7 Insights From Our Q&A With Rovio’s Kentaro Sugiura and Liftoff’s Christie Crable
Looking for tips to boost your UA strategy? Then check out episode 56 of GameRefinery’s Mobile Games Playbook, where host Jon Jordan interviews experts Kentaro Sugiura, Lead UA Manager at Rovio, and Christie Crable, Head of Activations at Liftoff. In this blog post, we summarize some of the insights they shared from their combined 20+ years in mobile gaming and technology, covering topics like the state of mobile user acquisition, making use of user-generated content (UGC) in mobile ads, and maximizing the potential of generative AI.
1. UA is becoming more and more challenging
Sugiura says that the main thing he’s noticed about the industry over the past years is how compressed it has become. With more and more titles vying for attention, it’s getting harder to stand out, especially in casual. He says that if you hope to deliver a sustainable UA campaign, you must focus on providing regular product updates to maintain engagement and high ARPU.
Crable doubles down on Sugiura’s observations. She notes that many casual games have taken to using minigames to expand their audiences, which can appeal to users with different motivations than the core player base. For example, in Royal Match’s recent casino event, Duke’s Fortune, players spent tokens in the hopes of winning one of various rewards, which will appeal to thrill-seeking players. That’s quite a departure from Royal Match’s typical focus on puzzles that offer a cognitive challenge that appeals to “Thinker” players who enjoy problem-solving.
Royal Match’s Duke’s Fortune minigame
2. The line between game design and UA is shrinking
Crable notes that the current challenges facing UA managers have given them a greater role in the game development process. UA managers are on the front lines, analyzing data and identifying features likely to appeal to the target audience. When they identify a successful feature or a resonating minigame highlighted in the creative, they can relay that feedback to the product team to expand and enhance the game.
Sugiura backs this up, stating that the product team at Rovio is very interested in what’s happening in UA and takes part in regular discussions around creatives. You can see the results in Angry Birds 2, which has some alternative gameplay modes that Sugiura says have had a positive impact on engagement. For example, players can venture into an arena to take on other players in PvP or head to the Tower of Fortune, a side mode featuring card games.
Angry Birds 2’s Tower of Fortune
3. UGC has become ubiquitous in UA
With people spending more time on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, Crable notes that UGC has become a good choice for creatives. Ads featuring creators reacting to gameplay or expressing excitement about a specific game resonate well with audiences because they are familiar with that style of media.
It’s something that Sugiura attests to: “Angry Birds 2 is already nine years old and our audience is getting older, so we’re always looking for ways to appeal to younger players. We have a good partnership with TikTok, and they have helped us to develop new creative ideas for UGC content. We are currently running a TikTok campaign as a business-as-usual campaign, meaning that we are optimizing the campaign toward our ROI goals. We do see some product updates on the TikTok side, which are helping us to find valuable users.”
4. Different platforms influence UA in various ways
There are many different platforms out there that marketers can use to their advantage, and Crable says it’s essential to find the right balance between them all, as each tends to have its own nuances. For example, TikTok is geared more towards brand awareness, and will likely work well if you’re looking to boost ITI (impression to install) or IPM (installs per mille). In contrast, running ads on a DSP will impact more measurable outcomes like D7 ROAS (Day 7 return on ad spend) or user retention.
“At Liftoff, as a DSP, we’re focused on downstream goals, emphasizing user retention and identifying key metrics that predict long-term engagement,” Crable says. “Did a user pass a certain level? Did they interact with the game on day two or three? Did they participate in a certain minigame or PvP competition? Those things can really help us identify whether a campaign is going to be successful.”
5. For video ads, it’s time to go long
Another point that Crable makes is that if an ad doesn’t accurately represent the gameplay, even if it is highly compelling in its own right, this can lead to poor user retention. Perhaps this may help to explain why so many mobile marketers are moving towards using longer video ads, which have the necessary length to provide an accurate and engaging representation of what players should expect from the full game.
“These 90-second videos give advertisers more room to play with and have fun while staying true to their title’s core gameplay,” Crable says. “You can also start with something splashy, like an interactive piece or even an influencer, some UGC, or a creator responding to a particular piece of gameplay. Then, you can show that core gameplay. You can highlight those well-known brand images and specific characters, then have a call to action.”
Liftoff’s 2024 Mobile Creative Ad Index found that ad spend on videos over 45 seconds is increasing rapidly.
6. The current relationship between UA and AI
Sugiura says the jury is still out on generative AI in game development. At Rovio, he has access to several internal AI tools, which can be useful and powerful for creating variations during asset production. However, these predominantly act as a support tool to enhance his own skillset rather than a standalone way to produce creatives.
“I don’t think we’re in a spot where we’re plugging words into an AI and shooting out creative,” Crable says. “But I do think AI helps the UA team scale in iteration, whether that’s through language localizations or small modifications to creative. It’s a really great way for teams who don’t have a ton of resources to turn out ads at scale that are more targeted to specific niche audiences.”
7. Experts tips on making the most of AI in UA
One key area where Crable and Sugiura feel generative AI can enhance workflows is data analysis. UA teams spend a lot of time looking at spreadsheets and pulling large data sets, which can now be fed into AI tools to speed up the process. Plus, as AI is now capable of reading images, you can use it to analyze the data behind creatives to get ideas and recommendations your team can use to make smarter decisions.
“I personally use ChatGPT every day to review my code because something is always broken the first time around,” Sugiura says. “Finding a mistake in my code can be time-consuming, so I just write a code check, open ChatGPT, and paste in the code. It finds any issues really quickly.”
Crable adds: “AI is only as good as the inputs. You might find that if you ask ChatGPT a question, it gives a mediocre answer. But then, when you give it some more instruction and guidance, you get something much better. A UA team equipped with a rich history of brand assets and user engagement data will understand what resonates with their audience. By feeding this knowledge into an AI, they can significantly enhance its creative output.”
If you’d like to listen to the full interview with Sugiura and Crable, make sure to listen to Episode 56 of GameRefinery’s Mobile Games Playbook.
