Marketing reports and market data
Documents
Superstar Session: Building a Future-proof Ecosystem for Hypercasual
The hypercasual gaming sector requires a rigorous balance between creative ideation and data-driven optimization to achieve commercial success.
- Automated AI-driven feedback systems, such as Rollic's 'Elephant' tool, have increased production speed by three-fold and achieved a 92% success rate in positive-metric iterations.
- Hypercasual success relies on a high-volume testing model; for example, Rollic tested 472 games in 2019 to identify 13 global hits.
- Individual-level optimization allows games to dynamically adjust difficulty and ad frequency based on specific user behavior, directly improving player retention.
Panel: Leading Tactics in User Acquisition in 2020
Modern user acquisition strategies in the mobile gaming sector have shifted from manual, spreadsheet-heavy processes toward a sophisticated, data-driven discipline.
- User acquisition has transitioned from manual spreadsheet management to a data-driven discipline requiring automated reporting, predictive modeling, and robust data aggregation.
- Effective acquisition strategies now prioritize return on investment and impression-level performance metrics over simple cost-per-install data.
- Success relies on integrating App Store Optimization with granular creative tagging to deconstruct ad assets and identify specific drivers of conversion.
Panel: Tactics for Low CPI and High User Quality
Modern user acquisition strategies in the mobile gaming industry have shifted from prioritizing raw install volume to focusing on long-term Return on Ad Spend and high-quality user retention.
- User acquisition strategies have shifted from prioritizing raw install volume to focusing on long-term Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and high-quality user retention.
- Creative assets must accurately reflect core gameplay to attract users likely to monetize, rather than relying on high-volume ads that generate low-intent clicks.
- Developers are reducing reliance on the Facebook and Google duopoly by diversifying into platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and Reddit to achieve more precise targeting and lower costs per install.
Fireside chat: Standing out as a New Mobile Publisher in a Crowded Marketplace
Nifty Games, a mobile-focused publisher, emphasizes a strategy of category-specific specialization to differentiate itself within the highly saturated mobile gaming market.
- Nifty Games differentiates itself in the crowded mobile market by focusing exclusively on quick-session, head-to-head sports games that leverage real-world sports events and communities for user acquisition.
- The company utilizes sports-based intellectual property to access pre-existing, passionate fan bases, which helps improve user acquisition rates, retention, and monetization compared to original, non-branded mobile IP.
- To mitigate risk and ensure a clear market position, the studio builds a slate of products around a consistent category focus rather than attempting to create disparate original IP titles.
Extract Immense Value from Creative Optimisation
Creative optimization serves as a critical lever for user acquisition managers to improve campaign performance by increasing installs per mille (IPM).
- Creative optimization directly improves campaign performance by increasing installs per mille (IPM), which allows advertisers to win more network auctions or reduce costs while maintaining competitiveness.
- Automated, self-optimizing playable ads use machine learning to conduct real-time iterations of variables like animation speeds, color schemes, and end-cards without manual intervention.
- Shifting from manual A/B testing to automated systems enables rapid performance gains, with some campaigns achieving double-digit percentage increases in click-through rates and IPM within days.
There's a New Ad Format in Town
The emergence of seamless in-game advertising represents a strategic shift in mobile and digital game monetization, moving away from intrusive, disruptive formats toward contextual, non-obstructive brand integration.
- Seamless in-game advertising allows for monetization of 100% of gameplay time by embedding non-intrusive ads directly into virtual environments like billboards.
- Testing across 40 million ad impressions in a AAA mobile title confirmed that this integration has no negative impact on user retention, daily active users, or app store ratings.
- There is a significant market disconnect where 70% of major brands' target audiences are reachable via gaming, yet only 5% of total ad spend is currently allocated to the channel.
One Country, One Language? How Custom Listing Pages can Change A/B Testing on Google Play
Custom listing pages on the Google Play Store offer a powerful, data-driven mechanism to refine conversion rate optimization (CRO) by decoupling language settings from geographic location.
- Developers should decouple language settings from geographic location, as users frequently consume content in languages that do not match their physical location.
- Relying on a single global store listing often fails to capture diverse international audiences, as evidenced by a mobile game case study where only 1% of the English-language user base was located in the United Kingdom, while the largest segment resided in India.
- Custom listing pages allow developers to tailor metadata and visual assets to specific regional preferences, preventing the dilution of A/B testing data caused by mixing disparate user behaviors.
Hypercasual Games - A Complete Ad Strategy Analysis
The hypercasual gaming sector relies heavily on aggressive user acquisition and ad-based monetization to maintain visibility and achieve top-chart rankings.
- Hypercasual publishers must adopt a data-centric methodology, utilizing insights from over 5 million analyzed creatives to minimize trial-and-error in user acquisition.
- Top-tier publishers like Voodoo, Say Games, and Good Job maintain market dominance through rigorous A/B testing and competitive intelligence to optimize ad distribution.
- While video ads remain the primary format, playable ads are increasingly essential for driving conversions and differentiating titles in a crowded market.
Creadits: Scaling Creative for User Acquisition
The primary objective of this presentation is to shift the focus of user acquisition strategies from mere creative optimization to creative maximization.
- Creative maximization must replace creative optimization to expand the total addressable market beyond core audiences and combat the performance degradation that occurs as mobile games scale.
- Modern ad platforms like Facebook and Google require high-volume creative assets to feed their automated backend segmentation algorithms, which struggle to find diverse user sub-segments when provided with limited content.
- Marketers should shift from basic look-alike modeling to mapping creative concepts directly to specific psychological drivers and gamer motivations.
Community Marketing and Management at Your Best and Worst Times
Community marketing functions as a strategic pillar for growth by leveraging deep insights into player language, shared narratives, and specific motivations.
- When managing a crisis like the 2017 Europa Universalis 4 review bombing, companies should transparently admit mistakes, offer compensation, and communicate changes early to rebuild trust.
- Effective community marketing requires adopting the 'language' of the target audience, which includes not just spoken words but also images, music, memes, and specific community-driven inside jokes.
- When marketing a game with a clear competitor, such as Cities: Skylines versus SimCity, focus on the unique value proposition of your own product rather than merely attacking the competitor's failures, which can foster a toxic community environment.
Three Key Factors to Successfully Monetise Mobile Games in Latin America
Latin America represents a high-growth mobile gaming market characterized by a massive user base, low user acquisition costs, and significant potential for international developers.
- Integrating local payment methods—such as domestic credit cards, debit cards, and cash-based voucher systems—can triple revenue compared to relying solely on international platforms.
- Developers must prioritize technical optimization for legacy, low-spec Android devices, as high import taxes on electronics have created a market dominated by hardware with limited RAM and storage.
- The free-to-play model is essential for the Latin American market, as the vast majority of regional revenue is generated through this structure rather than premium pricing.
What has IP Ever Done for us? And How to Match Your Product to IP Holders
The primary objective of this presentation is to guide game developers and publishers on how to effectively identify, assess, and align their products with established intellectual property (IP) held by BBC Studios.
- Successful IP integration requires aligning game mechanics with the brand's core DNA, such as prioritizing ingenuity and teamwork for Doctor Who rather than combat-focused gameplay.
- BBC Studios is transitioning from a passive licensing model to a proactive strategy, actively seeking development partners to adapt their content into interactive media.
- BBC Studios manages a massive global portfolio, including the Doctor Who franchise which reaches audiences across 240 territories.