The mobile gaming industry has experienced explosive growth in recent years, making it crucial for app developers and marketers to implement effective retargeting strategies. Below, learn the importance of mobile app retargeting in today's marketplace and explore five key tips for mastering this essential marketing technique.
Mobile gaming has become a dominant force across age groups, income brackets, and global markets. In fact, across every generation, mobile is the most common platform for playing games. This is due to mobile gaming’s low barriers to entry which make it the most accessible option with which to play games across platforms.
According to Newzoo, younger demographics — Gen Alpha and Gen Z — show the highest engagement with mobile games at 81% and 80%, respectively. That being said, across generations, from Gen Alpha to Baby Boomers, mobile is the top platform to engage with games.
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Source: Newzoo’s “Gaming Across Every Generation” report
According to Statista, games generated $172.37 billion in revenue in 2023. More than half of this revenue (52.25%) was driven by paid advertising. Revenue in games is expected to grow to $196.10 billion in 2024.
Zeroing in on mobile games specifically, according to Data.ai, mobile games drove $107.31 billion in revenue overall last year. Overall, global downloads of games were 88 billion. This amounted to over 1.1 billion global downloads of mobile games and $1.5 billion in spend generated per week.
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Source: Data.ai's "State of Mobile 2024" Report
Given the immense popularity and widespread usage of mobile games across all demographics, retargeting is an indispensable strategy for game developers and marketers. The sheer volume of mobile game downloads and revenue underscores the necessity for effective retargeting campaigns.
Why Retargeting Matters:
Effective segmentation is the foundation of successful retargeting campaigns. By dividing your audience into specific groups based on their behavior, preferences, and in-game progress, you can create highly targeted and relevant ads.
Key segmentation strategies:
Segmentation allows you to tailor your messaging and offers to each group's specific needs and motivations, significantly increasing the effectiveness of your retargeting efforts.
Pro Tip: Use predictive analytics to identify users who are most likely to churn and create a specific segment for them. Target this group with personalized retention campaigns before they become inactive.
Tailoring your ad content to specific user segments significantly improves engagement and conversion rates. Personalized ads can deliver five to eight times the ROI on marketing spend — and lift sales by 10% or more.
Personalization techniques:
By making ads more relevant and personal, you can create a stronger connection with the user and increase the likelihood of re-engagement.
Pro Tip: Implement A/B testing for your personalized creatives to continually refine and improve your ad performance. Test different elements such as visuals, copy, and calls-to-action to determine what resonates best with each segment.
The timing and frequency of your retargeting ads play a crucial role in their effectiveness. Avoid ad fatigue by implementing smart scheduling and frequency capping.
Best practices:
Pro Tip: Implement a "cool-down" period after a user makes a purchase or completes a desired action. This prevents unnecessary ad spend and allows you to focus on re-engaging the user when they're more likely to need another incentive to play.
Engage users across multiple channels to create a cohesive retargeting experience. This multi-touch approach ensures your message reaches players wherever they are.
Effective channels:
YouAppi's CTV retargeting solution has shown a 2-3x increase in return on ad spend (ROAS) for mobile game advertisers.
Pro Tip: Use deep linking in your cross-channel retargeting efforts. This technique allows you to send users directly to a specific in-game location or offer, reducing friction and improving conversion rates.
The mobile gaming landscape is constantly evolving, making it essential to regularly test and refine your retargeting strategies.
Areas to focus on:
Pro Tip: Leverage incrementality testing to measure the true impact of your retargeting campaigns. This involves comparing the behavior of a retargeted group against a control group to determine the actual lift provided by your retargeting efforts.
Don’t let your valuable players slip away! Implementing effective retargeting strategies can significantly boost user engagement and revenue for your mobile game. Contact us today to learn how we can help you maximize your marketing efforts and turn casual players into loyal fans!