High-performing creatives can reduce cost-per-install (CPI) by up to 40% and significantly improve overall return on ad spend (ROAS).
Traditional UA testing benchmarks are obsolete; creative performance is now binary, requiring immediate traction rather than large impression or install volumes to justify scaling.
The mobile title Color Block Jam is currently generating over $250,000 in daily revenue through a hybrid model of in-app purchases and advertising.
Adding new creatives to existing campaigns does not disrupt the algorithmic learning phase and is an effective strategy for boosting overall performance.
AI integration is now a critical component for streamlining creative production, while 'altered gameplay' remains a highly effective tactic for driving engagement in puzzle game ads.
Major industry firms including Scopely, Zynga, and Supercell are actively hiring for UA and marketing roles as of the 2024-2025 period.
This industry newsletter by Matej Lancaric provides strategic insights into mobile user acquisition (UA) and creative testing for 2024 and 2025. The primary thesis emphasizes a shift toward agility in creative evaluation, arguing that traditional benchmarks—such as requiring 100 installs or 5,000 impressions to judge an ad's viability—are obsolete. Instead, the findings suggest that creative performance is binary: an ad either gains immediate traction or fails, allowing for rapid iteration and scaling after minimal initial spending.
The scope of the analysis covers the global mobile gaming market, with specific mentions of developers in Türkiye and titles like Trainstation 2, Idle Lumber, and Color Block Jam. Data points highlight the success of the latter, which is reportedly generating over $250,000 in daily revenue through a combination of in-app purchases and advertising. The methodology relies on professional case studies and anecdotal evidence from UA operations, noting that high-performing creatives can decrease cost-per-install (CPI) by up to 40% and significantly improve return on ad spend (ROAS).
Key conclusions focus on the integration of AI in advertising to streamline production and the effectiveness of "altered gameplay" in puzzle game creatives to drive engagement. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that adding new creatives to existing campaigns does not disrupt the learning phase but rather serves to boost overall performance. The document concludes with a survey of the current labor market, listing numerous open UA and marketing roles at major industry firms such as Scopely, Zynga, and Supercell.