Why Playables Are a Better Solution to Mid/Hardcore Games User Acquisition Challenges
With playable ads becoming an important monetization method for an increasing number of apps as well as mid-core and hardcore games, they have become a powerful tool for mid/hardcore game developers to promote their games.
Data shows that besides hyper-casual games, more types of games are starting to migrate from a pure in-app purchase model to a hybrid “IAP+IAA” (in-app purchase + in-app ads) monetization model. A significant number of mid-core and hardcore games like RPGs and SLGs have begun to introduce rewarded ads and playable ads to improve their monetization efforts.
This means that mid-core and hardcore advertisers now have more avenues for using playable ads. As more and more traffic channels are starting to use this ad format, advertisers can acquire high-quality users at lower costs and with higher conversion rates.
So how can midcore and hardcore games create video ads that are compelling to acquire potential users as efficiently as possible? And what are the pain points these playable game ads can solve?
1. Show the game’s selling points from multiple angles
Unlike casual games, mid-core and hardcore gameplay is more complex and has more elements. One of the challenges advertisers face when creating video ads is how to showcase the core concepts from the full range of a game’s core selling points, in a way that can resonate with the target audience.
Playturbo can break down the core gameplay into multiple elements across different traffic channels, and show the game’s different selling points by producing a series of playable game ads.
For example, depending on target users’ preferences, Playturbo can create various playable creatives based on different scenarios like battles, hero selection, equipment, and costumes, to showcase the game’s various features from all angles. By combining its efforts with Mintegral’s granular advertising strategies, Playturbo can help advertisers acquire high-quality players precisely through these engaging game ads.
Mindworks created a series of playable ads for IDLE Hero by breaking down the core gameplay into multiple elements
2. Using multiple technologies to showcase game scenes
Midcore and hardcore games often have magnificent game scenes, so showcasing such high-quality designs in the game ads requires an extremely talented team.
By using technical tools such as 2D, 3D, and panorama, Playturbo showcased the game’s most important scenes and designs in these game ads, while simultaneously adding fresh creative designs to highlight key gameplay elements and encourage users to download the game.
A playable ad made by Mindworks for Lilith Games
2D technology restores battle scenes
3. Increased optimization and iteration flexibility
Unlike standard video ads commonly used in midcore and hardcore games’ UA campaigns, playable game ads can be iterated down to very granular levels like assets or variables. Also, advertisers can generate multiple versions of the same playable ad in real time, without the need for extensive rendering and exporting each time.
Thanks to Playturbo, Mindworks’s playable ad creative platform, advertisers can quickly edit elements of the game ads like characters, ad duration, difficulty level, background music, text content, and much more. Advertisers can also export the creatives with just a click, making the entire process extremely quick and efficient.
What's more, advertisers can learn about user behavior based on ad performance data and iterate these game ads' creatives, creating a better user experience and achieving positive campaign results. Playturbo data shows that playable game ads can more than double the IVR of mid-core and hardcore games.
How playable ads for Idle Heroes increased IVR by over 1,100%
Let’s take a look at a success story that shows how Playturbo was able to create playable video ads for Idle Heroes that resulted in an incredible 1,100% IVR increase compared to the original ads.
- Name: Idle Heroes
- Genre: 2D Idle RPG
- Gameplay Features: Idle Heroes includes multiple gameplay elements like strategy, cards, tower climbing, battling, and simulation. Players need to recruit and build their hero team to fight the enemies.
To highlight the Idle Heroes’ unique gameplay elements and reach different types of users as accurately as possible, Playturbo developed an end-to-end creative strategy, used different approaches across the two promotional stages, and created a series of playable game ads, resulting in an IVR increase of up to 1,153% compared to the original ads.
1. Breaking down the core gameplay to create different playables and highlight the game’s unique selling points
After running an in-depth analysis of the game, the Playturbo team broke the gameplay down into individual elements and created a series of playable video ads, each highlighting a particular gameplay element that match target players’ preferences.
Case 1
- Gameplay focus: idle + battle + team building
- Creative features: offering players additional guidance to entice them to interact more with the ad based on the original idle gameplay mechanics
- Results: CVR increased by 289.71% , IVR increased by 173.65%
As the name suggests, the idle mechanic is the game’s most prominent feature. To showcase gameplay elements like team assembly and auto-battle, Playturbo used native game levels in the playable game ad. The team also added hints to help the players interact with the ad more frequently and get a taste of what the game is like. As a result, players experience a heightened sense of accomplishment after winning the demo, making them more motivated and likely to download the full experience.
Case 2
- Gameplay focus: Combat attributes and skill switching
- Creative features: displaying combat scenes from a first-person perspective and showing users how to switch between different skills
- Results: IVR increased by 122.07%
In strategy combat games, the character’s combat spells and moves are vital for a good gaming experience. Therefore, to help players get a feel of their character’s spells and how they can be used to defeat different enemies, Playturbo created the video ad from a first-person perspective and provided hints about which spell to use against different enemies, while players still have the freedom to choose between various spells. By comparing the damage level these spells did to the enemies, players could quickly get a better understanding of how the game works.
Case 3
- Gameplay focus: tower climbing
- Creative features: storyline designed to create an immersive gaming experience
- Results: CVR increased by 140%
Playturbo designed plot scripts for the game ad, transforming players into adventurers. These dialogs allow players to get a quick idea of the game’s background story, the goals they need to achieve, and how the gameplay works.
Case 4
- Gameplay focus: forming a team and team battle scenes
- Creative Features: swiping the screen to kill the enemy and highlighting special attacks like critical hits
- Results: CVR increased by 289.71%, IVR increased by 173.65%
Adding classic game elements and positive feedback to game ads is an effective way to capture players’ attention and improve conversion. Playturbo created video ads that incorporated classic elements inspired by The Legend of Mir, highlighting the power of critical hits. At the same time, the team added the ability to kill enemies by swiping the screen, which enabled players to do more damage and earn more diamonds from successful kills.
2. Optimizing game ads by adding creative elements tailored to user preferences
In addition to producing high-quality creatives, continuous iterations and optimization efforts are another critical part of a successful ad campaign. This is why in the second stage of the creative strategy, Playturbo focused on further optimizing the fourth version of the ad creatives, which showed the best campaign results.
Case 1
- Iteration strategy: adjusting skins, optimizing visual effects, and improving gameplay hints
- Results: CVR increased by 174%; IVR increased by 1,153%
Based on the original creatives, the game ads were iterated to feature different characters and enemy skins tailored to the preferences of target users. The team also removed the numeric prompts that show the character’s increased combat effectiveness, directing players’ attention to the visual impact of the damage dealt to enemies. In addition, the design team optimized the display of damage effects and accelerated the timing of hints teaching players how to perform combos. These adjustments made the gameplay feel more dynamic, encouraging players to swipe the screen repeatedly and delivering a more enjoyable gaming experience.
Case 2
Iteration strategy: remove the character selection process to reduce game duration
Results: CTR increased by 319%; IVR increased by 230%
- Before creating an ad creative, it’s important to learn about the demographic of your target audience and their preference
- Midcore and hardcore game advertisers should use different ad formats at different campaign stages to achieve better acquisition results. For example, they can create video ads in the early stages to boost exposure, and playable ads in the middle and late stages to showcase key gameplay features and improve conversion.
- Work with a reliable team and leverage the flexibility of the creative platform to streamline and enhance the efficiency of the playable production process.
