The Woes and Wins of UA for Mobile Games in 2024

User acquisition is a dynamic field that never lets you rest on your success. At GamePro 2024, an event bringing thought-leaders and decision-makers of mobile gaming together, one thing was clear – the number of challenges for user acquisition managers doesn’t dwindle.

There, we asked UA professionals to share their thoughts on the current state of the market, highlighting both the hurdles they face and the opportunities that can be seized. Here’s what these experts revealed.

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Challenge 1: Finding the Right Audience

Maria Golcz, Director of Platform Growth at adjoe, who helps advertisers reach their UA goals on the daily, underscored one of the most pressing and universal issues: identifying the right audience at the right price. 

When targeting options are limited, especially on iOS, zeroing in on a profitable user base is a tricky task that requires expertise. Many advertisers are struggling to do it correctly and balance the costs with the potential return.

Solution: Find Sources of Incremental Traffic

In user acquisition, finding sources of incremental traffic leads directly to growth. It enables advertisers to reach new audiences who haven’t yet been targeted by other channels. 

No need to go far for an example. Take Playtime – it captures diverse audiences with its arcade-style advertising space in major nongaming apps for shopping, banking, food delivery, and more. Some of these users might not initially see themselves as gamers, but when facing rewards, they quickly become captivated by the gaming experience. 

Motivated by the value they gain, many are not just momentarily engaged; they find themselves deeply immersed, eventually becoming enthusiastic, lifelong gamers.

Diversifying your UA mix with channels like Playtime generates incremental value by engaging users from inventory yet unexplored. 

Imagine the game you’re advertising in an app like Fetch with its six million DAU. These users, who are typically focused on shopping or other activities, are not usually targeted by gaming UA efforts. 

However, they are interested in playing games for the value of the rewards offered, setting them up for motivated long-term engagement. 

Challenge 2: Maintaining Profitability

It’s not just about finding users but about ensuring they are genuinely profitable. “It’s crucial to validate if our predictions are correct,” Tatiana Grigoreva, User Acquisition Manager at Vizor Games pointed out, emphasizing that UA teams must constantly analyze and re-analyze their strategies. 

This focus on high ROI is increasingly becoming the cornerstone of user acquisition tactics.

Solution: Reliable Data and KPI Expectations 

Achieving high ROI requires more than just tracking it. Many advertisers already expand the lists of UA KPIs they take into consideration, including, for example, IRR, internal rate of return. 

Developers also need to set clear expectations with KPIs for each channel type. This means understanding the unique characteristics of each UA channel and defining success metrics accordingly. 

For example, rewarded channels, which typically deliver higher retention rates and long-term LTV, will have higher early retention goals and lower initial ROAS goals, with an expectation of improved performance over time.

In addition, reliable data is irreplaceable but increasingly hard to come by, especially on iOS. To navigate this challenge, UA teams need to work closely with their business intelligence team to aggregate and analyze data from multiple sources, including MMPs, networks, and third-party analytics. 

When user-level data is not available, campaign-level data becomes essential. Similarly, when data from a single source is unreliable, combining insights from several sources helps create a more accurate picture of user behavior.

Challenge 3: Retention Over Acquisition

While acquiring users is important, Ben Barta, Senior Growth Manager at Tripledot Studios, highlighted that retention is the real challenge. “Finding users that retain and engage with casual games over the long term is tough,” he shared. It’s not just about getting users in the door; it’s about keeping them interested and active over time.

This challenge also explains why there’s an ongoing trend of turning to rewarded ad networks for long-term retention. Sustained user engagement is a true measure of success because that’s the metric that drives long-term value.

We can illustrate the importance of retention by the performance of puzzle games over the last year. Deconstructor of Fun reports that despite a six-percent year-over-year decline in downloads, puzzle games saw a significant ten-percent increase in IAP revenue. The formula that worked so well to increase retention and subsequently LTV includes:

• regular events
• seasonal promotions
• notifications and other re-engagement content
• live operations 

Puzzle games historically have shown the longest retention rates, while hypercasual games die out the fastest. Games like Candy Crush Saga have been generating immense revenues for years, thanks to committing to user feedback,and regularly updating the experience they provide. Candy Crush today is a different game from what it was five years ago, and it keeps players both curious and loyal. 

On the other hand, hypercasual titles are often repetitive. This makes them lose players’ interest within days, forcing advertisers to double down on their UA efforts.

Solution: Connect UA with LiveOps

After addressing the major user acquisition challenges, the collaboration between UA, Product, and LiveOps teams can solidify these efforts. When data privacy makes retargeting less reliable, this partnership is key to creating personalized experiences and fostering a deeper connection with players for steady retention.

It involves sharing data insights and setting shared goals. By coordinating seasonal promotions, in-game events, and tailored experiences based on user acquisition channels, for example, it’s possible to create more engaging content that keeps players coming back. 

For the strategy to work, two parts are essential:

• LiveOps teams need to provide real-time feedback to UA managers. This enables them to adjust their strategies based on user behavior and preferences, which helps sustain engagement and extend gameplay.
• UA teams need to report on the different types of users acquired from different channels to allow for customization of in-game experiences. This will ultimately improve retention rates and maximize LTV. 

For Every Challenge There’s an Opportunity

The landscape of user acquisition in 2024 is marked by both challenges and opportunities. 

Alexey Gusev, Head of Growth at Kwalee, has captured the current landscape by saying: “You cannot just have a successful campaign and then relax.” To combat these instabilities, UA teams must remain agile and develop resilient marketing strategies. 

adjoe’s approach of forging direct partnerships with major publishers of nongaming apps exemplifies this strategy. These partnerships provide control over ad placements, continuously motivated high-quality audience, and deeper insights into its behavior. 

As the industry continues to evolve, those who stay agile and open to new solutions will find themselves not just surviving but thriving in this competitive space.