Best Practices to Supercharge Your Creatives in Retargeting Campaigns

In the mobile app ecosystem, creatives play a pivotal role in driving user acquisition, engagement, and retention. High-quality, targeted creatives are essential for standing out in a crowded marketplace and capturing user attention. This is particularly true for retargeting campaigns, where the goal is to re-engage users who have already shown interest in your app. Keep reading to learn creative best practices and strategies to supercharge your mobile app retargeting campaigns.

The Power of Creatives in Retargeting Campaigns

According to AppsFlyer's 2024 State of Ad Creatives in App Marketing report, just 2% of ad variations command 68% of marketing spend, with 90% of advertising spending concentrated on just 10% of these ads. This underscores the importance of identifying and leveraging top-performing creatives.

  1. Testing Volume: To pinpoint the elusive 'creative winner' that captivates potential customers and drives action, marketers typically need to test upwards of 50 variations of an ad. This highlights the need for continuous creative testing and optimization.
  2. Video Ad Performance: For gaming apps on social platforms, longer video ads (exceeding 15 seconds) are associated with higher long-term loyalty and retention. This suggests that more detailed, immersive ad experiences can lead to better user retention in certain contexts.
  3. Platform-Specific Performance: On ad networks outside of social media, animated ads that replicate gameplay show 26% higher ad engagement than ads using UGC or real-life footage for gaming apps. For non-gaming apps, ads incorporating real-life footage see a 15% higher rate of engagement than animated ads.

The Role of Creatives in Retargeting Campaigns

For retargeting campaigns, creatives take on even greater importance:

  1. Personalization: Retargeting creatives can leverage user data to create highly personalized ad experiences, reminding users of specific products they've viewed or actions they've taken in the app.
  2. Relevance: Well-crafted retargeting creatives can showcase new features, content, or offers that are particularly relevant to users based on their past behavior, increasing the likelihood of re-engagement.
  3. Timing: Creatives in retargeting campaigns can be strategically timed to coincide with user milestones, app updates, or seasonal events, maximizing their impact.
  4. Cross-Channel Consistency: Effective retargeting creatives maintain a consistent brand message across various channels, reinforcing the app's value proposition to users wherever they encounter the ads.

By leveraging creative optimization and data-driven insights, mobile marketers can significantly enhance the performance of both their user acquisition and retargeting campaigns. The key lies in continuous testing, personalization, and adapting creative strategies to the unique characteristics of each platform and audience segment.

The Importance of Understanding Your Audience

Before diving into our creative best practices, it's crucial to highlight the importance of cultivating a deep understanding of your audience segments. To craft ads that resonate with your audience, we recommend a sophisticated analysis of your app’s user base to tailor your creatives for maximum impact.

  • Segment by User Behavior: Divide your audience based on their in-app actions, purchase history, and engagement levels. This granular approach allows you to create highly targeted retargeting campaigns that resonate with specific user groups.
  • Consider User Lifecycle: Create different creatives for new users, active users, and dormant users. Each group requires a unique messaging strategy to effectively re-engage them with your app.

Best Practices for Creatives in Retargeting Campaigns

1. Personalization is Key

Leverage user data to create personalized ad experiences. Include elements such as:

  • Recently viewed items: Remind users of products or content they've shown interest in.
  • Abandoned cart contents: Encourage users to complete their purchases.
  • Personalized recommendations: Suggest relevant items based on user behavior and preferences.

2. Clear and Compelling Call-to-Action (CTA)

Your CTA should be visible, prominent, and action-oriented. For example, use phrases like "Resume Your Game" or "Complete Your Purchase" instead of generic terms like "Click Here." Ensure that your CTA is relevant to the user's stage in the customer journey. For example, for creatives for retargeting campaigns, make sure your CTA is “Return to the app” versus “Download the app”.

3. Utilize Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO)

DCO uses an app’s product feed to match the right message to the right user at the right time based on their intent. This ensures your ads stay relevant and effective, adapting to user preferences and behaviors in real-time. Our internal testing has shown DCO can result in at least a 30% performance lift.

4. Embrace Video and Native Formats

Stay ahead of the curve with video and native ad units. These formats offer higher engagement rates, better user experience, and increased brand recall. Consider creating short, engaging video ads that showcase your app's key features or benefits.

YouAppi’s Creative Services: Appi Studio

At YouAppi, we understand the importance of compelling creatives in driving successful retargeting campaigns. That's why we offer Appi Studio, our free custom mobile creative design solution for clients. Appi Studio provides:

  • Overall design services: Our team of expert designers can help you create visually stunning and effective ad creatives tailored to your app and audience.
  • Simple editing support: We assist in adapting your existing user acquisition creatives for retargeting campaigns, ensuring consistency across your marketing efforts.
  • Reformatting: We help optimize your creatives for various ad formats and platforms, maximizing their impact and reach.

Appi Studio Best Practices

  1. Design Variations: We create multiple ad variations, including "evergreen" ads for continuous running and special variations for holidays, seasons, or limited-time offers.
  2. A/B Testing: We recommend A/B testing special ad variations to optimize performance. Tests typically run for at least a month, comparing key metrics like conversion rates, impressions, and app open rates.
  3. Short Video Ads: We focus on creating engaging video ads, typically 15-30 seconds long, including portrait versions. These high-performing formats capture user attention effectively.

Takeaways

  1. Creatives are Key to Retargeting Success: High-quality, engaging creatives are essential for re-engaging users and driving results in retargeting campaigns.
  2. Testing is Crucial: Successful campaigns require testing multiple ad variations to identify top performers. Marketers often need to test 50+ ad variations to find the ‘creative winner.’
  3. Personalization Boosts Engagement: Tailoring creatives using user data, such as showcasing recently viewed items or abandoned carts, significantly improves the relevance and impact of ads.
  4. Video Formats Lead in Engagement: Video ads, particularly those over 15 seconds, can drive higher long-term user retention, especially for gaming apps.
  5. Cross-Channel Consistency: Ensuring consistent messaging across various platforms strengthens brand recall and keeps your app top-of-mind for users.
  6. DCO Maximizes Results: Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) ensures ads adapt to user behavior in real-time, driving a significant performance uplift.

 

Ready to supercharge your creative strategy to drive ROI? Reach out to our team of mobile retargeting experts to help you optimize your creatives for campaign results.