formats in 2024. The interactive spots, which appeal to Discord’s core community of gamers, prompt users to play select titles in exchange for in-game rewards.
Since launching Quests, Discord has improved its gamified format by bringing it to mobile devices and measuring its impact. As AppsFlyer’s analysis went public, Discord revealed a new version of Quests that will reward players based on the amount of time they spend in sponsored game worlds.
Quests don’t just appeal to the gamers who populate millions of Discord servers — the format also connects brands to hyperspecific communities that are harder to reach through traditional ads. In an era when marketers are prioritizing efficiency within their creator campaigns, that level of granularity is crucial.
“It’s not just 15 million impressions; it’s 15 million eyeballs that are all there because of their passion for gaming, and their community surrounding the game,” said AppsFlyer Global Director of Gaming Product Adam Smart. “It’s 15 million eyeballs of a specific type, which, if you’re advertising your game on that platform, is hugely advantageous.”
Discord VP of Sales and Ad Solutions Adam Bauer added that his team plans to continue expanding the breadth of measurement options later this year. That is an important effort for the platform to undertake. Like YouTube, Discord owes much of its popularity to its ease of use and the robust nature of its free tier. That’s how the platform earned the responsibility of facilitating a national election in Nepal, and Discord’s future likely includes a mix of accessibility and wide-ranging ad experiences. If server users accept that balance, Discord will have completed its greatest Quest of all.
