On the lookout for tricks to enhance your UA technique? Then try episode 56 of GameRefinery’s Cellular Video games Playbook, the place host Jon Jordan interviews specialists Kentaro Sugiura, Lead UA Supervisor at Rovio, and Christie Crable, Head of Activations at Liftoff. On this weblog publish, we summarize a few of the insights they shared from their mixed 20+ years in cellular gaming and expertise, overlaying subjects just like the state of cellular person acquisition, making use of user-generated content material (UGC) in cellular advertisements, and maximizing the potential of generative AI.
1. UA is turning into an increasing number of difficult
Sugiura says that the primary factor he’s observed concerning the trade over the previous years is how compressed it has turn into. With an increasing number of titles vying for consideration, it’s getting more durable to face out, particularly in informal. He says that for those who hope to ship a sustainable UA marketing campaign, you should deal with offering common product updates to take care of engagement and excessive ARPU.
Crable doubles down on Sugiura’s observations. She notes that many informal video games have taken to utilizing minigames to increase their audiences, which may enchantment to customers with totally different motivations than the core participant base. For instance, in Royal Match’s current on line casino occasion, Duke’s Fortune, gamers spent tokens within the hopes of successful considered one of numerous rewards, which can enchantment to thrill-seeking gamers. That’s fairly a departure from Royal Match’s typical deal with puzzles that supply a cognitive problem that appeals to “Thinker” gamers who take pleasure in problem-solving.
Royal Match’s Duke’s Fortune minigame
2. The road between recreation design and UA is shrinking
Crable notes that the present challenges dealing with UA managers have given them a better function within the recreation improvement course of. UA managers are on the entrance strains, analyzing information and figuring out options more likely to enchantment to the target market. After they determine a profitable function or a resonating minigame highlighted within the inventive, they will relay that suggestions to the product workforce to increase and improve the sport.
Sugiura backs this up, stating that the product workforce at Rovio may be very excited by what’s taking place in UA and takes half in common discussions round creatives. You’ll be able to see the leads to Indignant Birds 2, which has some various gameplay modes that Sugiura says have had a optimistic influence on engagement. For instance, gamers can enterprise into an area to tackle different gamers in PvP or head to the Tower of Fortune, a aspect mode that includes card video games.
Indignant Birds 2’s Tower of Fortune
3. UGC has turn into ubiquitous in UA
With individuals spending extra time on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, Crable notes that UGC has turn into a good selection for creatives. Adverts that includes creators reacting to gameplay or expressing pleasure a few particular recreation resonate properly with audiences as a result of they’re acquainted with that fashion of media.
It’s one thing that Sugiura attests to: “Indignant Birds 2 is already 9 years outdated and our viewers is getting older, so we’re all the time in search of methods to enchantment to youthful gamers. We’ve partnership with TikTok, and so they have helped us to develop new inventive concepts for UGC content material. We’re presently operating a TikTok marketing campaign as a business-as-usual marketing campaign, which means that we’re optimizing the marketing campaign towards our ROI targets. We do see some product updates on the TikTok aspect, that are serving to us to search out invaluable customers.”
4. Totally different platforms affect UA in numerous methods
There are numerous totally different platforms on the market that entrepreneurs can use to their benefit, and Crable says it’s important to search out the suitable steadiness between all of them, as every tends to have its personal nuances. For instance, TikTok is geared extra in direction of model consciousness, and can seemingly work properly for those who’re seeking to enhance ITI (impression to put in) or IPM (installs per mille). In distinction, operating advertisements on a DSP will influence extra measurable outcomes like D7 ROAS (Day 7 return on advert spend) or person retention.
“At Liftoff, as a DSP, we’re centered on downstream targets, emphasizing person retention and figuring out key metrics that predict long-term engagement,” Crable says. “Did a person go a sure degree? Did they work together with the sport on day two or three? Did they take part in a sure minigame or PvP competitors? These issues can actually assist us determine whether or not a marketing campaign goes to achieve success.”
5. For video advertisements, it’s time to go lengthy
One other level that Crable makes is that if an advert doesn’t precisely signify the gameplay, even whether it is extremely compelling in its personal proper, this will result in poor person retention. Maybe this will likely assist to elucidate why so many cellular entrepreneurs are shifting in direction of utilizing longer video advertisements, which have the required size to supply an correct and interesting illustration of what gamers ought to anticipate from the total recreation.
“These 90-second movies give advertisers extra room to play with and have enjoyable whereas staying true to their title’s core gameplay,” Crable says. “You may also begin with one thing splashy, like an interactive piece and even an influencer, some UGC, or a creator responding to a specific piece of gameplay. Then, you may present that core gameplay. You’ll be able to spotlight these well-known model pictures and particular characters, then have a name to motion.”
Liftoff’s 2024 Cellular Inventive Advert Index discovered that advert spend on movies over 45 seconds is rising quickly.
6. The present relationship between UA and AI
Sugiura says the jury continues to be out on generative AI in recreation improvement. At Rovio, he has entry to a number of inside AI instruments, which may be helpful and highly effective for creating variations throughout asset manufacturing. Nonetheless, these predominantly act as a help instrument to boost his personal skillset moderately than a standalone solution to produce creatives.
“I don’t suppose we’re in a spot the place we’re plugging phrases into an AI and capturing out inventive,” Crable says. “However I do suppose AI helps the UA workforce scale in iteration, whether or not that’s by language localizations or small modifications to inventive. It’s a extremely good way for groups who don’t have a ton of assets to prove advertisements at scale which are extra focused to particular area of interest audiences.”
7. Consultants tips about taking advantage of AI in UA
One key space the place Crable and Sugiura really feel generative AI can improve workflows is information evaluation. UA groups spend quite a lot of time taking a look at spreadsheets and pulling massive information units, which may now be fed into AI instruments to hurry up the method. Plus, as AI is now able to studying pictures, you should use it to research the information behind creatives to get concepts and proposals your workforce can use to make smarter selections.
“I personally use ChatGPT day by day to overview my code as a result of one thing is all the time damaged the primary time round,” Sugiura says. “Discovering a mistake in my code may be time-consuming, so I simply write a code verify, open ChatGPT, and paste within the code. It finds any points actually shortly.”
Crable provides: “AI is simply nearly as good because the inputs. You may discover that for those who ask ChatGPT a query, it offers a mediocre reply. However then, while you give it some extra instruction and steerage, you get one thing a lot better. A UA workforce outfitted with a wealthy historical past of brand name belongings and person engagement information will perceive what resonates with their viewers. By feeding this data into an AI, they will considerably improve its inventive output.”
Should you’d wish to hearken to the total interview with Sugiura and Crable, be certain to hearken to Episode 56 of GameRefinery’s Cellular Video games Playbook.
