Downloaded 28 times
![Creative: Brief, Delivery,
Optimization
Creative is at the top of the conversion funnel pursuing the
goal to drive best possible conversion rates through high
frequency of content delivery, ongoing A/B tests & iterative
optimization.
Start with the Brief by clearly defining:
• Objective
• Positioning statement
• Target Audience: demographics, behavior, brand
preferences
• Creative tech specs
Ongoing research on competition:
• Use AppAnnie and Facebook Ads Library to define
affinity games and study the competitors creatives
2
Creatives Optimization
Nail down your creative’s Job To Done
• Job To Be Done: Functional, Emotional or Social
Support your brief with the Hypothesis Statement
• Hypothesis: If [variable], then [result] because [rationale]
Example:
If we show people’s hands holding and playing the smartphone
or tablet [variable] in our ad, we will increase the click-through
rate [result] as research says that showing the practical usage
of an app increases ad efficiency [rationale].](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/mobilegamesmarketing101guide-191104123700/85/Mobile-games-marketing-101-guide-11-320.jpg)
More Related Content
![NDC 2015 이광영 [야생의 땅: 듀랑고] 전투 시스템 개발 일지](https://cdn.slidesharecdn.com/ss_thumbnails/ndc2015-kwangyoung-150522112340-lva1-app6891-thumbnail.jpg?width=640&height=640&fit=bounds)
![[IGC 2016] 넷게임즈 김영희 - Unreal4를 사용해 모바일 프로젝트 제작하기](https://cdn.slidesharecdn.com/ss_thumbnails/igcppt-161008143730-thumbnail.jpg?width=640&height=640&fit=bounds)
Similar to Mobile games marketing 101 guide
![[EN].CleverGroup Vietnam Profile 20251202](https://cdn.slidesharecdn.com/ss_thumbnails/en-260120091417-fe6f88ec-thumbnail.jpg?width=640&height=640&fit=bounds)
Mobile games marketing 101 guide
- 1. Mobile Games Marketing101 Guide 1 03.11.2019 Dima Pinchuk dimapinchuk.dub@gmail.com
- 2. 1. Key Pillarsof Mobile Games Marketing 2. Key Pillars of Mobile Games Marketing: Acquisition & Conversion 3. Key Pillars of Mobile Games Marketing: Retention & Monetization 4. Acquisition Optimization 5. Acquisition Optimization: Ground Rules 6. Acquisition Optimization: Normal UA Lifecycle 7. Basic Spreadsheet Template for Acquisition Campaign Planning 8. Creatives Optimization 9. Creatives Optimization: Creative Half-Life 10. Creatives Production Sprints 11. Creatives Optimization: Feedback Loop Operating Model Content 12. Creatives Optimization: Iterations 13. Creatives Optimization: Ground Rules 14. Importance of ASO 15. ASO Ground Rules 16. Acquisition & Conversion Metrics 17. Retention & Monetization Metrics 18. Mobile Marketing Team: Main Functions 19. Mobile Marketing Team: KPIs & Metrics to Follow 20. Importance of Soft Launch 21. Deciding on a Soft Launch Market 22. Scenario of Defining Budget for Test Acquisition Campaign 23. Marketing Tools & Platforms
- 3. ACQUISITION & CONVERSION RETENTION ACQUISITION& CONVERSION RETENTION MONETIZATION RE-ACTIVATION Typical Mobile Game Acquisition Funnel Key Pillars of Mobile Games Marketing The main mobile marketing function that serve the funnel best will: • User Acquisition: Analytics & Optimization Strategy • Creative: Brief, Delivery & Optimization Strategy • ASO: Optimizing Discoverability & Conversion • Monetization: Rewarded Videos & In-App Ads • Retention: CRM, Conversions After Install & Re- activation The key pillars of mobile games marketing are mirroring the Funnel which represents the main stages of a user journey Install & Re-activation
- 4. Key Pillars ofMobile Games Marketing: Acquisition & Conversion User Acquisition: Analytics & Optimization Strategy Creative: Brief, Delivery & Optimization Strategy ASO: Optimizing Discoverability & Conversion 1. To ensure CPI (CPA) < LTV 2. To maintain ad campaigns scalability 3. To split campaigns by efficiency to define an ad investment strategy 4. To send feedback to Development 5. To facilitate decision making on product strategy after soft launch/technical launch 1. Creative is located at the top of the conversion funnel 2. Creative is the driver of acquisition 3. Creative sends early signals of the product-market readiness 1. 50+% of games downloads are coming from search 2. It is critical to maintain discoverability and conversion of users coming organically 1 2 3
- 5. Driving incremental revenue,maximizing players’ LTV & improving advertising ROI through: • Rewarded videos • Relevant In-App Ads Monetization: Rewarded Videos & In App Ads 5Retention: CRM, Conversions After Install & Re-activation Improving CPAs and Retention through: • Identifying and fixing conversion gaps • Relevant communication with players through segmented & A/B tested push notifications: 1. User Journey driven push notifications 2. Product Updates driven push notifications 3. Life Cycle Driven push notifications • Communication test’s elements: time, message, incentive, tone of voice, etc Key Pillars of Mobile Games Marketing: Retention & Monetization 4
- 6. 6 Acquisition Optimization 41% 23% 16% 11% 8% 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 0 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Cohort X Daily RetentionMain criteria for optimization is Predictive ROI • pred. ROI = pred. LTV/Spend Predictive LTV is a model driven calculation that would be based on: • historical data from the existing products • unit economics' benchmarks for a new game focusing on Daily Retention and ARPDAU where model would track Day 1,3,7,14,28 LTVs and compare the trajectory against delta of predicted final LTV numbers Example of data visualization & cohort performance analysis. • Daily retention benchmarks for Days 1, 3, 7, 14, 28 • 7000 installs at Day 0 • ARPDAU of $0,20 User Acquisition: Analytics & Optimization Strategy 1
- 7. 7 Acquisition Optimization The modelwill be adjusting itself by comparing predicted LTVs with the actual ones. The optimization can be based on: - CPA - cost per conversion from install to desirable action - and early Retention stats versus pred. LTV (existing titles) - CPI versus pred. cARPI - average cumulated revenue per install during lifetime (new titles) Ideally, the campaign optimization decision should be made 24 hours after install Example of data visualization & cohort performance analysis. • Ad investment of $8540 (CPI of $1,22) • 28D ROAS of 64% User Acquisition: Analytics & Optimization Strategy 1 8540 5454 -2000 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10111213141516171819202122232425262728 Cohort X Cumulative Revenue, % ROI
- 8. 8 CPA Optimization 1. Tryto narrow down the attribution window for a targeted Action/Event 2.Use proxies. Proxy is the event happening prior the main event & indicating high chance of the main event completion 3.Longer Lifetime leads to lower accuracy in LTV predictions 4.It may take months to nail down LTV for midcore/hardcore games Acquisition Optimization: Ground Rules User Acquisition: Analytics & Optimization Strategy 1 CPI Optimization 1. CPI optimization is widely used for Hyper Casual games 2.Moreover, due to the genre specifics, CPI is used by many as the main criteria for deciding on the game’s future 3.In other words, for an unfinished hyper casual title it is the ad CPI that tells if it’s worth continuing the product Purchase traffic with broader targeting at launch: the narrow targeting data might be misleading during the scale up stage The higher the bid is, the more inventory is available. Inventory = channels + audience. It’s not a linear function though.
- 9. 9 UABUDGET TIME NORMAL UA LIFECYCLE AcquisitionOptimization: Normal UA Lifecycle LAUNCH GROWTH MATURITY DECLINE PRODUCT UPDATE• UA campaigns are performing their best at the hard launch stage • It becomes challenging to scale up profitably at the maturity stage of a product lifecycle • Updates are giving the second life to a product resulting in improved ROAS User Acquisition: Analytics & Optimization Strategy 1
- 10. 10 Source Objective TargetingImpressions Clicks CTR CPC Installs Install CR CPI Targeted Event Targeted Event CR CPA Budget Facebook App Installs Interests App Installs Custom Audience App Installs Lookalike Instagram App Installs Interests Awareness Demographics Total Basic Spreadsheet Template for Acquisition Campaign Planning Campaign planning is also mirroring the user journey: from impressions at the top of the funnel till the completion of the targeted event (action) at the bottom of it.
- 11. Creative: Brief, Delivery, Optimization Creativeis at the top of the conversion funnel pursuing the goal to drive best possible conversion rates through high frequency of content delivery, ongoing A/B tests & iterative optimization. Start with the Brief by clearly defining: • Objective • Positioning statement • Target Audience: demographics, behavior, brand preferences • Creative tech specs Ongoing research on competition: • Use AppAnnie and Facebook Ads Library to define affinity games and study the competitors creatives 2 Creatives Optimization Nail down your creative’s Job To Done • Job To Be Done: Functional, Emotional or Social Support your brief with the Hypothesis Statement • Hypothesis: If [variable], then [result] because [rationale] Example: If we show people’s hands holding and playing the smartphone or tablet [variable] in our ad, we will increase the click-through rate [result] as research says that showing the practical usage of an app increases ad efficiency [rationale].
- 12. 12 Creatives Optimization: CreativeHalf-Life PERFORMANCE TIME Creative Half-Life Creative: Brief, Delivery, Optimization 2 • According to Google, a creative performance has its evident half life with the point of no return and rapid decline in performance • The early stats of performance decline are the sign of the upcoming rapid fall, meaning the better half life of a creative has passed • This is the point when the new cycle of creative development should be launched • Run weekly/bi-weekly creative production sprints to be always ready to replace creatives at the moment of rapid performance fall NEW & EXCITING INITIAL DECLINE RAPID PERFORMANCE FALL LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE LEVEL
- 13. Creatives Production Sprints Creativeconcept development Production Testing Deploy & monitor performance Creative concept development Production Testing Deploy & monitor performance Creative concept development Production Testing Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
- 14. Creatives Optimization: FeedbackLoop Operating Model Run the production cycle in a non-stop mode and let it feed itself with insights from previous campaigns FEEDBACK LOOP OPERATING MODEL Insight Mining & Hypothesis Brief, Production, Launch Testing Analyze & Learn
- 15. Creatives Optimization: Iterations Turna couple of ideas into dozens of creative assets Ad Pattern 1 v. 1.0 Ad Pattern 2 v. 1.0 Ad Pattern 3 v. 1.0 Ad Pattern 4 v. 1.0 Ad Pattern 2 v. 1.0 Ad Pattern 2 v. 1.1 Ad Pattern 2 v. 1.2 Ad Pattern 4 v. 1.0 Ad Pattern 4 v. 1.1 Ad Pattern 4 v. 1.2 Creatives’ Metrics to Track: • CTR = clicks/impressions • IPM = installs / thousand impressions • CPI = spend / installs • Quality Score = CTR * CR install • View Through Rate = completed views / impressions • Average View Duration
- 16. • One single& best performing creative can be the driver of the overall UA performance • Grab attention in the first 3 seconds • Always add subtitles: 70% of Facebook users are watching ads w/o sound • Creative Half Life: notice the performance decline at the right time • Organize weekly/bi-weekly creative production sprints for sustainable performance • Run the production cycle in a non-stop mode and let it feed itself with insights from previous campaigns • Turn a couple of ideas into dozens of creative assets and iterate on the best performers Creatives Optimization: Ground Rules
- 17. ASO: Optimizing discoverability& conversion 3 • 30% of installs are going to position 1 • 17% of installs are going to position 2 • 12% of installs are going to position 3 • 82% of users don’t list below 25th position BEFORE AFTER CONVERSION INCREASE Importance of ASO
- 18. • Ongoing conversionoptimization through A/B tests of the ASO Visual Part: Icon, Video, Screenshots Gallery, Feature Graphic. • Ongoing discoverability optimization: Title (iOS, Android), Subtitle (iOS, Android), Description (iOS, Android), Short Description (Android), Keywords (iOS only). Nota Bene: consider the “weight’ of every specific text element. • Addressing Ratings and Reviews: reply to negativity and leverage feedback • Ongoing search for the sweet-spots: keywords with a high Search Volume / Difficulty ratio, indicating strong consumer demand and relatively low competition to rank highly • Monitoring your keyword rankings and your competitors’ • Localizing your app’s metadata to increase discoverability and conversion across regions • Tracking your paid vs. organic downloads mix to uncover efficacy of your ASO efforts • Following the best practices which are constantly updated ASO: Optimizing discoverability & conversion 3 TITLE SUBTITLE KEYWORDS DESCRIPTION iOS, Android iOS, Android iOS Android ASO TEXT ELEMENTS WEIGHT ASO Ground Rules
- 19. User Acquisition: Analytics& Optimization Strategy Creative: Brief, Delivery, Optimization ASO: Optimizing Discoverability & Conversion KPIs • Traffic Volume • Traffic Quality • ROI • Budget Control • ROAS Metrics • Reach • CTR • CPC • CPT (Apple Search) • Installs • Install CR • Quality Score • CR into payment • CPI • CPA (CAC) • newDAU • K factor / virality • Retention • Spend KPIs • Frequency and volume of content • Turnaround time • Adherence to brief • Cost Control • Outsource Network Metrics • CTR • IPM / Result Rate • CPI • Quality Score • View Through Rate • Average View Duration • Time to Market • Production Cost KPIs • Discoverability • Conversion Metrics • App Units/ Impressions • App Units/ Product Page Views • Product Page Views/ Impressions • Visitors • Installs • Conversion rates • Uninstall rates • Keywords ranking • Ratings and Reviews • Paid versus organic dwnlds mix llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll l 1 2 3 Acquisition & Conversion Metrics
- 20. KPIs • Revenue Metrics • Incrementalrevenue • LTV increase • eCPM • Frequency Cap • ARPDAU Monetization: Rewarded Videos & In App Ads 5Retention: CRM, Conversions After Install & Re-activation KPIs • Retention • Reactivation Metrics • Reactivation rates • Retention rates • PN Opt-in Rates • PN Open rates • Uninstall rates • PN Disable Rates Retention & Monetization Metrics 4
- 21. User Acquisition AnalyticsASO Monetization & Retention Creative Services Marketing Product Management • Facebook & Google Ads • Apple Search & SEM • Ad Networks • Influencer Marketing • User Acquisition Analytics • Product Analytics • Customer Analytics • Financial Analytics • Market & Competitor Research • Content & Copywriting • 2D Promo Art & Graphic Design • Video Production • Creative Management • Outsource Management • Playable Ads (HTML5) • Graphic & Text ASO • Working with Ratings & Reviews • In App Advertising and Rewarded Videos • Retention management (PNs) • Conversion gaps identification and reporting • Product Specific Marketing Strategy • Tactics, Timelines & budgets • Benchmarking and reporting • Soft Launches and Commercial launches • Tech Integration • Featuring RE-ACTIVATION ACQUISITION & CONVERSION ACQUISITION & CONVERSION RE-ACTIVATION ACQUISITION & CONVERSION RETENTION MONETIZATION Mobile Marketing Team: Main Functions RE-ACTIVATION
- 22. KPIs • Traffic Volume •Traffic Quality • ROI • Budget Control • ROAS Metrics • Reach • CTR • CPC • CPT (Apple Search) • Installs • Install CR • Quality Score • CR into payment • CPI • CPA (CAC) • newDAU • K Factor • Retention • Spend KPIs • ROI • Budget Control • Reporting quality and delivery timing Metrics • Predictive model accuracy KPIs • Frequency and volume of content • Turnaround time • Adherence to brief • Cost Control • Outsource Network Metrics • CTR • IPM / Result Rate • CPI • Quality Score • View Through Rate • Average View Duration • Time to Market • Production Cost KPIs • Discoverability • Conversion Metrics • App Units/ Impressions • App Units/ Product Page Views • Product Page Views/ Impressions • Visitors • Installs • Conversion rates • Uninstall rates • Keywords ranking • Ratings and Reviews • Paid versus organic dwnlds mix KPIs • Revenue • Retention • Reactivation Metrics • Incremental revenue • LTV increase • eCPM • ARPDAU • Frequency Cap • Reactivation rates • Retention rates • PN Opt-in Rates • PN Open rates • Uninstall rates • PN Disable Rates KPIs • Revenue • Profitability • Active users Metrics • 360 view User Acquisition Analytics ASO Monetization & Retention Creative Services Marketing Product Management Mobile Marketing Team: KPIs & Metrics to Follow
- 23. Importance of aSoft Launch • Mobile Games Marketing is a gradually scaling process • Doing a big bang campaign with millions of dollars involved is a risky endeavor when the product efficiency metrics are unknown • Saying that, the best practice would be running the product’s soft / technical launch first before going all in • Your app will receive validation upon soft launch. This justifies your commitment to the project, and you can continue to give it the time and resources it requires • The product performance in a tested market will then drive decision making process on the game’s future: Keep and Optimize, Scale or Kill Soft Launch Primary Objectives: • Fix Bugs and Broken User Journeys before a hard launch • Analyze early users' reaction • Optimize marketing spend by testing user acquisition strategies in markets similar to their launch market • Figure out UA budget expectations • Test creatives and media mix • Gather data in real-time about your apps, services and users, providing a solid foundation to continue developing • Determine what features are popular and which could be added to provide a better service • Test users’ LTV across different localities Importance of Soft Launch
- 24. • As thegames in Soft Launch phase often lack any localization apart from English, it is proposed to select the countries with the decent knowledge of this language among population. • For a more polished product which doesn’t require high volumes of traffic for test purposes, it is advised to soft launch in higher GDP countries. • For a product with potentially multiple tech issues and with high volumes of traffic required, lower GDP and lower CPI countries can be your choice. Belgium Denmark Finland Netherlands Norway Sweden Canada Australia New Zealand Ireland Higher GDP & CPI Lower GDP & CPI MALAYSIA THAILAND PHILIPPINES Deciding on a Soft Launch Market
- 25. Objective Test the newproduct through Soft launch in 2 markets by predicting the potential product’s performance and analyze user acquisition by looking at • 1,3,7,14, 28 Day Retention • Conversion into payments • ARPDAU • Stickiness • Game rating and reviews • User acquisition • CPIs • Organic growth • User engagement • Monetization • Virality • Conversion Bottlenecks Assumption Genre: Midcore game Release stages: Soft Launch first - > Scaling Across other territories second Platforms: iOS Featuring status: None Budget: CPI * Required Volume + Creative Production Costs CPIs Source: Chartboost , Limited information through Facebook IQ insights, AppAnnie & Appsflyer Volume: Calculator of Statistical Significance and industry benchmarks by Game Analytics Soft Launch country requirements: • English language knowledge • Solid GDP • CPI • Cost Index • Conversion Index Scenario of Defining Budget for Test Acquisition Campaign
- 26. Budgeting exercise (Demo) Targets RetentionDay 1 – Day 28 Targeted 28th Day Retention: 8% Conversion into paying users Targeted conversion into paying users: 5% CPI Targeted CPI: $3.0 - $4.0 To achieve solid confidence interval of around 1pp we need about 7000 installs in a tested cohort Budget for One Market and One Channel • Media Cost = 7000 * Market CPI • + Creative Costs Source: https://mindbox.ru/ab-test-calculator/ Option A Option B # of conversions # sample size conversion % confidence interval Installs 7000 CPI A $ 3,00 CPI B $ 4,00 Budget A $ 21 000 Budget B $ 28 000 Total $ 49 000 Scenario of Defining Budget for Test Acquisition Campaign
- 27. Market and Competitorsanalysis 1. AppAnnie 2. Data Magic ASO Analytics 1. iTunes Connect 2. Google Play Connect 3. ASO Desk (+ semantics design) 4. App Follow (+ semantics design) Competitors’ activity analysis in app stores 1. AdMobiSpy 2. AppAnnie 3. AppFollow 4. ASOdesk 5. Similar Web Social media monitoring 1. Brandspotter 2. YouScan 3. Publer Users reviews analysis from mobile marketing channels 1. AppFollow 2. ZenDesk Advertising automation 1. Acquired.io Uninstall Rates analysis 1. Uninstall.io 2. In trackers Fraud detection 1. AppsFlyer 2. Adjust 5. Sensor Tower 6. Mobile Action 7. App Twik 8. The Tool Marketing Tools & Platforms
- 28. Qualitative Research and demographicsprofiles designs 1. Facebook Analytics 2. App Annie Remarketing Tools 1. Google 2. Facebook 3. Criterio 4. Remerge 5. myTarget Incentive traffic tools 1. In-App Offer walls: Fyber, Tapjoy, IronSource 2. Paid incentive traffic: AdvertMobile, AppBooster, Push App, Wake App In App Advertising Appnext UnityAds CRM Solutions 1.Optimove 2. Braze ASO Experiments platforms 1. Google Play Console Experiments 2. Splitmetrics 3. Store Maven 6. Vungle 7. Mobup 8. Adcolony 9. StartApp 1. FB Audience Network 2. AdMob by Google 3. Applovin 4. Unity Ads 5. Appodeal Marketing Tools & Platforms
- 29.